How to Apply

The Cooke Young Scholars Program is a selective five-year, pre-college scholarship for exceptionally promising 7th grade students with financial need. Educational Advisers help Cooke Young Scholars maximize the high school experience and prepare to thrive at the nation’s top-performing colleges. Our programming and support includes:

• Identifying an appropriately rigorous high school.
• Engaging in four-year planning and goal-setting.
• Funding for academic and extracurricular opportunities, such as music and art lessons; supplemental academic classes; and technology.
• Annual summer programs, including two required Cooke Young Scholar events.
• Year-round interaction and networking with a community of high-achieving peers.

Cooke Scholars come from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and from rural, suburban, and urban communities. Many Scholars are the first in their families to pursue higher education.

To be considered for the Young Scholars Program, the applicant must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Grade level: Currently in 7th grade and/or entering 8th grade in the fall of 2025.
• Academics: Since the beginning of the 6th grade, have earned grades of all or mostly As, with no Cs or below in core academic subjects (English/language arts, math, science, social studies/history).
• Financial Need: Demonstrate unmet financial need. Applicants with a family adjusted gross income (AGI) up to $95,000 are eligible to apply. 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. The median family adjusted gross income of last year’s entering cohort of Cooke Young Scholars was approximately $36,800.
• Location: Currently attending middle school in the U.S. and planning to attend high school in the U.S.

The application for the Cooke Young Scholars Program is currently open. It will close on April 30, 2025.

If you have any questions regarding your application, please email us at scholarships@jkcf.org.