External Scholarships

NYU-Poly’s Honors Program supports student applications for two national scholarship opportunities: The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program, and The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship Program. Through this support, the Honors Program hopes to increase its students’ ability to secure additional support for the cost of their education.

Other scholarships of interest, the Soros Fellowship for New Americans,  the SMART Scholarship and scholarships offered by the Society of Women Engineers are also detailed below.

Additionally, all students are encouraged to consult NYU-Poly's list of private scholarships for additional funding for their education.

In order to be considered for a nominee for the Goldwater or Cooke Foundation scholarship, please fill out the Scholarship Nomination Application, available in RH216, and submit with it a 250-500 word statement of interest/intent stating your qualifications for the award and how being a recipient of the award would help you in furthering your education and your quest for your academic and career goals. Please also include any other information you think would be pertinent to the nomination process.  NOTE: Application and Statement of Intent are due to the Office of Undergraduate Academics (RH216/ugacademics@poly.edu) no later than 6 weeks before the application for your intended scholarship is due.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program

Campus representative: Iraj M. Kalkhoran, Associate Provost of Undergraduate Academics

Purpose of Award

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry M. Goldwater, who served for 30 years in the United States Senate. The purpose of the Foundation is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to outstanding college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields. It is expected that Goldwater Scholars will pursue advanced degrees. Candidates who intend to study medicine are eligible if they plan a career in research rather than one in private practice.

Nature of Award

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation will award up to 300 Goldwater Scholarships, which cover costs incurred during the final one or two years of undergraduate study. The scholarship is valued up to $7,500 annually and may be applied to tuition, fees, books, and/or room and board.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

A candidate must be a United States citizen, resident alien, or, in the case of nominees from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands, a United States national. To be competitive, candidates must have at least a 3.5 GPA and have engaged in a substantive research project. The review committee will also consider the extent to which the candidate has demonstrated the commitment and potential necessary to make a significant contribution to his or her field. Financial need is not a criterion for selection.

Nomination and selection process: NYU-Poly may nominate up to 4 current sophomores or juniors for the Goldwater Scholarship who will be chosen by a facuilty committe. Subsequently, a committee appointed by the Goldwater Foundation will evaluate the nominations and recommend the most outstanding nominees from each state. The Foundation Board of Trustees then names up to 300 Goldwater Scholars out of the nominees recommended by the committee.

Application Procedure

Any student wishing to be nominated for the Goldwater Scholarship must download the nomination materials from the Goldwater website www.act.org/goldwater and submit the following to the Undergraduate Academics Office by December 8:

• University Transcripts
• Secondary School Transcripts
• Nominee Information Form
• Nominee's Essay
• 3 Independent Evaluations of the Nominee
• Voluntary Survey Form
• Nomination Materials Checklist

The NYU-Poly Goldwater committee will review the application materials and determine nominations. If you are nominated, you may be required to edit and revise your application essays.

Final Application Submission

The Office of Undergraduate Academics will submit your final application with the Institutional Nomination Form to the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program by the application deadline of February 1.

Goldwater Application Schedule

• December 21: Campus deadline for receipt of nomination materials
• January 31: Goldwater deadline for online submission of nominee applications
• February 1: Goldwater mail receipt deadline for submission of nominee applications’ supporting documents
• March: Goldwater Scholars announced

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship Program

Campus representative: Iraj M. Kalkhoran, Associate Provost of Undergraduate Academics

Mission

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation established in 2000 through the will of Mr. Jack Kent Cooke, who left most of his considerable fortune to establish it. The mission of the Foundation is to identify and support young people of exceptional promise and character who have financial need and demonstrated excellence in academic endeavors and extracurricular activities.

About Jack Kent Cooke

Born in 1912 in Ontario, Canada, Jack Kent Cooke was an entrepreneur who made several fortunes over the course of his life. Coming of age in the Depression, he was forced to work full-time to support his family and was unable to pursue his dream of a university education. Mr. Cooke worked as a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman, and then a radio station manager. He eventually became the partner of media executive Roy Thompson; together, they operated radio stations and newspapers throughout Canada, earning Mr. Cooke his first fortune.

Mr. Cooke next ventured into the world of sports, becoming the highly successful owner of the minor league Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team. In 1960, Mr. Cooke became an American citizen. In 1961, he purchased a minority interest in the Redskins football team, becoming majority owner in 1974 and sole owner in 1985. In 1965, he purchased the Lakers and built the team a new arena, The Forum, which opened to great acclaim. He also established the Los Angels Kings hockey team. In 1979 Mr. Cooke sold the Kings and the Lakers and purchased the Chrysler building in New York with part of the proceeds. Mr. Cooke had a life long commitment to learning and was knowledgeable in a wide array of fields, including architecture and literature. He was also possessed of an indomitable will to succeed. His Foundation reflects these values.

Graduate Scholarship Program

The Foundation awards up to 50 scholarships to current undergraduate seniors and recent college graduates. Each award will cover a portion of graduate educational expenses, including tuition, living expenses, and other required fees. Scholarships provide awards of up to $50,000 per year, for up to six years. Scholars may use the scholarship to attend any accredited graduate school in the United States or abroad.

Terms and Conditions

Scholars must pursue a full-time course of study in a graduate degree program at an approved accredited institution. Scholars must apply for federal and institutional financial assistance each year of study. The Foundation determines the amount of an individual scholarship award after reviewing each recipient's other assistance offers. Recipients must attend the Jack Kent Cooke Scholars Weekend in the summer before they receive an award. All Scholars Weekend expenses are paid for by the Foundation.

Minimum Eligibility

A candidate must be nominated by his or her undergraduate institution and be a current student at an accredited US college or university with senior status, or be a recent graduate. Each institution may nominate up to 2 candidates. A candidate must have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or better and planning to begin their first full-time graduate degree program. A candidate may not have been previously nominated for the Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Fellowship.

Equal Opportunity

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, sex, age, physical of mental disability, sexual orientation, or national origin.

Application Instructions

By November 1, application materials are made available at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation website. Students should submit the completed application materials to the Office of Undergraduate Academics by February 15. After review, the committee will select two applications for submittal. These will be submitted to the Foundation no later than March 14.

Other Scholarships of Interest for NYU-Poly students

Please note that this scholarship does not require the NYU-Poly Scholarship Nomination Application and Statement of Intent.  Students interested in this scholarship may apply directly to the foundation for the Fellowship.

The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans

About the Donors

Paul and Daisy Soros, Hungarian immigrants and American philanthropists, established their fellowship program for New Americans in December 1997 with a charitable trust of fifty million dollars. Their reasons for doing so were several. They wished to "give back" to the country that had afforded them and their children such great opportunities and felt a fellowship program was an appropriate vehicle. They also felt that assisting young New Americans at a critical point in their education was an unmet need. Finally, they wished to signal to all Americans that the contributions of New Americans to the quality of life in this country have been manifold.

Central to an understanding of the entire Program is an understanding of the donors, Paul and Daisy Soros. Assisting young New Americans in pursuing their life chances in this country is an autobiography of their lives - where friends, family and associates helped them as they built a life in this new land.

Fellowship Application Process

Deadlines for applications are November 1st of the given year; we encourage candidates to submit and get their collateral material to us before that date. Life being as it is in universities, however, there is a crush of material to us. Letters of recommendation are often late, making a full consideration more difficult. Once the application and other materials are in hand, teams of at least three readers consider the candidacy and determine who will be invited for interviews. Like every strong fellowship program, the Soros Fellowships have many more able people applying than can ever be invited for interviews. Painful though the decision process is, 84 are eventually invited. The interviews are held in January in New York and Los Angeles, with a February announcement.

What generalizations can be made on the basis of 10583 applications, 1025 interviews, and 354 appointed Fellows?

• Fields that seem especially to predominate in results (e.g., law and medicine) are those fields that have the largest number of applications.
• Relative to their numbers of applications, many other fields have greater success rates.
• Private institutions generally do a better job in informing candidates about the Soros opportunity and seem to take greater care in presenting their candidates.
• Two good essays and letters of recommendation can offset a poor interview.
• Candidates who only demonstrate excellence in their academic field, without evidence of other creative and sustained activity, do less well.
• Padded resumes are easily detected by readers and selection panelists.
• Candidates in master's programs are less likely to apply. (56% Doctoral and 44% master's).
• No geographical area of immigration origin does disproportionately well. Talent is well distributed around the world. Differences in numbers reflect difference in numbers of applicants, which in turn reflects differences in recent immigration rates.

Fellowship Interview Process

The selection panels for New American Fellowships consist entirely of successful New Americans and Soros Fellowship alumni. Twelve people are interviewed each day, preceded by a dinner the previous night. The purpose of the dinner is for candidates to meet staff and some panelists, to learn more about the interview process, and to meet each other. It has been the experience of past dinners that candidates get to know and appreciate each other, but they also are grateful to discuss their New American experience with others.

