Scholars in the Headlines & Successful Transfers

Posted October 11, 2019 | By Cooke Foundation Staff

10 students stand together outside, each wearing a t-shirt from a different college or university.

October 11, 2019 – Here’s what we’re reading this week about the issues affecting high-achieving students. Cooke Scholars and scholarship programs are featured in several outlets, including The New York Times. Read about how community college students balance multiple obligations and perform strongly when they transfer to four-year institutions.

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High-achieving high school seniors can now apply for the Cooke College Scholarship Program, and the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is accepting applications from community college students preparing to transfer to a four-year institution. Both programs provide up to $40,000 per year, as well as comprehensive educational advising and access to the thriving Cooke Scholar community.

 

Elementary & Secondary Education:

  • “More and more young people in our nation’s rural communities look at their hometowns and realize those places simply can’t support their dreams,” writes Rick Dalton for the New England Board of Higher Education. Dalton describes how foundations, corporations, and individuals can provide financial and in-kind support to rural schools.
  • Public education programs for high-potential students must balance egalitarianism and individualism, writes Andy Smarick in The Atlantic. The article includes a brief mention of the Cooke Young Scholars Program.

 

Higher Education:

  • A new study finds that “over two-thirds of community college students work while enrolled in school,” reports Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. “Additionally, 70 percent of community college students hold a job unrelated to their field of study. As a result, working while attending school is based on financial need rather than earning career experiences.”
  • “Legal and medical specialists as well as mental-health advocacy groups say that Stanford’s new leave policies, which will take effect on January 4, are a model of student-centered, compassionate, detailed, and transparent practices,” states The Chronicle of Higher Education.

 

Student Voices:

  • The Fourth Estate features an overview of the George Mason University’s Early Identification Program (EIP), which provides educational resources for middle and high school students who will be first generation college students. EIP was recently awarded a $100,000 grant from the Foundation.
  • Liam O’Connor analyzes Ivy League varsity team rosters and criticizes athletic recruitment in The Daily Princetonian.

 

Cooke Foundation Highlights:

  • Cooke Scholars and other highly-motivated community college students are a valuable transfer pool for selective colleges and universities. The New York Times highlights the achievements of Cooke Scholar Lara Meintjes, who recently began her first semester at Williams College, and shares findings from the Foundations’s recent “Persistence” research.
  • Additional insights from Cooke Scholar Lara Meintjes are in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society‘s blog. Lara shares three tips for applying to the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.
  • Join us on October 17 for the 2019 Philanthropy Summit in Ashburn, VA. Hosted annually by the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties, this year’s event will explore the issue of equity in the areas of health outcomes, organizational change, education, and criminal justice. Director of Research and Evaluation Dr. Jennifer Glynn will present on excellence gaps.

 

Social Media Spotlight:

 

Photo header: Cooke Scholars, including Lara Meintjes (standing at far right) at Scholars Weekend 2019.