Red Rocks Community College
News Release

More information:
Contact: Emily Froimson
November 3, 2008
Director, Higher Education Programs
Office: 703-723-8000, ext. 230
efroimson@jkcf.org

Largest Scholarship for Community College Students and Recent Alumni Offered

LANSDOWNE, VA – The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has opened the nominations process for the largest scholarships available to students and recent alumni from community colleges. Through the initiative, called the Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program, the private foundation will award up to $30,000 annually per recipient to help students and recent alumni from community and two-year institutions pursue four-year degrees at any accredited college or university in the United States and abroad. Last year, the Foundation received over 600 nominations for these awards.

While 45 percent of all college students in the US attend community colleges, few private funds are available to help top community college students transfer to four-year institutions, in spite of their high levels of ability and need. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarships can provide funding for tuition, room and board, required fees, and books for the length of the undergraduate degree, generally two years. Each award can total up to $30,000 annually, though the amounts will vary based on such factors as the cost of the institution each recipient attends.

The Foundation plans to award approximately 50 scholarships through this program in spring, 2009. It will renew awards each year based upon student performance. Current students are eligible, as are alumni who earned a degree from a community or two-year institution since spring 2004 and have not since transferred to a four-year college. The application deadline is January 20, 2009. All candidates for the scholarship must be nominated by the faculty representative at their community or two-year institution. The deadline for nominations is January 26, 2009. The list of faculty representatives and application materials are available on the Foundation’s website, www.jkcf.org.

About the Foundation

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation dedicated to helping young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. Established in 2000 by the estate of self-made billionaire Jack Kent Cooke, the Foundation focuses on high-achieving lower-income students from middle school through graduate school. Headquartered in northern Virginia, the Foundation has helped thousands of students nationally since opening its doors through individualized direct service programs, generous scholarships, and grants to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. With an endowment of $700 million, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is one of the 100 largest private foundations in the US. For more information please visit www.jkcf.org.

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