Overview

The mission of the Founder’s Scholarship program is to attract and retain students of exceptional intelligence who possess the highest qualities of leadership, character and citizenship. We seek to identify students with great promise at the beginning of their high school careers so that we may nurture their talents and allow the school to benefit from their attendance. We are firm in the belief that extraordinary individuals enrich the entire community; consequently, we award partial merit-based grants to enable talented youth to attend Highland. Founder’s Scholarships are highly competitive and are currently awarded to rising Grade 9-10 students; however, beginning in 2009-2010, Highland will award grants only to rising Grade 9 students.

Founder’s Scholars at Highland are actors, musicians, athletes, student government officers, Prefect Board members, student hosts and ambassadors. The common bond among them is their drive and determination to achieve academic excellence. They are leaders who play a large role in shaping the culture of our school. Highland currently has 12 Founder’s Scholars.  

Requirements and Process

Qualified applicants maintain a G.P.A. of 3.5 or higher and earn a total scaled score of 2000 or higher on the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT). Prospective students must submit an admission application and notify the Director of Admission and Financial Aid by Friday, January 30, 2009 to be considered for the Founder’s Scholarship. Current students must notify the Director of Admission and Financial Aid by Friday, December 12, 2008 to be considered for the Founder’s Scholarship.

The Admission Office computes an applicant’s G.P.A. from last year’s grades and the first semester of this year. Prospective students should submit the Request for School Records form to his/her current school and ask that the school forward official transcripts to the Admission Office by Friday, January 30, 2009. Current students’ transcripts will be obtained internally from the appropriate Division Director at the end of the first semester.

The SSAT will be administered at Highland on Saturday, January 17, 2009, at 9 a.m.

(Snow date: January 24, 2009, at 9 a.m.) Please register at www.ssat.org/flex by Wednesday, December 17, 2008. Highland’s school code is 3874. If you need special testing accommodations or you cannot afford the test fee, please contact the Admission Office at least three weeks prior to the test date. For additional testing dates and locations, please consult the SSAT website at www.ssat.org.

Notification of Finalists and New Scholars

All applicants will be notified by phone on Friday, February 13, 2009 regarding their Founder’s status. Those applicants who satisfied the G.P.A. and SSAT score requirements will be asked to schedule an interview and e-mail a one page resume to Chris Pryor, Director of Admission and Financial Aid, by Friday, February 20, 2009. The resume should include information pertaining to any academic, artistic, athletic, leadership and service involvement, including awards or special achievements. It may also include any other information that the applicant deems worthy to share with the Founder’s Scholarship Committee. Finalist interviews will be held on Saturday, February 28, 2009. The snow date is Saturday, March 7, 2009. New Founder’s Scholars will be notified by Tuesday, March 10, 2009.

Current families with students selected as finalists may hold their re-enrollment contracts until Wednesday, March 11, 2009 so that they may learn of the Committee’s decision.

Founder’s Committee and Grants

The Founder’s Committee consists of the Director of Admission and Financial Aid, Assistant Director of Admission, Director of Guidance and a current Founder’s Scholar. The Committee considers an applicant’s academic performance, character, citizenship, and leadership skills before rendering a final decision.

Grants are one-third of an Upper School tuition. In 2008-2009, grants will be offered to one internal applicant for Grade 9, one external applicant for Grade 9 and one applicant for Grade 10. In 2009-2010, grants will be awarded to three Grade 9 students with at least one internal and one external applicant being chosen as a Founder’s Scholars.

Founder’s Scholars sign an annual contract stating that he/she will maintain his/her grant by continuing to perform in the classroom and remaining active in the Highland community.

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