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The Jefferson Scholars Program: What You Need to Know
By
Cece Gilmore
Cece Gilmore is a Content Writer at Scholarships360. Cece earned her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University. While at ASU, she was the education editor as well as a published staff reporter at Downtown Devil. Cece was also the co-host of her own radio show on Blaze Radio ASU.
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Maria Geiger is Director of Scholarship Services at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.
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The Jefferson Scholars Program is a highly selective program that offers outstanding undergraduate students tuition-free schooling at the University of Virginia! There are additional perks offered for Jefferson Scholars, so keep reading to learn all you need to know about the Jefferson Scholars Program!
What is the Jefferson Scholars Program?
The Jefferson Scholars Program is a scholarship program that covers the entire cost of attendance and additional enrichment experiences for four years at the University of Virginia. This program is exclusively for students who have demonstrated high academic achievements and significant leadership roles.
The scholarship covers expenses such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, room and board and personal expenses. This is worth over $200,000 for in-state students and over $365,000 for out-of-state students.
Also see: Top full ride college scholarships to apply for
What are the enrichment experiences offered for the Jefferson Scholars Program?
There are many additional programs and opportunities for Jefferson Scholars that are covered by the scholarship such as:
- International travel
- Career development
- Networking opportunities
- Institute for Leadership and Citizenship
- Alumni Connections
- Exploratory Fund
- Research Collaboration with Jefferson Fellows
- Speaker Series
Who is eligible for the Jefferson Scholars Program?
You cannot apply for the Jefferson Scholars program! Rather, eligible high schools are asked to nominate a student in the senior class who exemplifies leadership, scholarship and citizenship. However, participating schools can only nominate one student per year so it is highly selective! So, if you are interested in the Jefferson Scholars Program, be sure to communicate this desire to your high school counselor.
Both school officials and the student who is nominated must complete a scholastic report, list extracurricular activities and write two essays.
Check out: What is a full-ride scholarship?
What materials do Jefferson Scholars need to submit?
Jefferson Scholars need to submit their contact information, activities, awards and two essays: personal statement and leadership essay. Additionally, counselors will need to submit basic nominee information, scholastic information about your school, 1 letter of recommendation, transcript and school profile. So, be sure to be communicating with your counselor to ensure all materials are submitted on time!
Don’t miss: Common college scholarship requirements guide
Step-by-step instructions for applying for the Jefferson Scholarship
Step 1: Talk with your counselor
In order to be considered for the Jefferson Scholars Program, you must be nominated by your school counselor! Therefore, reach out to your school counselor to let them know about your interest in this program. Remember, only one student from each school can be nominated, so be sure to reach out to your counselor as soon as you can! The earlier the better!
Step 2: Complete application materials
Once you have been nominated by your high school, you should work closely with your counselor to complete all of the application materials. You will need to send out a scholastic report, a list of extracurricular activities, teacher recommendations and written responses to 2 Jefferson Scholarship essays.
Additionally, you will need to apply to UVA separately! So, make sure you have all of your application materials gathered and submitted for consideration.
Step 3: Regional selection
The Jefferson Scholars program has regional selection committees that are made up of UVA alumni, prior Jefferson Scholars and other UVA-related individuals. These committees will review your application and select nominees for interviews.
Step 4: Interview
If you are selected, you will complete interviews with the regional committee members. From there, the committee will nominate candidates for the final selection to become a Jefferson Scholar!
Also see: How to write the perfect interview thank you (with examples)
Step 5: Final selection
All of the finalists will participate in another round of interviews and will be invited to visit the UVA campus. Afterwards, the Jefferson Scholars committee will determine which candidates will receive the scholarship!
Don’t miss: Scholarship360’s free scholarship search tool
How are Jefferson Scholars selected?
The Jefferson Scholars are selected from a pool of nominated students who demonstrate excellence as leaders, scholars and citizens. Additionally, students must be accepted into UVA which is a separate process from the Jefferson Scholars admissions. Scholars are not selected based on financial situation and rather based on demonstrated potential for excellence in the areas of leadership, scholarship and citizenship.
Check out: Merit-based vs need-based aid: Everything you need to know
Deadlines
The Jefferson Scholars selection process differs from the University of Virginia’s admissions process so there is a different timeline. Deadlines will be communicated through email, so be sure to be checking yours frequently!
Here is a typical Jefferson Scholars timeline:
- August – Nomination portal opens
- November 15 – Counselor and nominee materials are due for the At-Large and International-At-large regions
- December 1 – Counselor and nominee materials are due for all other regions
- Mid December through January – Regional review and interviews are conducted
- Late February – Final virtual interviews are conducted
2024-2025 Jefferson Scholars stats
Statistics for the Class of 2029 Jefferson Scholars are as follows:
- 6,999 schools were invited to nominate for Jefferson Scholarships across 83 regions
- 3,035 high school students were nominated
- $13,000,000 awarded for the 2024-2025 academic year