- Parents and/or legal guardians of the students applying must
have, or had, a career in the financial services industry.
- Students must be graduating high school seniors who are enrolling
as full time first year students in pursuit of a four-year bachelor's
degree at an accredited college/university in the United States.
- Students must demonstrate financial need.
- Students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) and rank in the top 20% of their class.
Continuing Eligibility/Renewal Requirements
The Gordon A. Rich Memorial Foundation requires an annual review
of each scholarship award to determine renewal eligibility. Recipients
must maintain full-time enrollment status and be in good standing
with their college to have the award renewed for the next academic
year. GAR Scholars are expected to exhibit satisfactory citizenship
in both the academic community and in the community at large.
Therefore, recipients may not be on any form of academic probation or suspension. In December or each year, a renewal form is sent to each recipient. In April of each year, a letter is sent to each
recipient requesting confirmation of full-time enrollment status
and intent to maintain that status, a current academic transcript,
and a detailed update on the courses, projects, and activities
with which the recipient has been involved during the current
award year.
Parkman Prize
All GAR scholars are eligible for a special award – the "Parkman Prize." This $5,000.00 award, named after one of GAR's most generous donors, is given to the scholar with the highest GPA in each academic year.
Selection Process
An independent scholarship committee - Scholarship America - will be evaluating student credentials. Members of the GAR Foundation are not part of the initial selection process.
From the pool of applicants, a select group of potential GAR Scholars
will then be presented to the GAR Foundation. They will in turn
select the GAR scholarship winners.
All materials submitted to support a scholarship application
are used only in the selection process. The folder of a scholarship
recipient will remain in active status during the period the scholarship
is in force and will be retained for one year thereafter. All
records are confidential and available for reference by Scholarship
America and the GAR Foundation.
Selection Procedures
Scholarship application forms and
directions for completing the forms can be accessed through our
website. Applications will require:
- Applicant Data
- Parent/Guardian Information
- Applicant Appraisal to be completed by a high school counselor
or a teacher from your junior or senior year
- An essay response to a given prompt (500 words or less)
- An official transcript of grades from each school attended
- Cumulative GPA
- Standardized test scores (SAT I or ACT)
Applications and all supporting materials must be submitted directly
to Scholarship America.
Selection Criteria for "GAR Scholars"
- Academic record and grade point average
- High school activities and demonstrated leadership
- Scores on standardized test (either ACT or SAT I test scores)
- Responses to questions on the application form
- Demonstrated financial need
Academic Talent
GAR Scholars must have high grades and standardized test scores;
not necessarily the highest, but in the top 20%. It is essential
that the applicant has already demonstrated academic excellence
and/or creativity in some subject area of inquiry. An example
would be experience or achievements in research. GAR is looking
for students who have challenged themselves with their academic
programs and who demonstrate a passion for learning.
Extracurricular Activities
GAR is seeking the student with an "extra dimension"
which can often be demonstrated through extracurricular activities.
GAR considers both "well rounded" people who have contributed
in many different ways to the lives of their schools or communities
as well as those who have pushed a single endeavor to the highest
level of recognized achievement. Extracurricular successes can
come in virtually limitless forms. Examples include athletics,
community service, media and journalism, and the visual and performing
arts.
Financial Need
GAR Scholars must demonstrate financial need. GAR's mission is
to help excellent students with financial need to face less educational
debt on graduation. GAR scholarships will enable a student to
have more time to concentrate on the academic and extracurricular
opportunities that made them GAR Scholars in the first place.
Financial need will be determined by examining the information
provided by each student on the application.
Overall
There will be no such thing as a "typical" GAR Scholar.
GAR Scholars will all have certain similarities: exceptional talent,
dynamism, passion and financial need. But as a group they will
reveal a diverse mix of activities, interests and accomplishments
as well as religion and ethnicity.
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