FAQs

Students who are taking a gap year after high school graduation are not eligible to apply for the Cooke College Scholarship Program. All applicants must apply during their senior year of high school. In some cases, after receiving the scholarship students may be allowed to defer funding for a year, pending approval from their college or university.

No, you do not have to attend college in the U.S., but you must attend a fully accredited four-year institution to pursue a baccalaureate degree.

To be eligible to apply to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholarship Program you must:

• Senior standing – Complete four years of high school in the U.S., a U.S territory, or on a U.S. military base and plan to graduate in spring 2025.
• Fall College Enrollment – Intend to enroll in an accredited four-year college beginning in fall 2025.
• GPA – Earn a minimum, cumulative unweighted GPA of 3.75 or above.
• Demonstrate Unmet Financial Need – We will consider applicants with family annual gross income up to $95,000. During the selection process, the Foundation will conduct a full financial review which will take into account all income and assets of the student and the student’s parents.

Yes, homeschooled students are eligible to apply.

We strongly encourage you to request your two recommendations from educators other than your parents, for example, a professor from any dual-enrollment college courses, someone who has mentored you in a tutorial, the local librarian with whom you’ve discussed books over the years, or someone in whose lab you have done research.

Yes, if you meet or exceed the other selection criteria, you are eligible to apply.

No. If you received a GED diploma, you are not eligible to apply to the Cooke College Scholarship Program.

No. You must, however, reside in the United States or a U.S. territory and attend high school in the United States. At this time, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is not providing services to students who attend high school outside of the United States.

No.

No. You must not be enrolled in a bachelor’s program at the time of application. You must be a current senior in high school planning to enroll full time in an accredited four-year institution in the fall after graduation.

You must provide information on your family’s Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) as reported on your federal tax return from the past three years. If your family did not file taxes for any reason, you must provide estimated income for each year as well as an explanation.

We receive names and addresses of students who scored highly on the PSAT or SAT from the College Board. Thus, many students receive our mailing because they did exceptionally well on their standardized tests and checked a box on their test form indicating that they would like to receive information about scholarship opportunities. The College Board does not release information regarding students’ family income. As a result, some of the students who receive our mailing do not qualify financially for the Cooke College Scholarship Program.

If you or your parents do not file federal taxes, we require you to provide estimated financial information. You must also include an explanation regarding your family’s financial circumstances.

The Cooke Foundation expects that your application responses are wholly your own. We require that the information you submit in this application (including essays, short answers, and personal statements) is truthful and written from your unique perspective. It will not help your application if you use generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) tools such as ChatGPT to tell your story, as the output tends to be generic and will not allow Cooke application reviewers to gain an understanding of who you are. However, we recognize that Gen AI is a tool, and could be useful in preparing some aspects of your application.

The Foundation asks applicants to report any AI usage in the application. You will see a place to do this in the application.

All recommendations should be submitted online through the Common App. To add a recommender, including both teachers and counselors, go to the Recommenders and FERPA section, click the Invite Recommenders button, select the type of recommender, and type in their email address and name in the appropriate fields.  A guide to the Common App for recommenders can be found here: https://www.commonapp.org/counselors-and-recommenders/recommender-guide.

The Common App system will not allow you to submit an incomplete application.

Common App will email you with confirmation that your application has been submitted. If you do not receive this email, you can log in to your application account and click the “Submit Application” tab. You should see a green check mark indicating that your application was submitted. If you are experiencing issues, contact the Common App support desk at https://www.commonapp.org/help-center or use the Chat feature while you are logged into your application.

The College Scholarship Program application is submitted using the Common App. 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 your school counselor and 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 application questions that are specific to the College Scholarship Program. These will include:

• Eligibility
• Several short essays
• Extracurricular activities and honors
• Intended major
• Financial information, including the last three years’ Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for your household

You can learn more about applying through the Common App on their website: https://www.commonapp.org/how-apply

We require two academic recommendations which will be submitted through Common App. One recommendation must be from an 11th grade teacher in a core academic subject (English/language arts, mathematics, social studies/history, science, or foreign language), and one from another teacher or professor who has worked with you in the last four years. Both of the recommenders should be well-acquainted with your performance and character, and should be able to discuss your academic progress through the class curriculum, challenges you faced, how you overcame them, and your overall academic engagement.

Yes, and your official high school transcript will be submitted by your school counselor through the Common App.

