Grants and Fellowships
Fellowships for Sophomores and Juniors
While it is true that most national fellowships cater to seniors and
recent graduates, some programs wish to provide opportunities for underclass
students who have distinguished themselves in and out of the classroom.
Awards range in amount from $5,000 to $30,000, and require both a compelling
(and often deeply introspective) personal statement and a collection of
letters of recommendation from no fewer than three members of the faculty.
The four most notable fellowships—the Boren, Goldwater, Udall,
and Truman (not coincidentally named after prominent American politicians)—tend
to favor students interested in public policy, governmental service, and
technology. Not all of them, however, are limited to undergraduates majoring
in the Sciences or Social Sciences, and students in the Humanities are
encouraged to apply to appropriate foundations.
These grants, while important in their own right, are considered stepping
stones toward larger and more lucrative awards designated for seniors
and recent graduates pursuing advanced degrees in various fields. Students
applying for a Gates Scholarship, for example, have a better chance of
winning one if they have already won a Goldwater Fellowship the previous
year, as some foundations prefer to favor candidates who have a proven
track record of academic achievement and institutional support.
It doesn’t cost anything to apply for these grants, and the process
of producing personal statements and lining up recommenders is worth the
effort put into the application—even if one does not win an award.
For more information, contact the Associate Dean of the College.
Useful Resource in Leyburn Library:
Schall, Joe. Writing Personal Statements and
Scholarship Application Essays, A Student Handbook. Eden Prairie, MN:
Thomson, 2006.
Scholarship Resources for International Students:
This is a resource provided by Dr. Camille Stillwell at the University of
Maryland.
 Tips on
Writing a Personal Statement and other materials: Come to Washington
Hall, second floor, and help yourself to handouts in the binder on the table
outside of room 29.
|
