Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship Meeting

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Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship
Meeting December 13, 2006
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Video Segment on What it means to be a Jack Kent
Cooke Scholar
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The Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship was developed due
to the generosity of Jack Kent Cooke, a
businessman who made millions, if not billions,
during his career, but gave his fortune upon his
passing in 1997 to establish the JKC scholarships
to help students with financial need achieve
their dreams in college. His dreams of pursuing
higher education were cut short when he left high
school during the Depression to work full-time to
support his family.
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Became a wealthy businessman, including owning
newspapers, television stations, the Chrysler
Building in NYC, the LA Lakers, the LA Kings, and
the Washington Redskins. Believed education was
a lifelong pursuit Knowledgeable in music, art,
literature, sports, architecture
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Jack Kent Cooke Foundation mission To help young
people of exceptional promise to reach their full
potential through education.
Approximately 1,200 people apply every year, with
around 30 awards yearly, of up to 50,000 per
year for up to 6 years. Awards are given to
graduating or recently-graduated seniors who will
be accepted to graduate or professional programs
upon leaving their undergraduate institution.
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• Awards cover
• Tuition
• Living expenses
• Required fees
• Books

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• General Criteria for Jack Kent Cook Scholarships
• Exceptional Promise
• Application
• Deportment
• Character
• Financial Need
• Demonstrated excellence in academic endeavors
• Demonstrated excellence in extracurricular
  activities

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• Specific Criteria for Jack Kent Cook Scholarships
• Nominated by WJ
• Senior or recent graduate
• Cumulative GPA of 3.50 or better (awardees
  generally closer to 3.80)
• Will begin first grad degree program in Fall 2007
• Have not previously been nominated
• Apply for federal and institutional financial aid

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Selection Criteria
Academic Achievement You must be an exceptional
student, having taken difficult courses,
performed well, improved with time, been awarded
for your academic work, and are a student that is
likely to contribute substantially to your field
of interest. You also must be able to explain why
you are choosing the schools that you are
choosing.
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Selection Criteria
Leadership Public Service In addition to
academic performance, you must have showed
leadership on campus or academically,
responsibility in your activities, and the
ability to motivate groups of people to achieve
goals. This includes doing volunteer work, unpaid
internships, or having been elected as a leader
on campus. This needs to be well beyond resume
fluff. How does it relate to your career plans?
How has experience influenced you?
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Selection Criteria
Critical Thinking Ability You must show
excellent and sensible reasoning skills on your
application essays. There cannot be mistakes in
your writing (grammar, logic, spelling). You will
be eliminated on this criteria if you are
equivalent to other candidates.
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Selection Criteria
Interest in the Arts and Humanities You need to
show a clear interest and appreciation for music,
art, and/or literature. This can appear on your
transcript, or through your activities on campus.
Either way, you will also need to clearly write
about this in your essays. Watching movies on the
weekend is not interest in the arts
humanities.
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Selection Criteria
Financial Need You need to have a low personal
and family income, and few assets. Overall, you
need to show a severe financial need. If you
receive a substantial scholarship award from a
graduate school, you will likely not be a good
candidate for this scholarship. If you received
substantial financial aid in college, you are
likely a good candidate.
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Selection Criteria
Financial Need Financial records for yourself
and both of your parents are expected, including
tax forms and a detailing of all income, expenses
and assets. If you received need-based
financial aid in college, you might be a good
candidate financially. If you had financial
support during your life from your parents, but
you dont now, you are not the best candidate.
JKC believes that financial support during any
part of your life (a parental parachute) has
given you an advantage that lower income people
have never had during their lives.
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Selection Criteria
Financial Need You can write a 1-page
explanation to ask for an exception to the
financial guidelines, but they will be very
strict about their beliefs about awarding people
who do not and have never had financial support.
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Selection Criteria
Recommendation Letters You will be asked for 2
recommendation letters, and ONLY 2 letters. These
letters must describe in detail your academic
ability, leadership, etc. These letters should be
written only by those with a strong personal
knowledge of your abilities.
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Selection Criteria
Will to Succeed You must have experiences that
you can describe that demonstrate determination
and perseverance in the face of challenges,
assumption of significant responsibilities while
you were a student, etc.
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Our last winner at WJ Kristin Ondecko 2003
Biology, Spanish, Pre-Health http//www.jackkentc
ooke.org/jkcf_web/content_printable.aspx?pageScho
larBioentity6922 Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta
Kappa, Deans List, Alpha Scholar, Academic
Scholarships and Awards, President of service
fraternity, ER/Hospital volunteer, photography,
athletics, travel, language, tutor, desire to
research ways to provide medical services to
underserved rural America, research projects,
summer camp leadership roles, worked in hospitals
in Mexico, involved in campus events including
charity events, American Chemical Society
elementary school program to introduce children
to science, parents are a teacher and retired
coal miner, exceptional writing ability on
essays http//www.washjeff.edu/content.aspx?secti
on2210menu_id517crumb518id466page_title20
0320Press20Releases
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Application Process
November 1, 2006 Information application
materials available at http//www.jackkentcooke.
org Most application materials can be downloaded
and completed in Microsoft Word. Do NOT change
the form! Use the fonts and sizes described.
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Application

