The Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship for Undergraduate Transfer is a highly selective scholarship for the nation’s top community college students seeking to complete their bachelor’s degrees at four-year colleges or universities. Each Cooke Scholar has access to generous financial support for two to three years, college planning support, ongoing advising, and the opportunity to connect with the thriving community of fellow scholars.

Benefits:

Each Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship is intended to cover a significant share of the student’s educational expenses – including tuition, living expenses, books, and required fees – for the final two to three years necessary to achieve a bachelor’s degree. Awards vary by individual, based on the cost of tuition as well as other grants or scholarships they may receive. This highly competitive scholarship includes:

• Up to $40,000 per year to attend a four-year accredited undergraduate school.
• Ability to pursue any area of study.
• Personal advising about selecting a college and navigating financial aid.
• Multifaceted advising about how to transition to a four-year college and maximize the student experience.

Eligibility

Cooke Scholars possess exceptional academic records and demonstrate unmet financial need. At a minimum, each candidate for the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship must:

• Be a current student at an accredited U.S. community college or two-year institution with sophomore status as of January 1, 2019, or a recent graduate (since spring 2014)
• Similarly, Plan to enroll in a full-time baccalaureate program at an accredited college or university in the fall of 2019
• Likewise, Have a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent)
• Further, Demonstrate unmet financial need. We will consider applicants with family income up to $95,000. Last year’s cohort of new Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship recipients had a median family income of approximately $32,000
• Also, No previous enrollment or attendance at a four-year institution. Students who have attended a four-year institution in the past are not eligible for this scholarship.

Please Note: Students who have attended a four-year institution in the past are not eligible for this scholarship. (If you started at a four-year institution, but did not complete a semester of full-time study, then you may be eligible. Please contact us to verify your eligibility.) Students who have already transferred to a four-year institution or plan to transfer to start during the spring 2018 semester are also not eligible for this scholarship.

Also, U.S. citizenship is not required. Candidates, however, must have attended an accredited two-year institution in the United States.

Application Process:

This year, the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship application will be submitted using the Common App for Transfer. You will complete the Common App general requirements, which include things like your contact information, the school you attend and your grades, and your activities and honors. You will also invite two teachers to submit recommendations through the Common App. Once you have created a Common App, add the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation as one of your “schools” to access the requirements that are specific to the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. These will include:

• Eligibility questions
• Likewise, Several short essays
• Further, Your college plans and intended major
• Also, Financial information, including the last three years’ Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for your household and, if you are under age 25, for your parent(s)/guardian(s)

You can learn more about applying through the Common App.