Sophia Alexander Awarded Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship
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Lisa McPheron
Director of Campus Communications
(714) 992-7014 | lmcpheron@fullcoll.edu
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David Egner
Foundation Media Contact
(202) 779-1743 | egnercommunications@outlook.com
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FULLERTON (May 27, 2016) – Fullerton College proudly announces that Sophia Alexander has been awarded the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship worth up to $40,000 a year to complete a bachelor’s degree at a four-year college or university.
Alexander is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and serves as president of Associated Students, staff editor for LiveWire Journal, and an active member of several campus committees. She plans to transfer to UC Berkeley this fall to pursue a degree in economics.
Seventy-five community college students were awarded scholarships from a competitive nationwide pool this year. All of the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholars have financial need and strong records of academic achievement as shown by grades, leadership skills, awards, extraordinary service to others and perseverance in the face of adversity.
The Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is the largest private scholarship in the nation for students transferring from two-year community colleges to four-year institutions that award bachelor’s degrees.
“Many elite colleges and universities are reluctant to admit large numbers of transfer students from community colleges, even when these students have excellent grades and other qualifications,” said Cooke Foundation Executive Director Harold O. Levy. “This is unfair and unwise. The Cooke Foundation’s Undergraduate Transfer Scholars have a long record of success at the most selective colleges and graduate schools, such as the Ivy League in the United States and the University of Oxford in Great Britain. These extraordinary young people have proven repeatedly and conclusively that top community college students have the ability to thrive in top four-year colleges. They deserve equal educational opportunity.”
Cooke Scholarships fund the costs of attending college not covered by other financial aid, plus academic advising, stipends for internships, study abroad, and opportunities to network with other Cooke Scholars and alumni. In addition, after earning a bachelor’s degree, each Cooke Scholar will be eligible for a scholarship for graduate school worth up to $50,000 a year for up to four years.
According to the American Association of Community Colleges, 45 percent of the undergraduate students in the United States were attending community colleges in 2014.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. It offers the largest scholarships in the U.S., comprehensive counseling and other support services to students from 8th grade to graduate school. Since 2000 it has awarded about $147 million in scholarships to more than 2,000 students and $90 million in grants to organizations that serve outstanding low-income students. www.jkcf.org
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