Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Awards Scholarships to 75 Community College Students to Attend Four-Year Colleges

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Jun 21, 2016, 04:42 ET

LANSDOWNE, Va., June 21, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation today announced it has awarded Undergraduate Transfer Scholarships – each worth up to $40,000 annually – to 75 outstanding community college students with financial need from 21 states who are transferring to four-year colleges.

A list of the scholars by state – including the community colleges they attended – can be found here.

Four of the top students from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) are recent recipients of the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, the largest scholarship for community college students in the nation. We decided to surprise Derrick, Manisha, Nooshin, and Shahrozia with the news in person.

The Cooke Foundation received more than 2,300 qualified applications for this year's Undergraduate Transfer Scholarships from 48 states and the District of Columbia.

The new Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholars have strong records of achievement as shown by grades, leadership skills, awards, extraordinary service to others and perseverance in the face of adversity. They have an average GPA of 3.9 (on a 4.0 scale) and the average income index last year was $27,585.

"Many elite colleges and universities are reluctant to admit large numbers of transfer students from community colleges, even when these students have excellent grades and other qualifications," said Cooke Foundation Executive Director Harold O. Levy. "This is unfair and unwise. The Cooke Foundation's Undergraduate Transfer Scholars have a long record of success at the most selective colleges and graduate schools, such as the Ivy League in the United States and the University of Oxford in Great Britain. These extraordinary young people have proven repeatedly and conclusively that top community college students have the ability to thrive in top four-year colleges. They deserve equal educational opportunity."

The Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is the largest private scholarship in the nation for students transferring from two-year community colleges to four-year institutions that award bachelor's degrees. According to the American Association of Community Colleges, 45 percent of the undergraduate students in the United States were attending community colleges in 2014.

Cooke Scholarships fund the costs of attending college not covered by other financial aid, plus academic advising, stipends for internships, study abroad, and opportunities to network with other Cooke Scholars and alumni. In addition, after earning a bachelor's degree, each Cooke Scholar will be eligible to apply for a scholarship for graduate school worth up to $50,000 a year for up to four years.

Since 2000, the Cooke Foundation has awarded approximately $147 million in scholarships to more than 2,000 students and $90 million in grants to organizations that serve outstanding low-income students.

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 $90 million in grants to organizations that serve outstanding low-income students. www.jkcf.org

Media Contact: David Egner
202-779-1743
[email protected]

Video - https://youtu.be/3BVLNA-yVOY

SOURCE Jack Kent Cooke Foundation