Lansdowne, VA – On January 27, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation announced that 571 high school seniors, including Luke Bowers of Confluence, Pa., have been named semifinalists for the highly competitive Cooke College Scholarship Program. He is the son of Kristy and Jared Bowers.
Bowers, who attends Turkeyfoot Valley High School, is a dual enrollment/early college student at Allegany College of Maryland. He has completed 40 college credits in three years and appeared on the college’s Dean’s and Honors Lists. Bowers is the vice president of leadership for the Omicron Pi Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society and president of the Theatre Club.
“I am truly honored to be named a semifinalist for the Cooke College Scholarship Program. This recognition inspires me to continue striving for excellence in my education and personal growth. As a dual-enrollment student at Allegany College of Maryland, I feel incredibly fortunate to have access to valuable opportunities and experiences, including the privilege of applying for this prestigious scholarship,” said Bowers.
He continued, “I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation for believing in students like me and for their commitment to making college more accessible. I look forward to the possibilities that lie ahead as I pursue my dreams."
The Cooke College Scholarship provides Scholars with the opportunity to graduate with as little debt as possible.
The award, which is last dollar funding after all institutional aid, can provide as much as $55,000 per year to pursue a bachelor's degree at any accredited undergraduate institution. This year marks a milestone for the Cooke Foundation’s scholarship programs, as the organization is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
“We’re incredibly proud of how the Cooke Scholar community has evolved in twenty-five years of community-building,” said Natalie Rodriguez Jansorn, Vice President of Scholarship Programs at the Cooke Foundation. “Congratulations to these students for thinking big about their futures and earning the distinction of becoming a Cooke College Scholarship semifinalist.”
This year’s Cooke College Scholarship semifinalists represent an exceptional cohort, selected through an even more rigorous academic standard with a new minimum unweighted GPA requirement of 3.75.
“These students have shown remarkable dedication to their academic pursuits, and we’re honored to recognize their achievements as we continue our mission of making college accessible to exceptional students with financial need,” said Seppy Basili, Executive Director of the Cooke Foundation.
Applications will be reviewed once more to choose the scholarship finalists. The 2025 Cooke College Scholarship recipients will be announced in late March.
Students applied from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and Virgin Islands — representing more than 4,200 different high schools. A list of the semifinalists can be found here.
Cooke College Scholars are selected based on exceptional academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, leadership, and service to others. Students must be current high school seniors. Learn more about the College Scholarship Program here and sign up to be notified when the next application opens in fall 2025.
With college affordability becoming an increasingly insurmountable hurdle for families, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s mission of supporting exceptional students with financial need has never been more critical. According to the “Growing Gap” report on college affordability from the National College Attainment Network, only one-third of public universities are considered affordable for low-to-moderate income students.
About The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. Since 2000, the Foundation has awarded almost $304 million in scholarships to more than 3,400 students from 8th grade through graduate school, along with comprehensive educational advising, career pathway counseling and other support services. The Foundation has also provided $136 million in grants to organizations that serve such students.
Media Contact: Julia Florence, media@jkcf.org
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