Gordon A. Rich Memorial Scholarship

Scholarship Sponsored by Gordon A. Rich Memorial Scholarship

Introduction
Gordon A. Rich devoted his life, energy and resources to improving the circumstances of people with limited means and opportunities. The Gordon A. Rich Memorial Foundation (GAR) exists to continue that work by awarding scholarships to promising students who also demonstrate financial need.

Eligibility
To be considered for a GAR scholarship, applicants must meet all of the following:

- Be a dependent child of a full‑time employee currently working in the financial services industry. Eligible employers include commercial banks, investment banks, securities brokerages, insurance companies, fund and asset managers, credit card and consumer finance companies, and other similar financial services businesses as determined by the Foundation. The parent/guardian must be presently employed and have a minimum of five years’ experience in the financial sector.
- Be a graduating high‑school senior who will enroll as a full‑time, first‑year student in a four‑year bachelor’s degree program at an accredited U.S. college or university.
- Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and rank within the top 20% of the graduating class.
- Demonstrate financial need.
- Be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

Application components
Application materials and instructions are available on the GAR website. Completed applications and supporting documents must be submitted directly to Scholarship America. Required items include:

- Applicant biographical and contact information
- Parent/guardian employment and household information
- A counselor or teacher appraisal (from a junior or senior‑year teacher or high school counselor)
- A short essay responding to the assigned prompt (500 words or fewer)
- Official transcripts from each high school attended
- Cumulative GPA and class rank
- Official SAT or ACT scores (standardized test scores are required)

Selection criteria
Selections are based on a combination of factors including:

- Academic record and GPA
- Participation, leadership and accomplishments in high‑school activities
- Responses in the application and essay
- Demonstrated financial need

Academic and extracurricular expectations
GAR scholars are expected to have demonstrated academic excellence — not necessarily the single highest grades but generally within the top 20% of their class and with a GPA of at least 3.5. Applicants should show evidence of intellectual curiosity, academic achievement or creativity (for example, research or other scholarly work) and a willingness to challenge themselves academically.

In addition to strong academics, GAR seeks students who bring an “extra dimension” through extracurricular involvement. This may take the form of breadth — meaningful contributions across many school and community activities — or depth — outstanding achievement in a single area. Examples include athletics, community service, journalism/media, visual or performing arts, or other pursuits where the student has made a significant impact.

Financial need
Financial need is a core requirement. GAR’s purpose is to reduce the educational debt burden for talented students who would otherwise face financial obstacles. Need is assessed from the financial information provided on the application.

Selection process and confidentiality
Scholarship America, an independent scholarship administrator, conducts the initial evaluation of all applications. Members of the GAR Foundation do not participate in the first review. Scholarship America will forward a shortlist of top candidates to the GAR Foundation, which makes the final scholarship award decisions.

All application materials are used solely for the selection process. The file of a scholarship recipient remains active while the scholarship is in force and is retained for one year after the award period ends. Records are treated as confidential and are available for review by Scholarship America and the GAR Foundation only.

Continuing eligibility and renewal
Scholarship awards are reviewed annually to determine renewal eligibility. To retain the scholarship for subsequent academic years, recipients must:

- Maintain full‑time enrollment at an accredited U.S. college or university
- Be in good academic standing (not on academic probation or suspension)
- Exhibit satisfactory conduct within both the campus community and the broader community

Renewal administrative timeline:
- December: A renewal form is sent to each current recipient.
- April: Recipients are asked to confirm full‑time enrollment and intent to maintain that status, submit a current academic transcript, and provide a detailed summary of courses, projects and activities undertaken during the award year.

Parkman Prize
All GAR scholars are automatically eligible for the Parkman Prize, a special $5,000 award funded in honor of one of GAR’s generous donors. Each year the Parkman Prize is given to the scholar with the highest GPA.

The GAR Scholar profile
There is no single “typical” GAR Scholar. Recipients will share attributes such as exceptional ability, energy, commitment and documented financial need, yet will represent a broad mix of interests, backgrounds, activities, beliefs and ethnicities.