This nationwide program awards up to 60 merit scholarships to seniors and recent graduates admitted to graduate school for the 2007-2008 school year. Scholars may use the Jack Kent Cooke to attend any accredited graduate or professional school in the US or abroad to pursue any graduate or professional degree, in virtually any field. The scholarships cover tuition, living expenses, books, and other required fees for the length of the graduate degree program, up to six years.
ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible, you must have a GPA of at least 3.5 and by April 30, you must have been admitted to a qualified graduate program. International students are eligible.
SELECTION CRITERIA: The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation identifies six criteria for selection of scholars. The first two are of primary importance; the last four secondary:
| • Academic ability and achievement |
| • Unmet financial need |
| • Will to succeed |
| • Leadership and public service |
| • Critical-thinking ability |
| • Appreciation for or participation in the arts and humanities |
Please note that Cooke nominees are required to submit financial information for both themselves and their parents. Because of this, applicants who did not receive some need-based financial grants while at Bryn Mawr are unlikely to be nominated.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE: The internal application is due in the Dean’s Office by noon on Click Here for Deadline:
| • A current, comprehensive resumé, including employment, activities and honors. This need not be limited to one page. |
| • A 1-page single-spaced description of your plans for graduate study and ultimate career goals, as well as how these relate to your undergraduate studies. |
| • Narrative of your personal, educational, and philosophical development (2 pages single-spaced max). Be sure to include information regarding any obstacles you have overcome in reaching your current position. |
| • List of all graduate programs to which you have applied and your current admissions status, as well as any other fellowships or grants you have applied for or received. Specify the degree sought. |
| • Two letters of recommendation, at least one of which should be from a professor. For the internal stage, these letters may be copies of the letters used for graduate school. |
| • A copy of your senior year financial aid award letter. |
The Committee on Fellowships and Prizes will review submitted applications and will choose two nominees.
EXTERNAL APPLICATION: Due to Dean Mancini by noon on Click Here for Deadline:
The Cooke application consists of a lengthy Nomination Information and Application
Form, downloadable from the Cooke website. In addition to a 2-page, single-spaced
narrative autobiography, the application requires a great deal of financial
information, along with short essays addressing a number of topics of general
interest (e.g., whether countries should require all citizens to complete a
term of military service). You will also need to ask your recommenders for
official Jack Kent Cooke recommendation letters.