If someone knows how I can attach something here so I can attach the e-mail the foundation sent me.
However, I also called yesterday and the rep. told me she had no clue about how many semi-finalist were selected and this e-mail I received today tells me 150 semi-finalist. Very clueless especially hearing one story and another.
If anyone knows any further information keep us posted!!!
What I wrote on Monday was…
Dear Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship,
I was wondering as a semi-finalist for the JCK Undergraduate Scholarship. I could know how many semi-finalist were selected.
This is what the e-mail said,
Thank you for contacting the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
Currently at this time we have 150 semifinalist at this time, we do end up choosing around 60 students for the scholarship.
Now I feel like I sound like I was bragging :-S my life has changed so much in the last couple of years with all this stuff and it’s just because people encouraged me. I don’t think it’s better to have honors/non profit work or anything. Everyone is unique and has a unique experience and none are more valuable than any other. Everyone who is a semifinalist must be incredible already and it’s more the dream, persistence and openness to opportunity that’s important. People run into different opportunities so we really can’t compare ourselves.
I was just nervous because I’m sure you’re all incredible so I started rattling off, I’m sorry guys.
No need to apologize @anythinghere there’s nothing wrong with a little bragging or shameless self promotion. I just wish I had been that productive at that age, or any age before the last couple of years for that matter. I’m here because I’m poor, I’m trying to make up for being an idiot, and I’ve got a good editor (sister) who looks over all my essays.
@forestryguy I think that’s great. That’s what the jack kent cooke scholarship is about. I would have gone down a very different road without key people in my life because I dropped out of high school and was around a lot of bad influences. Not everyone has the same support system or life experiences. I think JKC is looking at potential and trying to help low income people really have an opportunity to actualize that potential. I wish the absolute best for you no matter what happens, and for everyone else too!
@mifit I think the foundation is getting confused with their various scholarship programs. They choose 60 young scholars. So maybe that’s what they are referring to. So strange.
@astrojess YES it could be as well even thou I clearly explain JCK Undergraduate Scholarship. But, what I know the young scholars scholarship is still going on for about two more weeks. Like you mention they could have gotten confused
@mifit I also think it is for the college scholarship because you identified yourself on the email as undergraduate applicant. They might have given you a different answer if you wrote undergraduate transfer applicant. Anyways, I was looking at the high school applicants’ thread and it looks like they still didn’t announce winners for them too. If the high school applicants were told march and are still waiting, I wonder how long the transfers have to wait.
To all those who has registered to transfer to an ivy league university… what would you say your chances are in getting in? I really fell I am inadequate enough to get in, but would register just for the hell of it.
I think that everyone will continue to get different answers. I don’t think they have the liberty to share any information regarding how many semifinalists they chose or who is in or out the selection process. So, I advise everyone to relax. Also, I heard about people getting positive results on days as far as April 29th, so yeah, relax. We don’t have a clue how long we will have to wait!!
When it comes to honors, positions and organizations, all I can say is that from what I know, these people are not just looking for how many organizations you created, or how many leadership positions you held, but how you integrate that into your personal life. That is why they ask you for the essays. So, as many of you have said, there is no an exact formula to get the scholarship. I’m sure we will see a lot of diversity among the winners. Until then, let’s just hope we are among them!!!
Moreover, the semester is coming to an end; I strongly suggest you to focus on your final papers and tests! That is the most productive way to spend this incoming weeks !
Is everyone waiting for the finalist announcements to choose schools or is anyone going to just go ahead and accept one? I’m accepted to all three of the schools I applied for but I pretty much know which one I want to go to and I have my class schedule all figured out. Should I just go for it, or wait? I really don’t want to miss out on the classes I need because they filled up while I was waiting for the announcement.