For the 2024-2025 academic year, the Cooke Foundation is test-free and does not require applicants to submit test scores for the College Scholarship Program application. The Foundation will not review any test scores whatsoever in its selection process.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation reviews each application individually with assistance from a committee of expert professionals in the field of education. The criteria used in the selection process are:

•Academic ability and achievement: Strong academic record, academic awards and honors, and substantive assessments by educators providing confidential recommendations. We also look at:
○ GPA (minimum of 3.75, unweighted)
○ participation in available advanced courses
○ commitment to learning
○ intellectual curiosity
•Unmet financial need: We will consider applicants with family annual gross income up to $95,000. Last year’s cohort of new College Scholars had a median family income of approximately $34,000.
•Persistence: Demonstrates perseverance when facing obstacles, is goal-oriented, and exhibits the ability to adapt to change.
•Leadership: Considered a positive role model, takes initiative, and contributes meaningful service efforts to a community or social issue.

In April 2023, 60 new College Scholars were selected for the Cooke College Scholarship Program, in addition to the 45 Young Scholar seniors who received the College Scholarship as well. The number of Scholars selected each year varies.

In addition to your award, as a Cooke Scholar you will have access to college planning support and personal advising throughout your college tenure, as well as the opportunity to connect with a network of highly-talented scholars and alumni through events, a mentoring program, and social media. You will also be eligible to apply for the Internship Stipend program, Conference and Travel Stipend, and Graduate Scholarship.

A portion of each scholarship award may be considered taxable by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Scholarship recipients are responsible for ascertaining tax liability for the scholarship, and for reporting the taxable portions of their scholarship as income. See publications 520 and 970 on the IRS website for details: http://www.irs.gov/

With few restrictions, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation will permit you to receive other awards. In fact, all scholars must apply for financial aid from their four-year institutions each year. Most receive other forms of aid in addition to the scholarship funds.

No. Only students who will pursue baccalaureate degree programs at accredited colleges or universities are eligible for the scholarship.

Scholarship amounts are sent directly to your school. If a stipend is included as a portion of your scholarship, the school will release the funds to you.

The scholarship will cover the undergraduate portion of dual degree programs. The graduate portion – generally the 5th year – is not funded through the Cooke College Scholarship Program.

No, accredited online four-year programs are not covered by Cooke College Scholarship Program funds.

The amount of the award varies by student, based on the cost of attendance as well as the amount of other scholarships or grants a recipient will receive. The award, which is last dollar funding after all institutional aid, can be as much as $55,000 a year. Each award may fund all or a portion of educational costs, including tuition, room and board, books, and other required fees for the period required to complete your bachelor’s degree program (lasting no more than four years).

No. The scholarship is renewable each year. At the end of each academic year, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation will review your grades, financial eligibility, conduct, progress toward degree, and cooperation with the Foundation and determine, at the Foundation’s sole discretion, whether to renew the scholarship for the next academic year. The Foundation may also, at its sole discretion, revoke a scholarship during the academic year based on a similar review.

The Cooke College Scholarship is intended to provide four years of funding for recipients. Exceptions to this would only be considered on a case-by-case basis.

During the summer before your freshman year in college, Cooke Scholars are required to participate in a Foundation-sponsored Scholars Weekend. The Cooke Foundation’s Scholars Weekend is a community-building event for all new College Scholars and Undergraduate Transfer Scholars to meet each other and learn about how the Foundation supports its Scholars. It is a three-day event, usually in early August in Northern Virginia. Attendance at Scholars Weekend is expected of all newly selected scholarship recipients, and expenses for the trip are paid for by the Cooke Foundation. Family members are not invited to attend.

In addition, the Foundation expects Cooke Scholars to communicate and work closely with their designated Foundation educational adviser. Lastly, the Foundation also expects Cooke Scholars to:

• Maintain a strong academic record (cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better) while taking an appropriately challenging course load.
• Act with honesty and personal integrity.
• Demonstrate character and leadership.
• Be concerned about and engaged in their community.
• Maintain a good disciplinary record.
• Work cooperatively with Foundation staff.
• These responsibilities are outlined in a Scholar Agreement, which each selected scholar is required to sign.

Over the summer you will receive an award letter, usually within four weeks of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation receiving your Cost of Attendance from your four-year institution.

The 2025 College Scholarship Program application will be open August 22, 2024 – November 14, 2024.

Mr. Cooke was a philanthropist, businessman, and devotee of learning and the arts who left the bulk of his estate to establish the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to help students of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education.

You can pursue a baccalaureate degree in the field of study of your choice. However, non-degree programs are not eligible.

There is no cost or fee associated with completing and submitting a Cooke Scholarship application.

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM:

• Questions about the Common App: appsupport.commonapp.org
• Questions about the program and eligibility scholarships@jkcf.org

UNDERGRADUATE TRANSFER SCHOLARSHIP:

• Questions about the Common App for Transfer: https://help.liaisonedu.com/The_Common_App_Help_Center and support@commonappfortransfer.myliaison.com.
• Questions about the program and eligibility scholarships@jkcf.org