Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Full-Ride Scholarship

Applying to scholarships are the most important part of the college application process and help you to ensure that you don’t have to take out copious amounts of student loans. The scholarships tab on our site will cover full-ride and other scholarships that have good reputations and that our friends and colleagues have won or applied to.

This specific scholarship awards up to $40,000 per year over four years (renewable each year) to cover the cost of tuition, living expenses, books, and fees. It’s aimed towards high-achieving high school seniors with financial need and who wish to attend top universities around the country. Unlike many other scholarships, awardees can be pursuing any major or field of study and they will also receive personal advising through the program. In 2019, there were 121 recipients of the scholarship nationally.

To apply you will need the following:

• High School Grades (Transcript) (Typically 3.5 GPA unweighted and above)
• Standardized Test Scores (ACT/SAT) (Typically 26 / 1200 and above)
• Participation in Advanced Courses if Offered
• Short and Long Essays
• 2 Letters of Recommendation (at least one from core Academic subject in 11th grade)
• Demonstrated Financial Need

Applications typically open in August and close in November of each year so be sure to have your documentation and start drafting your essays once you get back to school! The recommendations and transcripts are submitted via Common App in the same way you would be sending them to colleges.

The scholarship is renewable each year of Undergrad. At the end of each academic year, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation reviews grades, financial eligibility, progress towards degree and other factors to determine to renew the scholarship for the next academic year. It is important that you maintain good grades and make good academic process. This typically means no disciplinary action and satisfactory academic progress (3.0 GPA), but I would encourage you to reach out for more specific details.

It would be a good idea to check out the “Resources for High Schoolers” tab on their site. This includes helpful advice such as the importance of demonstrated interest, financial aid and more. The site also does have a blog which is very helpful in providing advice on the application process.