SCHOLARSHIP TERMS
GOLDEN 1 SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST: Official Rules
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.
Sponsor: The Golden 1 Scholarship Contest (“Scholarship Contest”) is sponsored by Golden 1 Credit Union, 8945 Cal Center Drive, Sacramento, CA 95826 (“Sponsor”).
Administrator: This Scholarship Contest is administered by The University Network (TUN, Inc.), a Delaware corporation with its headquarters at 99 Wall St, #2508, New York, NY 10005 (“Administrator”).
Eligibility: This Scholarship Contest is open only to individuals who are legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and who are at least 17 years of age.
Entry Period: The entry period for this Scholarship Contest begins on December 9, 2024 at 12:01 a.m. and ends on January 31, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. (all times in these Official Rules are Pacific Standard Time) (the “Entry Period”). All entries must be received by the Sponsor during the Entry Period.
How to Enter: Limit one entry (“Entry”) per person. To enter, do the following:
- Complete all the required fields on the application form
- Upload all required documents
- Submit application
(a) Originality and No AI Assistance: By submitting this application, you warrant that the work submitted is entirely your own original creation, has not been previously published or submitted to any other contest, sweepstakes, or promotion, and that you own or control the copyright to your Entry. You further warrant that you have not used any artificial intelligence (AI) tools or assistance in its creation. Any submission found to contain AI-generated content or to have been created with the help of AI will be automatically disqualified. For the purposes of this Scholarship Contest, AI is any algorithmic system or computer program that is designed or trained to generate or assist in the creation of content, including but not limited to text, images, audio, or video. This includes, but is not limited to, machine learning models, neural networks, natural language processing algorithms, and other automated systems capable of generating or altering content based on input data or parameters.
(b) General Suitability and Legality: Your Entry must be suitable for general audiences and not offensive, obscene, defamatory, or illegal. It must not contain any personally-identifiable information of any person other than yourself nor violate the rights of others or any applicable law. Personally-identifiable information is any information or data that could potentially be used to identify a particular person, such as a full name, social security number, driver’s license number, or email address.
Winner Selection: All entrants and Entries are subject to verification. After the Entry Period, a Selection Committee will review all eligible Entries received by the Sponsor that have not been disqualified. On or about Wednesday, April 30, 2025, the Selection Committee will select winning Entries in accordance with the following criteria:
- Category 1: Academic Achievements — 20%
- Category 2: Community Service – 30%
- Category 3: Extracurricular Activities – 20%
- Category 4: Essay – 10%
- Category 5: Financial Need – 10%
- Category 6: First-Generation Status – 10%
In the case of a tie, winner essay submissions will be selected based on their thoughtfulness of response and relevance to the question, as compared to the other finalists.
All decisions made by the Selection Committee are final and not subject to appeal, and feedback on applications will not be provided.
The winning entrant will be notified by email to the email address provided in the Entry (the “Winner Notification”). Potential winners may be required, within five (5) days of Winner Notification being sent, to provide to the Administrator further contact and residence information and to execute and deliver a written affidavit of eligibility, acceptance of these Official Rules, release of liability/publicity, tax forms, and other reasonable documentation. (In the event that a potential winner does not timely comply, disqualification may result and an alternate winner may be selected based on the criteria listed above.)
Further, in the event a winning entrant is under the age of 18 at the time of initial application or when a scholarship award is disbursed, the winning entrant or their guardian may be required to sign an additional acknowledgment of the Scholarship Terms.
Odds of Winning: The odds of winning depend on the quality and number of eligible entries received.
Scholarships: A minimum of thirty (30) scholarships will be awarded to members or dependents of members and four (4) scholarships will be awarded to dependents of eligible Golden 1 employees, each consisting of a check in an amount indicated below, made payable to each winner’s school for the benefit of the winner’s education expenses (the “Scholarship Prize”).
- Up to $1,200 annually to full-time students who plan to attend an accredited, nonprofit, two-year community college in California
- Up to $5,000 annually to full-time students who plan to attend an accredited, nonprofit, four-year college or university in California
Scholarship Renewal: This Scholarship is renewable under the following conditions:
(a) Recipients of a two-year community college scholarship may apply for a renewal of their scholarship for up to one (1) year beyond the initial year depending on the student’s prior college credits, provided that they continue to attend an accredited nonprofit, two-year college/university in California as a full-time student and have a minimum GPA of 2.5.
(b) Recipients of a four-year college/university scholarship may apply for a renewal of their scholarship for up to three (3) years beyond the initial year depending on the student’s prior college credits, provided that they continue to attend an accredited nonprofit, four-year college/university in California as a full-time student and have a minimum GPA of 2.5.
(c) Recipients transferring from a two-year community college to a four-year college/university will receive preferential treatment for a renewing scholarship.
Scholarship Deferral: Scholarship recipients, whether in the initial year or renewal years, have a one-time deferral for one year based on personal medical, military, death of immediate family member, or extreme circumstance as determined by Golden 1.
Identity of Entrant: Potential winners may be required to provide the Sponsor with proof of identification, in the Administrator’s sole discretion.
