Are you a sophomore or junior, and you are aspiring to pursue a research career in mathematics, natural science, or engineering.? Have you been looking for a scholarship program that will support you in making this dream a reality?
If your answer to these questions is affirmative, then I am here with good news. Have you heard of the Barry Goldwater scholarship program, or have you heard of it but need more and detailed information? When you finish reading this article, you will know everything about the Barry Gold Scholarship.
About The Scholarship
This scholarship program is fully referred to as The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program. It was brought into existence in 1986 by the United States Congress in honor of the former United States Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.
Barry Goldwater was a soldier of the United States of America. He served in the United States Army as a soldier for 56 years. He also served in the United States Senate for 30 years. The scholarship was established to serve as a memorial to honor his steadfast effort in doing his country.
The scholarship aims to support and encourage junior and second-year college students who intend to further their education and research studies in the area of engineering, natural sciences, and mathematics.
The Scholarship Award Amount
The Barry Goldwater Scholarship is awarded based on outstanding performance. If you are selected as a recipient, you will receive financial assistance based on your need of up to 7500 dollars.
The Goldwater Scholarship awards up to 300 students every year from different universities across the United States of America and overseas. If you are successful, you will be provided up to 7500 dollars annually in scholarship funds which covers tuition fees, books, and accommodation. If you do not exhaust the amount you give for an academic year, the money will not be rolled over to the succeeding academic year. This means that the scholarship amount you give for an academic year is only valid for that academic year.
Recipients of the Barry Goldwater scholarship who are in their junior level are entitled to a maximum of two years of scholarship support, while recipients in their senior-level are entitled to a maximum of one year of scholarship support.
On winning the scholarship, you will be allowed the opportunity to choose your preferred institution in the United States of America or overseas. If you are schooling outside the United States of America, your funding will be based on the United States’ institution budget of the Goldwater funding.
The Scholarship has been in existence for more than thirty years, and it has thousands of undergraduates on the list of its scholars. Many of these scholars have gone ahead to win other respected awards, including the Rhodes scholarship, Churchill scholarship, etc.
The scholarship and excellence in education foundation awards scholarships to undergraduate students who are outstanding in their academic performance. The scholarship is made available for two categories of students.
- Those who will be juniors in the next academic year, and
- Those who will be seniors in the next academic year.
Every year, the scholarship board allows universities and colleges to nominate four of their undergraduate students to contest for the final scholarship. The successful candidates must be outstanding and ready to further their careers in mathematics, engineering, or natural sciences.
Barry Goldwater ScholarshipRequirements for the Scholarship
If you are looking to apply for the Barry Goldwater scholarship, there are specific requirements you have to meet before applying for this scholarship. I am going to walk you through all the requirements for the application.
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- You must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 in college. This is necessary when applying for the scholarship because the trustees are looking for the most outstanding Student merit the scholarship award
- You have to be a full-time student (sophomore or junior) of any accredited university or college as of the year you are applying for the scholarship. The Goldwater scholarship is only available for undergraduates of higher institutions.
- You must be a citizen of the United States of America and be from any of the 50 states of the United States or the District of Columbia. You can also apply if you are a US national student and is nominated from the virgin island, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Islands or a permanent resident. If you are a permanent resident, you must submit a letter of intent to become a United States citizen is required. You are also required to submit a photocopy of your permanent resident card.
- You must have intentions to further a career in engineering, mathematics, or natural science. While applying for the scholarship online, you must include a statement of interest that explains your career goals and educational plan. You should briefly state the reason for choosing this path and your destination at the end of your educational pursuit. Students that are recipients of this scholarship are expected to further their academics up to Ph.D. and are expected to pursue a career as a researcher.
- Students that have a career in the health sciences, such as medicine, pharmacy, etc., are also allowed to apply only if they intend to further their profession in the research area and not in clinical practice
- Due to Covid19, students who were not enrolled full time in the 2020-2021 academic year may be nominated by schools as part of the Goldwater competition. According to the 2021 review, it will be assumed that the students will be enrolled full-time in the 2021-2022 academic session.
- You must be nominated by the higher institution you are learning. The nomination is done on the online nomination application, which the Goldwater foundation will provide.
- If you are in your sophomore year, you will be entitled to receive a maximum of two years of scholarship funding. If you are a junior, you are entitled to a maximum of one year of scholarship funding.
- The Goldwater foundation uses the national science foundation’s mathematics, engineering, and natural science fields for its graduate research fellowship program, including geosciences, chemistry, life sciences, materials research, mathematical sciences, physics, astronomy psychology, etc.
Nominations for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship
Your higher institution will do the nominations for the Barry Goldwater scholarship and excellence in education foundation. If you are interested in applying for the scholarship, you are to meet with the Goldwater representative on your campus.
Who is the Goldwater campus representative?
The Goldwater campus representative is an individual selected by your university or college to organize and foresee the Goldwater nomination process in your campus. The individuals’ primary work is to promote, oversee and nominate participants for the Barry Goldwater scholarship.
A list of institutions with their respective Goldwater campus representative is provided on the official website of the Barry Goldwater scholarship. If your institution is not among, you can contact the help desk of the barry gold scholarship foundation.
Deadline for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship
Your higher institution must upload all nomination materials, which include research essay, transcript, three letters of recommendation, institutional nomination form, and where applicable, a copy of the student permanent resident card to the online nomination site of the Goldwater scholarship by 5 pm on the last Friday of January.
The Goldwater foundation will accept nominations up to five business days after the deadline in a natural disaster. It is advised that in such cases, the campus representative should submit a request before the deadline.
The online portal for nomination opens on the first Tuesday of September. The Goldwater campus representative determines the internal submission deadline for individual schools. The deadline for nomination submissions on the Goldwater online nomination site is on the last Friday of January.
The Goldwater selection committee is reviewing the nominations submitted by different schools in late February. Mid-march, the Goldwater foundation board of trustees will select the most outstanding students from the list of nominations submitted. The Goldwater scholars are announced on the last Friday in March.
Selection Criteria for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship
The winners of the Barry Goldwater scholarship and excellence in education foundation are selected based on several criteria considered by the scholarship selection committee. Some of the criteria for selection include
1) As an undergraduate applying for the Barry Goldwater scholarship, you are expected to have outstanding academic achievements. This is done by showing impressive academic records and progress, special awards, advanced academic work, etc. Students with such performance records are the most suited candidates for this scholarship.
2) You must show reasonable progress and efforts made towards pursuing your research career. This involves discussing your interest in research and some of the research works and research-related projects you have carried out in the past.
Articles and publications written and carried out by you are also considered while reviewing your application. You are also expected to show strong leadership capacity in research. The scholarship intends to develop the next generation of research leaders in the natural science, engineering, and mathematics fields.
3) You are required to write a technical essay during nomination for the scholarship. You are expected to have a solid technical report showing data obtained from research carried out by students. This report goes further to convince the selection committee of your efforts and engagement in research work.
4) The three recommendation letters submitted during nomination must attest to your research potential. It should also acknowledge the research work where you participated in or carried out in the past.
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