Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship

Mercer University Faculty Advisors: Sarah Gardner

General Information

Jack Kent Cooke began his working life as an encyclopedia salesman and went on to build a media empire and become co-owner of the Chrysler Building in New York City, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Washington Redskins, racehorses, and an extensive collection of fine art. Although he left high school during the depression to work full-time to support his family, he respected learning immensely and became well-versed in fields as diverse as literature, politics, music, sports, and architecture.

The award provides funding for tuition, living expenses, required fees, and books. Scholarship amounts and length vary by student, depending on the cost of attendance, other scholarships or grants received, and the time needed to complete the graduate degree. The maximum award available per student is $50,000 per year, and the maximum length is six years. Scholars may use the award to attend any accredited graduate school in the US or abroad in pursuit of a graduate degree or professional degree, including medicine, law, or business. The Foundation renews awards annually, provided the Jack Kent Cooke Scholar has maintained high academic performance, exhibited good conduct, made significant progress toward a degree, and complied with Foundation requirements and requests.

Mission

To help young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education.  The focus is on scholarships for outstanding individuals with financial need.

Eligibility

To be eligible to compete in the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship Program, a candidate must:

• Be a college senior or recent graduate (since May 2002) from an accredited college or university in the US,

• Have a cumulative college grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent),

• Begin a full-time graduate degree program at an accredited university in the fall of 2007, and

• Be nominated by his or her undergraduate institution.

Nomination Procedures

Each college or university appoints a faculty representative to lead the nomination process and to serve as liaison between the institution and the Foundation.

Appointed faculty representatives

• Publicize the scholarship program on campus and among recent graduates,

• Identify candidates,

• Lead the internal selection process,

• Nominate up to two (2) applicants, and

• Submit the application materials for each nominee directly to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship Program for receipt by the spring deadline.

Selection Criteria

With the assistance of a panel of national experts, the Foundation will select Scholars using these criteria:

To ensure a fair and objective review process, the Foundation does not comment on the review panel's deliberations. The Foundation also does not comment on applications submitted or reconsider applications after making award decisions. All applications and supporting materials become the property of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and, as such, will not be returned. By submitting an application, the applicant accepts the conditions stated in this document, the Graduate Scholarship Program Guidelines.

Requirements

Selected scholars agree to comply with Foundation requirements and requests for the duration of the scholarship. The Foundation reserves the right to revoke a scholarship if a Scholar does not fulfill the terms and conditions detailed in the letter of agreement signed upon accepting the award.

Application Instructions

The Foundation mails application materials to faculty representatives in November.  The Foundation makes available, on its website, forms that can be completed using Microsoft® Word.

Deadline

Nov 1        Contact Cooke faculty representative; complete GRE; apply to graduate schools; check eligibility requirements and procedures on Cooke web site. Note the need-based nature of the scholarship and financial disclosure forms. Review profiles of past recipients on Cooke web site.

Nov 30      Schedule an appointment with Cooke faculty representative. Bring resume with you.

Dec 15     Notify faculty representative of intent to apply. Committee will review pool of applicants and notify students who should proceed with nomination process.

Jan 10         Draft application due from selected nominees

Feb 10   Letters of recommendation due from professors

March 1     Final application package completed. Final deadline: Late April  

Source: Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Web site

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