With two teams of panelists, each candidate has two thirty minute interviews. The objective of the interviews is to allow the candidates to tell their story as they wish to tell it and then elaborate on items they included in their two essays. It cannot be emphasized too greatly how important these essays are to having a good interview. Candidates are interviewed either in the morning or afternoon and are then free to return to their home or institution. The Soros program pays for transportation and accommodations. Increasingly, the selection panels include Soros alumnae/i.

• Dress professionally, but comfortably. A suit and tie are appropriate attire for men, and a suit, dress, or skirt (or slacks) and blouse for women.
• Body language is an essential part of making a good impression. Sit up straight, maintain good eye contact, and try to engage the entire panel, not just the person who asked the question.
• Be aware of your particular nervous habits, and avoid them. Try to convert your nervous energy into enthusiasm. Clasping your hands in your lap can help control stress-induced fidgeting. Try to relax and enjoy the atmosphere of the interview.
• Be sure to re-read your application before the interview. Anything you have written therein may come up in the questions, and it is embarrassing to forget what you wrote.
• Don't be surprised at unexpected questions. Prepare to think quickly. One of the most effective methods of practicing is to stage mock interviews with friends or colleagues. Often they will ask harder questions than any panelist might.
• Don't take too long on any one question. You want the panelists to ask you as many questions as possible, so that you have lots of chances to shine!
• Don't fake an answer you aren't sure of: just say that you don't know.
• Be yourself.

Expectations of Fellows If someone is successful in receiving the Soros Fellowship, what is expected? In addition to the frequent e-mail and correspondence so that the Program can get maintenance checks to the Fellows and half-tuition to the university, the obligations are four-fold. First, the Program Director will expect at least once in the Fellowship period to visit the Fellow's institution to see how things are going, meet with the dean, financial aid officer, and major professor. Whenever the Director visits a campus, a dinner is usually held for all the Fellows in the area (i.e., Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington) and it is hoped all Fellows can manage to attend. Second, each year the Fellow is expected to forward to the New York office a copy of the transcript. Third, twice in the Fellowship, the Fellow is expected to attend a Fall Conference in New York City, where all the Fellows have a chance to meet each other and the Soroses and members of our National Advisory Council, share views on such common concerns as immigration and human rights, and visit key cultural places in the City (usually the Metropolitan Opera, the Metropolitan Museum, and a Broadway show). The Program pays for transportation and accommodations. Finally, at the end of Fellowship, each Fellow is asked to write an "end-of-Fellowship" report. While not "required," it is hoped that all Fellows will keep in touch with the Program office and each other through the newsletter and the website chatroom.

TO APPLY: Application materials are available online here, with full information on the Fellowships available here.  Applications must be completed and sent in no later than November 1st.  The announcement of awards is in February.

SMART Scholarship (Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation)

The Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program has been established by the Department of Defense (DoD) to support undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The program aims to increase the number of civilian scientists and engineers working at DoD laboratories. All applicants are required to submit applications online by 5:00 P.M EST, December 1, 2011.

Awardees must be:

• a U.S. citizen at time of application,
• 18 years of age or older as of August 1, 2012,
• able to participate in summer internships at DoD laboratories,
• willing to accept post-graduate employment with the DoD,
• a student in good standing with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (as calculated by the SMART application) and,
• pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in one of the disciplines listed on the About SMART page.

Participants in the SMART Program will receive:

• Full tuition and education related fees (does not include items such as meal plans, housing, or parking)
• Cash award paid at a rate of $25,000 - $41,000 depending on prior educational experience (may be prorated depending on award length)
• Paid summer internships
• Health Insurance reimbursement allowance up to $1,200 per calendar year
• Book allowance of $1,000 per academic year
• Mentoring
• Employment placement after graduation

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

The SWE Scholarship Program provides financial assistance to women admitted to accredited baccalaureate or graduate programs, in preparation for careers in engineering, engineering technology and computer science. In fiscal year 2010, SWE disbursed more than 170 new and renewed scholarships valued at almost $500,000.

Grants are announced in the summer (sophomore, junior, senior and graduate students) and late summer/early fall (freshmen and re-entry students) for use during the following academic year. Grant payments are made in the fall for corporate-sponsored scholarships and in both the fall and spring for endowed scholarships, upon proof of registration.