Scholarship Prize Recipient Publicity: Except where prohibited, Scholarship Prize recipients will be required to supply their image and agree that by entering the Scholarship Contest, they grant to the Sponsor (and any division or affiliate of the Sponsor), without any limitation or further compensation or notice, the right to use and publish their name, voice and/or likeness in any and all media, worldwide, for the purpose of advertising and promoting the Sponsor and for future scholarship programs sponsored by Sponsor.
Scholarship Prize recipients further agree that they grant to the Sponsor (and any division or affiliate of the Sponsor): (a) the right to use and publish their submission information; and (b) a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid-up license to display, publish, reproduce, communicate to the public, perform, distribute, adapt, edit, modify, translate, create derivative works based on, and otherwise use and sublicense, their Entry, or any portion thereof, via the Sponsor’s website, and in the Sponsor’s trade, advertising or other promotional materials in any media, without further compensation or notification to, or permission from, them or any third party. For these purposes, Scholarship Prize recipients waive all “moral rights” under any applicable law to either object to modification of their Entry or require artistic credit in conjunction with their Entry. To the extent such waivers are not permitted by applicable law, Scholarship Prize recipients agree not to enforce such moral rights against the Sponsor. Scholarship Prize recipients agree that it is their sole responsibility to obtain all permissions and releases necessary for the grant of the rights contained in this paragraph. Scholarship Prize recipients also agree to take, at the Sponsor’s expense (but without compensation to Scholarship Prize recipients), any further action (including, without limitation, execution of affidavits, licenses, and other documents) reasonably requested by the Sponsor to effect, perfect, or confirm the Sponsor’s rights set forth in these Official Rules. The Sponsor will have no obligation to publish, use or retain any Entry Scholarship Prize recipients submit or to return any such Entry to the Scholarship Prize recipients.
Scholarship Prize recipients will need to certify that they were an adult at the time they submitted their application. If a Scholarship Prize recipient was a minor at the time of application, their legal guardian will be required to agree to the terms and conditions herein on the Scholarship Prize recipient’s behalf within ten (10) days of request from the Administrator, or the entrant with the next highest score will become an alternate potential Scholarship Prize Recipient.
Non-Infringing Entry Materials: You represent and warrant that: (a) you have the right to grant the rights granted in these Official Rules or, alternatively, you have obtained all necessary rights and permissions to use and submit your Entry in connection with the Contest and to provide all the rights specified in these Official Rules; and (b) your Entry and the use of your Entry as contemplated in these Official Rules does not and will not violate, misappropriate, or infringe upon any law or regulation or the rights of any third party, including without limitation any copyright, trademark, or any rights of publicity or privacy, or any other intellectual property or other rights.
Release of Liability: The Sponsor and Administrator will not be responsible for late, lost, illegible, incomplete, damaged, or misdirected entries or for any technical or human error in administration of this Scholarship Contest and accepts no responsibility for any injury, loss, or damage of any kind resulting from an entrant’s participation in this Scholarship Contest. By entering this Scholarship Contest, you release the Sponsor and the Administrator, and of their affiliates and representatives from any liability whatsoever and waive any and all causes of action, related to any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with this Scholarship Contest or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, use of or inability to use a prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses, and damages related to personal injuries, death, and damage to or destruction of property, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), or warranty, or any other theory.
Your Personal Data: The Administrator collects, stores, and processes the personal information you submit in your scholarship submission necessary to administer this Scholarship Contest (your “Data”). When you enter this Scholarship Contest, your Data is stored and processed at the Administrator’s locations in the United States. If you are a finalist, the essay portion of your Data will be shared with the Sponsor. If you are a Scholarship Prize recipient, your Data will be shared with the Sponsor as indicated above.
The Administrator may use your contact information to confirm receipt of your application, to gather more information if there are questions regarding your application, to send you notifications regarding your status, or for communication necessary to administer this scholarship. When you send email or other communications electronically, the Administrator may retain those communications to process your inquiries, respond to your request or question, and improve its services.
Other than as provided herein, your Data will not be shared with third parties without your explicit consent.
Additional Terms and Conditions: By entering this Scholarship Contest, you certify that you have complied with and accept these Official Rules and are eligible to win, and you give your express permission to be contacted by the Sponsor and the Administrator through any email address or telephone number you provide in connection with this Scholarship Contest.
If notification to a potential Scholarship Prize recipient is returned as undeliverable, the Applicant with the next highest score may become an alternate potential Scholarship Prize Recipient.
This Scholarship Contest and these Official Rules will be governed, construed, interpreted, and enforced under the laws of the State of California. This Scholarship Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and municipal laws, and is void where prohibited. The Sponsor reserves the right to amend these Official Rules or to terminate this Scholarship Contest. Any provision of these Official Rules deemed unenforceable will be enforced to the extent permissible, and the remainder of these Official Rules will remain in effect.
For a copy of the winners’ list or these Official Rules, send a written request with a self-addressed, business-size return envelope to: Scholarships, The University Network, 99 Wall Street, #2508, New York, NY 10005.