The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) program is funded by a $1.6 billion dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was established in The goal of GMS is to promote academic excellence and to provide an opportunity for thousands of outstanding students with significant financial need to reach their fullest potential.

The GMS Scholarship Award funds academic financial support covering unmet need & self help. 7 areas of study that the scholarship covers: Computer scienceLibrary sciences Education Public Health EngineeringSciences Mathematics Continued graduate school funding up to Ph.D., up to 10 years of funding

Eligibility.. African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, and Hispanic American; Citizen/legal permanent resident or national of the United States; Cumulative GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (unweighted) at the time of nomination; Degree-seeking freshman who will be entering an accredited college or university as full-time student; Demonstrated leadership abilities through participation in community service, extracurricular or other activities; and Federal Pell Grant eligible

GMS Provides.. Support for the cost of education by covering unmet need and self-help Student Leadership Conferences Alumni Relations Program Mentoring Program

GMS Notables.. Funded over 17,000 Scholars since 1999 Selects 1,000 new scholars each year From the 2000 through the 2014 academic year, GMS has awarded over $845,000,000 in scholarships Over 11,170 Gates Millennium Scholars have completed a degree since the program’s inception

The Application Process.. 1. Nominator Form – Educator/Guidance Counselor Educator who is familiar with the student’s academic background completes the Nominator Form 2. Recommender Form – Community Service/Leadership Advocate Community member or individual who is aware of the student’s community service and leadership activities completes the Recommender Form and 3. Nominee Form – Student Student completes comprehensive Nominee Personal Information Form. Independent readers complete individualized reading and scoring assessment of each eligible Nominee in three major areas: A. academic achievement, B. community service, and C. leadership potential

The Application Process.. List activities by high school year Summarize the academic record, honors and awards Summarize community service activities Summarize leadership opportunities Write clearly and with vigor regarding your accomplishments, goals, and dreams Nominees (students) Be Prepared To:

Leadership examples Starting a cultural club at your high school Involvement in Student Government Team Captain/Co-captain Club volunteer Youth leader Translator for parents

Community Service Examples Senior Citizen Centers Helping others Learn to Read Animal Shelters Park and Recreation Volunteers Food Banks Neighborhood Clean-up projects

STUDENT ACTIVITIES FORM

GMS Essay Questions Discuss the subjects in which you excel or have excelled. To what factors do you attribute your success? Discuss the subjects in which you had difficulty. What factors do you believe contributed to your difficulties? How have you dealt with them so they will not cause problems for you again? In what areas have you experienced the greatest improvement? What problem areas remain? Briefly describe a situation in which you felt that you or others were treated unfairly or were not given an opportunity you felt you deserved. Why do you think this happened? How did you respond? Did the situation improve as a result of your response? Discuss your short and long-term goals. Are some of them related? Which are priorities? Discuss a leadership experience you have had in any area of your life: school, work, athletics, family, church, community, etc. How and why did you become a leader in this area? How did this experience influence your goals? Discuss your involvement in and contributions to a community near your home, school or elsewhere. Please select an experience different from the one you discussed in the previous question, even if this experience also involved leadership. What did you accomplish? How did this experience influence your goals? Other than through classes in school, in what areas (non-academic or academic) have you acquired knowledge or skills? How? Is there anything else you would like to tell us about that may help us evaluate your nomination (i.e., personal characteristics, obstacles you have overcome)?

Timeline.. Application opens August 1 st, 2015 Deadline: January 13 th, 2016 All online applications are processed when submitted All applications mailed by the deadline are scanned and loaded into the Nomination database GMS Scholarship Application Available online at

Timeline.. February Independent readers complete an individualized read and scoring assessment of each eligible Nominee in three major areas: academic achievement, community service, and leadership potential March through early April Applications are continuously reviewed as all information in applications is verified including GPA, citizenship status, and Federal Pell grant eligibility All Gates Scholars are selected and notified

Questions?