Application Period Begins for Nation's Largest Undergraduate Scholarship for High-Achieving, Low-Income High School Students

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Sep 14, 2015, 12:19 ET

LANSDOWNE, Va., Sept. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation invites applications for its College Scholarship Program, the largest undergraduate scholarship in the country. Students selected as Cooke Scholars will be awarded as much as $40,000 each year for four years for tuition, living expenses, books, and other required fees. Cooke scholarships are available to high-achieving high school seniors with financial need who seek to attend the nation's best four-year colleges and universities.

"There are thousands of students with financial need who are among the nation's highest achievers," explained Executive Director Harold O. Levy. "They are the academic superstars who, if given the chance to reach their full potential, could become the next generation of leaders and innovators."

The program, which boasts a network of 2,000 extraordinary scholars and alumni, also connects students to opportunities they might not otherwise have, such as internships, studying abroad, and funding of up to $50,000 per year for graduate study.

"We want to not only support them financially, but to raise their profiles, provide them with a community of fellow scholars, and offer support and advising to make sure they attend the highly selective institutions that match their talents," Levy said.

Recipients will be chosen based on exceptional academic ability and achievement, unmet financial need, persistence, desire to help others, and leadership. Applications require students to provide their academic transcripts, standardized test scores, teacher recommendations, self-assessments, and essays.

The application period will close on November 3, 2015. Final notification to accepted students will be made in March 2016. For information about the College Scholarship Program, visit http://www.jkcf.org/scholarships/college-scholarship-program/.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. By offering the largest scholarships in the country, comprehensive counseling and other support services to students from 7th grade to graduate school, the Foundation is dedicated to ensuring high-performing, low-income students have the support necessary to develop their talents and excel educationally. In addition to its scholarship programs, the Foundation provides grants for innovative, high-impact initiatives that benefit such students. By doing so, the Cooke Foundation seeks to use its resources to end the Excellence Gap, the disparity between the number of low and high income students who reach the top levels of academic performance. Founded in 2000, the Foundation has awarded $147 million in scholarships to nearly 2,000 students and over $88 million in grants. www.jkcf.org

SOURCE Jack Kent Cooke Foundation