How does the Cooke Foundation determine unmet financial need?

The Cooke Foundation considers academic excellence first in evaluating candidates. However, to be competitive, applicants must also show unmet financial need, which has two components:

• Education costs that are appreciably greater than the total amount of other scholarships or grant awards.
• Insufficient student and family income to meet educational costs.

Factors relevant to this determination include:

• One indicator that candidates have financial need is that they were eligible for need-based aid while attending a two-year college.
• Non-U.S. citizens may be eligible for the foundation’s scholarships if they demonstrate unmet financial need, regardless of their eligibility for other types of federal and institutional financial aid.