Locations
Santa Clara County Scholarships & Support
Founded in 1981, 10,000 Degrees has expanded to eight Bay Area counties serving more than 16,000 high school and college students each year. Since launching our College Access and Success programs in Santa Clara County in 2020, we’ve awarded millions in scholarships to local students from low-income backgrounds, and now support 2,200+ Santa Clara County high school and college students annually. Our local impact includes near-peer mentoring, financial aid advising, scholarships, and college matriculation support for students at four ESUHSD high schools. Our Community College Success team supports students attending De Anza Community College in Cupertino and Evergreen Valley Community College in San Jose, as well as in nearby San Jose City, Mission, Foothill, and West Valley Community Colleges.
Established in
2020
High School Students Served Annually
Scholarships in FY23
Partner Schools
High Schools
Andrew P. Hill High
Independence High
Overfelt High
Yerba Buena High
Colleges
Evergreen Valley College
De Anza College
The Opportunity in Santa Clara County
Meaningful change. Lasting impact.
Despite the vast prosperity and tech innovation in Silicon Valley, not all communities have benefited from the wealth generated from decades of economic boom. Black, Latine, and Vietnamese students in this region face significant barriers to college attainment. This achievement gap perpetuates a cycle of limited opportunities and economic inequity, hindering the region’s potential for growth, innovation, and prosperity. San Jose’s East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD) is an area of particularly high need, as the troubling statistics at right demonstrate.
What we do: We work directly with Santa Clara County students from low-income backgrounds to:
- Foster a college-going culture
- Introduce 2- and 4-year college pathway options
- Assist students with college applications and enrollment
- Help students apply for and manage free financial aid (FAFSA & CA Dream Act)
- Provide scholarships and near-peer mentoring to successfully navigate the entire college journey
- Offer community college transfer support
- and more!
Our support extends to, through, and beyond college: We offer paid internships and career development opportunities through our local business partners.
Your gift to 10,000 Degrees will allow us to help more Santa Clara County students from low-income backgrounds achieve their college and career dreams.
What our partners, students, alumni, and staff have to say about 10,000 Degrees
Regional Stories
Superintendent
East Side Union High School
Program Officer, Postsecondary Success
Sobrato Philanthropies
San Jose State University, 2023
University of California, Riverside, 2022
University of California, Santa Barbara, 2023
University of California, Santa Barbara, 2023
Peninsula & South Bay Advisory Board
Mark Adams, Co-Chair
Trish Hayward, Co-Chair
Carlos Aldana
Gordon Chaffee
Lorena Chavez
Dan Drury
Meilinda Huang
Hana Ma
Alexa Pacis
Tracy Sedlock
Piyush Shah
Nikhil Sharma
Brian Thomas
Maria Valle
Glenn Vander Zee
Shveta Venkatram
Ganesh Vishwanath