LANSDOWNE, Va., Jan. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The application period opened today for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Young Scholars Program. Outstanding 7th grade students with financial need can apply for the program, which provides many benefits and can lead to the Cooke Foundation's prestigious college scholarship.
Students selected as Cooke Young Scholars get individualized counseling to set academic goals, guidance on applying to colleges, and funding for summer educational programs, study abroad, internships and school expenses.
"The Cooke Foundation's Young Scholars Program is life-changing," Cooke Foundation Executive Director Harold O. Levy said. "It gives some of the brightest low-income students in our nation outstanding educational opportunities they couldn't otherwise afford. On top of that, 96 percent of our Young Scholars have gone on to receive Cooke College Scholarships worth up to $40,000 a year, and many have received Cooke Continuing Graduate Scholarships worth up to $50,000 a year for four years."
The Young Scholars Program – the most generous pre-college scholarship and educational support program of its kind in the United States – will continue taking applications until April 14. Detailed information on the program, including instructions on how to apply and a video featuring scholars, can be found here.
Up to 70 students will be selected to begin the Young Scholars Program when they start 8th grade in September. Young Scholars must have earned grades of mostly As in school since 6th grade, with no grades of C in English, math, science or social studies. They must live and attend high school in the United States or a U.S. territory.
In the past three years the average annual family income of Young Scholars was $30,000. Almost all Young Scholars have come from families with annual incomes below $60,000. Scholarships are awarded without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or citizenship status.
"Our Young Scholars have attended some of the most selective public and private high schools in the country, traveled the world to explore academic and extracurricular interests, held summer internships that taught them valuable skills, and taken college classes and other enrichment courses," Levy said. "Our scholarships unlock the door to educational opportunity based on true merit for students with financial need."
The Cooke Foundation has awarded hundreds of scholarships through the Young Scholars Program since it began in 2001 and many scholarship recipients have gone on to graduate from America's most selective colleges and universities as Cooke College Scholars.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. It offers the largest scholarships in the U.S., comprehensive counseling and other support services to students from 8th grade to graduate school. Since 2000 it has awarded about $147 million in scholarships to more than 2,000 students and over $88 million in grants to organizations that serve high-achieving, low-income students. www.jkcf.org
Media Contact: David Egner
202-779-1743
[email protected]
Video - https://youtu.be/CDO5CXbcDRQ
SOURCE Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
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