@astrojess I’ve totally been lurking too… I briefly considered contacting the foundation and asking if I could change my short answer about “when curiosity lead somewhere you didn’t expect” to involve googling “Jack Kent Cooke Semifinalist” and consequently stumbling upon this thread and down a rabbit down of self doubt based on third-party conjecture. Actually, it could make a nice satirical piece a la The Onion. Anyway, thanks to @nekozuki for suggesting intros and helping us move beyond the rabid speculation of what various emails and phone calls might mean…
I’m 31, from Massachusetts. Took about 8 years off after high school before attending college and graduated with honors in 2013 with my Associates in Liberal Arts. Hoping to study Theology & Catechetics with a concentration in Youth Ministry at Franciscan University. It’s a Catholic liberal arts school in Steubenville, OH. I’ve been working full-time (in development & fundraising) for about 2 1/2 years and applied to school on a whim after a torturous day in the office. My advisor during my time at community college always mentioned I’d be a good candidate for JCK so, even though it seemed like a shot in the dark, I applied.
Honestly, if I don’t get this scholarship, I’ll probably postpone school yet again and travel or do more full-time volunteering. I lived in Australia for two years doing missionary work & Spain for a summer as an au pair and have a mile long list of where I’d like to go next.
I have been lurking on this thread since finding it this week; however, I, too, am a semi-finalist.
I attend school in the Midwest, am 20, and am in my last year of my Associates. Despite my age, my path to college has been a bit non-traditional, and has included multiple disruptions. Specifically, due to some signifcant losses, I have been homeless on and off for quite a few years and, while I have stability now, not winning might very well mean that I will have to go back to attending school without housing. More positively, I focus on queer advocacy throughout all aspects of my life: in my academics, research, ECs, and leadership roles. I have done anything from working on grassroots cause campaigns to on the street direct action, and I really do love that work. Ultimately, I want to go on to graduate school so that I can teach, research, and work with NGOs/policy orgs/other advocacy orgs.
GPA-wise, I am a marginal candidate and my adviser warned that she has heard that candidates in my GPA range have only won once in the past five or six years, but that might not be accurate (so don’t freak out, please!). Because of that, I am not expecting to win, and, though of course winning it would be immensely meaningful, life-changing, and a huge relief, I think I am at peace with that. I know I can find a way through it regardless - I have many times before. Quite honestly, I am surprised and honored to have made it to this round; I was not expecting it at all. That being said, my school has multiple semi-finalists, some with less options than me, so I have my fingers crossed that the committee thinks kindly upon our applicant pool!
It seems as if all you all have done some really amazing work; it’s been cool to read through it all.
By the way, I called the JKCF and they said that applicants will be notified directly this year. I have no idea if that is true, but that will be a difference.
@yor1001 Is it for the 2016-17 cycle? If so, the application deadlines have passed for almost all the schools at this time. On the other hand, if you are considering to apply next fall for 2017-2018, as long as you have a good GPA which is the number 1 criteria for consideration and good test scores backed by ECs, your chances are as good as any competitive applicant. To stand out from the rest of the pool though, you have to have a really compelling personal statement. Just remember that there is no GPA cutoff or things you have to do to be accepted.
I don’t know about you, but I think they chose more than 150 applications because for what I seen in this chat, there are people with all kinds of qualifications. I don’t know what seem to be leading factor helping them to choose the semifinalists, but I think that everyone in this round have the same chances to be choose. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such diversity among the semifinalists candidates. The only think I would like to know is what day they will start notifying applicants and how they will do it.
@pearsonx I think what we have figured out is that the 150 number likely referred to their undergraduate, not undergraduate transfer, scholarship, which means that the initially quoted 300-400 number was closer to the truth (which makes sense mathematically). The support specialists claim that they are not given an exact date - only that it will be in mid-April.
It is difficult to speak of “chances” with a competition like this, because it is so qualitative. Right now, we know that around 28% of semifinalists will be selected for a scholarship, but there is no additional way to assess which of our applications are higher on the committee’s list. At this point, we have all communicated what we can to them, and it will be what it will be.
Thinking back to the financial form, as an aside, I asked my director about it, as our school has had previous winners, and she said that some of our successful applicants were never sent that form, while others were. Thus, the only thing we can say from that that is, at minimum, those of us who received the form were still under consideration as of 12:00 PM EST on Tuesday, but that might have changed by now and it doesn’t mean that someone who did not receive it isn’t.
There was such a small chance of winning going into this. I think making it this far truly is an accomplishment in and of itself, and I am sure we will all do what we can with what we have.