Deadline: 23-Feb-23
Applications are now open for the 2022-23 Coolidge Scholarship Program.
The Coolidge Scholarship is an annually awarded, full-ride, presidential scholarship that covers a student’s tuition, room, board, and expenses for four years of undergraduate study. The Coolidge may be used by recipients at any accredited college or university in the United States. Anyone of any background, pursuing any academic discipline of study, may apply to this non-partisan, need-blind, program.
Scholarship Details
- The Coolidge Scholars Program is operated by the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation. The summer before their senior year of high school, newly-selected Coolidge Scholars spend several orientation days at the picturesque birthplace of the President, Plymouth Notch, Vt. There scholars get to know Coolidge and his world, and help the Coolidge Foundation oversee its formidable debate programs. Scholars return to Plymouth Notch for a week each summer while in college.
- Although only a few students are named Coolidge Scholars each year, one hundred of the top Coolidge Scholarships applicants are named “Coolidge Senators.” Coolidge Senators are invited, all-expenses-paid, to participate in the Senators Summit that takes place each summer in Washington, D.C. At the Summit, the Senators explore the nation’s capital, learn about President Coolidge, and meet other high achieving students from across the country.
Eligibility Criteria
- 2022-23 Coolidge Scholarship applicants must intend to enroll full-time at an accredited U.S. college or university as an undergraduate for the first time in fall 2024. That is to say, students in their junior year of high school, or the equivalent if home schooled, are eligible to apply. (Students who are currently high school juniors but take some courses at a local college are indeed eligible to apply for the Coolidge Scholarship.)
- 2022-23 Coolidge Scholarship applicants must be citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States of America.
- 2022-23 Coolidge Scholarship applicants cannot be the immediate family member of any current employee or trustee of the Coolidge Scholars Program or the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation.
- You must simply confirm that you intend to enroll full-time at an accredited U.S. college or university for the first time in fall 2024.
- Only current high school juniors intending to enroll as full-time undergraduates for the first time in fall 2024 are eligible to apply for the 2022-23 scholarship. No exceptions to this rule can be made.
- Only high school juniors graduating in the spring of 2024 and starting college in the fall of 2024 are eligible to apply for the 2022-23 scholarship.
- Note: The Coolidge Scholarship is non-partisan and is awarded on merit regardless of race, gender, or background.
Selection Criteria
- Primary Criterion: Academic Excellence
- Above all, Coolidge scholars must possess a distinguished academic record. Competitive candidates will have pursued and succeeded in the most rigorous course of study available to them. Awardees will demonstrate an uncommon academic depth and intellectual curiosity. In the case of the Coolidge Scholarship, depth matters as much as breadth.
- Secondary Criteria
- Interest in Public Policy and Appreciation of Coolidge Values: From his boyhood days in Plymouth Notch through his years in the White House, Coolidge studied public policy. This scholarship therefore seeks young citizens who exhibit an interest in policy. That being said, the award is not restricted to candidates planning to pursue degrees in fields such as public policy or government. To the contrary, all academic disciplines are valued by this award. Candidates also should demonstrate an awareness of and appreciation for the values President Coolidge championed throughout his life. Some such values include: civility, enterprise, government thrift, federalism, and constitutional government. Like the president, Coolidge Scholars will engage in the pressing issues of their time. Like Coolidge, Coolidge Scholars are at all times civil, valuing respectful debate over partisan attack.
- Humility and Service: The Coolidge Scholarship seeks young people who display a sense of service and care for the well-being of others. Coolidge placed high value on Americans helping their own communities and fellow citizens. The Coolidge Scholarship seeks young people who demonstrate a commitment to improving their communities in meaningful ways. For the Coolidge Scholarship, genuine service that makes a difference is valued over ambitious efforts that a young person may not be well-positioned to undertake. Often a young person can best contribute by taking part in existing efforts rather than by starting their own organization. Other prizes are awarded to young people for accumulating leadership credentials in high school. This prize focuses rather on high school achievement that gives young people the potential to lead later in life. A young person who tends to work alone, but demonstrates potential to conduct breakthrough research, for example, is a strong candidate. Introverts can win this scholarship.
For more information, visit Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation.