Posse scholarship application
The Posse Foundation Scholarship is given to students who attend Boston University as a result of the university’s collaboration with the Posse Foundation. The Posse Foundation, founded in 1989, identifies public high school students with exceptional academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse Atlanta and Posse Bay Area are the two Posse Foundation locations from which BU selects scholars. Each Posse Scholar receives a four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarship from Boston University.
According to their website; The Posse model works for both students and college campuses and is rooted in the belief that a small, diverse group of talented students—a Posse—carefully selected and trained, can serve as a catalyst for individual and community development. As the United States becomes an increasingly multicultural society, Posse believes that the leaders of the 21st century should reflect the country’s rich demographic mix. The key to a promising future for our nation rests on the ability of strong leaders from diverse backgrounds to develop consensus solutions to complex social problems. Posse’s primary aim is to train these leaders of tomorrow.
Three Goals
- To expand the pool from which top colleges and universities can recruit outstanding young leaders from diverse backgrounds.
- To help these institutions build more interactive campus environments so that they can be more welcoming for people from all backgrounds.
- To ensure that Posse Scholars persist in their academic studies and graduate so they can take on leadership positions in the workforce.
Program Components
Posse’s four program components are designed to ensure our Scholars’ success. With support from Posse, Scholars excel at school, win competitive internships and earn prestigious awards. After graduation, many of our alumni are admitted to elite graduate programs and hired for top jobs.
The Dynamic Assessment Process
Posse’s Dynamic Assessment Process (DAP) is a unique evaluation method that identifies young leaders with great potential.
Running from September through December each year, DAP finds students who might be missed by the traditional admissions criteria at highly selective schools but who can excel on campus. DAP uses nontraditional forums to evaluate potential, offering nominated students an opportunity to demonstrate their intrinsic leadership ability, their skill at working in a team setting, and their motivation and drive to succeed.
DAP has proven to be an extremely effective tool. Using the three-part process, which includes group and individual interviews, Posse staff and partner college administrators ultimately select a diverse group of 10 students — a Posse — for each institution.
Pre-Collegiate Training
Posse’s Pre-Collegiate Training (PCT) helps Scholars develop as leaders before they matriculate at college.
From January to August of their senior year in high school, newly selected Scholars meet weekly with Posse peers and staff for two-hour workshops that address four areas:
- Academic excellence
- Team building and group support
- Cross-cultural communication
- Leadership and becoming an active agent of change
The Campus Program
The four-year Campus Program works to ensure the retention of Posse Scholars and to increase the impact of the program on campus.
Posse staff visit each school four times annually for meetings with Scholars, campus liaisons and mentors. During a Posse’s first two years on campus, Scholars meet with their mentor weekly as a group and individually every two weeks.
Posse also facilitates a weekend-long PossePlus Retreat for each of its partner schools in the spring. Attended by members of the student body, faculty and administration, PossePlus Retreats explore an important social issue identified by Scholars.
The Career Program
The Career Program connects Posse Scholars and alumni to highly coveted professional development opportunities.
By partnering with industry-leading companies and organizations and establishing affiliations with first-tier graduate and professional schools, the Career Program gives Scholars tools to secure competitive internships and leadership-track jobs in a wide range of fields.
The Career Program has five components:
- Internships
- Career Development Workshops
- Career Coaching
- Graduate + Fellowship Programs
- The Alumni Network
Posse scholarship schools
The Posse Foundation could not exist without the support of its partner colleges and universities, which provide full-tuition scholarships, weekly faculty mentoring, and other services to Posse Scholars. Posse gratefully acknowledges these prestigious institutions for their investments in the program and dedication to the success of Posse Scholars.
- Agnes Scott CollegeÂ
- Babson CollegeÂ
- Bard CollegeÂ
- Boston UniversityÂ
- Brandeis UniversityÂ
- Bryn Mawr CollegeÂ
- Bucknell UniversityÂ
- California Institute of the ArtsÂ
- Carleton CollegeÂ
- Case Western Reserve UniversityÂ
- Centre CollegeÂ
- Colby CollegeÂ
- Connecticut CollegeÂ
- Cornell CollegeÂ
- Cornell UniversityÂ
- Davidson CollegeÂ
- Denison UniversityÂ
- DePauw UniversityÂ
- Dickinson CollegeÂ
- Franklin & Marshall CollegeÂ
- Hamilton CollegeÂ
- Hobart and William Smith CollegesÂ
- Illinois Wesleyan UniversityÂ
- Kalamazoo CollegeÂ
- Lafayette CollegeÂ
- Lawrence UniversityÂ
- Lehigh UniversityÂ
- Lewis & Clark CollegeÂ
- Macalester CollegeÂ
- Middlebury CollegeÂ
- Mount Holyoke CollegeÂ
- Northwestern UniversityÂ
- Oberlin CollegeÂ
- Pepperdine UniversityÂ
- Pomona CollegeÂ
- Purdue UniversityÂ
- Rhodes CollegeÂ
- Rutgers University-New BrunswickÂ
- Sewanee: The University of the SouthÂ
- Smith CollegeÂ
- St. Olaf CollegeÂ
- Syracuse UniversityÂ
- Texas A&M UniversityÂ
- The College of WoosterÂ
- The George Washington UniversityÂ
- Trinity CollegeÂ
- Tulane UniversityÂ
- Union CollegeÂ
- University of California, BerkeleyÂ
- University of MichiganÂ
- University of North Carolina School of the ArtsÂ
- University of Notre DameÂ
- University of Puget SoundÂ
- University of RochesterÂ
- University of VirginiaÂ
- University of Wisconsin-MadisonÂ
- Vanderbilt UniversityÂ
- Vassar CollegeÂ
- Villanova UniversityÂ
- Wellesley CollegeÂ
- Wesleyan UniversityÂ
- Wheaton CollegeÂ
- William & MaryÂ
Each Posse Scholar wins a full-tuition scholarship to attend one of Posse’s partner colleges or universities.
Posse scholarship requirements
Requirements
To be eligible, a high school senior must:
- Be nominated by their high school or a community-based organization
- Be in the first term of their senior year in high school
- Demonstrate leadership within their high school, community or family
- Demonstrate academic potential
- Apply on time; depending on the Posse city or program, nominations are accepted in the spring and summer before senior year begins (contact your local Posse office for specific deadlines)
The Posse Scholarship is neither a minority nor a need-based scholarship. It is open to students of all backgrounds.
Posse seeks students who are:
- Leaders in their high schools and communities
- Committed to their education and those who demonstrate academic potential
- Interested in teamwork and diversity
- Positive, motivated, talented, ambitious young people
Posse scholarship pros and cons
The Posse scholarship seeks to address this shortcoming through a one-of-a-kind program that empowers young men and women to become community leaders.
Aside from providing tuition-free attendance at a prestigious college or university, the Posse scholarships promote greater diversity on campus, in the workforce, and in the upper echelons of American society.