• Application includes
• Application Form
• Financial Information Form, including Parents
• Financial Attachments (2005 tax forms!)
• Resume (2 pages maximum)
• Portfolio for arts candidates
• Official transcripts for all undergrad work
  (including F06)
• Two Letters of Recommendation (incl form)
• Acceptance Financial Aid Letters from all
  Graduate Schools (April)

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Application

• Application Form includes
• Name, rank, serial number
• Proposed graduate studies
• Have you been convicted of a crime other than
  traffic violations?
• Have you been involved in conduct that is
  criminal?
• Have you been fired from a job for wrong doing?
• Education (schools / degrees expected)
• Academic honors

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Application

• Application Form includes
• Paid employment
• Unpaid internships, volunteer work, community
  work
• 500 word essay on grad/prof degree area of
  interest
• 300 word essay on why you chose your grad schools
• 300 word essay on career plans
• 300 word essay on time pressure situation
• 300 word essay on what motivates you

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Application

• Application Form includes
• 300 word essay on participation or appreciation
  for the arts (specifics!)
• 800 word essay on gender imbalance in undergrad
  admissions (fewer men apply are thus more
  valued) or magazine cover story in 2020
• 1800 word narrative autobiography (leadership
  roles, family, educational, philosophical, or
  life experiences, professional or civic
  activities)

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Application Process
February 12, 2007 Internal review of all
applicants from WJ. ALL parts of application
must be completed and turned in to Dr. Klitz.
This includes the application form, financial aid
form tax forms for you and your parents, a
resume or vita, official transcripts from all of
your undergrad schools, and sealed copies of 2
recommendation letters. A small committee of WJ
faculty and staff will review applicants and
select ONLY 1 or 2 applicants as WJs candidates
for the JKC Scholarship.
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Application Process
March 15, 2007 WJ can nominate ONLY 1 or 2
applicants who are exceptional and meet all JKC
criteria. The Internal review committee will help
the applicant(s) refine their applications once
selected. Complete applications are due in Iowa
BY March 15 Ill ask for them earlier (sent by
Dr. Klitz)
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Application Process
April 15, 2007 Decisions and financial awards
from all graduate schools must be turned in to
the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to be part of the
review. You must be accepted to graduate school
or professional school, or waiting to hear with a
likelihood of being admitted, to be eligible, and
all financial awards from admission are part of
the decision process.
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Apply!!! Start working on these applications
NOW! No exceptions to deadlines!!! Your faculty
members, advisors, etc. are here to HELP you
you must ASK if you are going to create a good
application!!!!!