The mission of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is to help young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. The focus in particular is on scholarships for outstanding individuals with financial need.

Awards:
This scholarship provides as much as $50,000 annually for up to six years, for exceptional students with financial need who are enrolling in graduate school within five years of completing an undergraduate degree.

Scholars may use the award for full-time attendance at any accredited graduate school in the U.S. or abroad toward any graduate or professional degree. The award provides funding for tuition, room and board, required fees and books. Approximately thirty-five awards are given each year.

Selection criteria:

• Academic achievement and intelligence.
• Unmet financial need.
• Will to succeed.
• Leadership and public service.
• Critical-thinking ability.
• Appreciation for or participation in the arts and humanities.

Eligibility:

• The applicant must be nominated by Seattle Pacific University.
• An applicant must be a SPU college senior or a recent SPU graduate (since May 2003) who has not already started graduate school.
• An applicant must have a cumulative college GPA of at least 3.5.
• The applicant must begin a full-time graduate degree program at an accredited university in fall 2008.
• Applicants must not have previously been nominated for the Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation does not discriminate on the basis or race, religion, creed, color, sex, age, physical or mental disabilities, sexual orientation, or national origin. Foundation staff, board members, and their families are not eligible to apply.

Application:

• Available November 1, these may be downloaded from the Jack Kent Cooke web site, or obtained from The Center for Scholarship and Faculty Development.

• All of the following materials (the original, plus a legible copy) must be submitted to Dr. Susan Gallagher by February 1, 2008 :

           s Nominee Information and Application Form, signed by                             applicant.

           s Financial Information Forms, signed by applicant and both                    of parents, with two copies of all requested attachments.

           s Official transcripts for all undergraduate coursework.

           s Two letters of recommendation, each in a sealed envelope                 with a signature across the seal.

           s Resume.

           s Portfolio for applicants in the arts.

• The SPU Graduate Fellowships Committee will review all applications and nominate two candidates from SPU to submit for the national competition by March 14, 2008.

• These scholarships will be extremely competitive, and applications should be initiated well before the deadline. It will take some time to gather supporting documentation, especially the financial information. Parental financial information is required, even if the applicant is independent. Applications received without parent financial information will not be considered.

The Foundation website presents a multimmedia video, What does it mean to be a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar?, from the perspective of several Scholars and a distinguished faculty representative. See link below.

Please note:

It is very important to refer to the web site listed below for specific and complete information regarding this scholarship.

Web site: http://www.jackkentcookefoundation.org