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Welcome to the 2018-19 LEDA Scholars Application!


LEDA is searching the nation for the next Cohort of 100 exceptional students to become LEDA Scholars. We’re excited that you have chosen to apply and are here to support you throughout the application process.


The Application Process


The admissions process consists of three rounds. The deadline for this round is December 12th at 11:59 PM PST. After each round, an applicant’s submitted material will be evaluated by LEDA staff and a decision will be made as to whether or not the applicant will advance to the next round. Applicants must successfully complete each portion (Part I, Part II, and an interview) to be admitted to the LEDA Scholars Program. LEDA’s review process is holistic, which means that all parts of an application will be considered before making a decision.


LEDA Eligibility:


1. Currently enrolled as a junior (11th grade student) in a public high school

2. Applicant must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status

3. LEDA Applicants should have an unweighted GPA of at least 3.6 and be ranked in the top 10% of their class

4. 90% of LEDA Scholars report a family income of $66,000 a year or less. While we will review applicants who report higher incomes than this, admission to the program becomes unlikely if the family income reported is over $85,000.


Application Instructions


The LEDA Application is divided into 14 pages. Each page must be completed in order to submit your application. You do not have to complete the application in chronological order or in one sitting. To skip to different parts of the application select the page number in the upper right corner. Your work on the application will not save automatically. In order to save your work select the save my progress button on the upper right corner. You must enter your email address correctly while saving your application. If you do not you will not receive the link to resume work on your application.


Some parts of the application are more time intensive than others. Be sure to review these section and allow yourself enough time to complete.


Table of Contents

 

Page 1 - Welcome Page

Page 2 - Biographical Information

Page 3 - High School Information

Page 4 - LEDA Survey

Page 5 - Teacher Recommendation

Page 6 - Academic Information Request

Page 7 - Extra-Curricular Activities*

Page 8 - Scholarships & Awards

Page 9 - Summer Involvement

Page 10 - Writing Sample Upload

Page 11 - Photo Upload

Page 12 - Family Information*

Page 13 - Academic Release

Page 14 - Essay Questions*


*Time intensive


Application Timeline


September 5th-December 12th: 2017-18 LEDA Application is open

December 12th: Final deadline at 11:59 PM PST

December-April: Applications are reviewed by the recruitment and admissions team

Early March: All Part I applicants are notified

Mid March: All Part II applicants are notified and finalists are invited to participate in a Skype/Google Hangout or phone interview.

Mid April: All remaining applicants are notified and 100 LEDA Scholars are admitted to the program.


Application Help


For questions about the LEDA Scholars program, application, or application process please contact recruitment@ledascholars.org


Page 1

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Biographical & School Information
Biographical Information











Mailing Information
Include apartment number if applicable.

Demographic Information

You must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or have DACA status to be eligible for LEDA. Should you be selected to advance to the next round you will be required to submit proof of citizenship, permanent residence, or DACA status.





Check all that apply
Check all that apply

STOP

Click the Save my progress and resume later box in the upper right corner of this page. Your work will not save automatically. Once you have created a username and password, you can return to the application using the link provided. Make sure to enter your email address correctly. If you do not, you will not be able to log back into your application.

Page 2

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Biographical & School Information
High School Information







(mm/yyyy)
Principal



Guidance Counselor





Other High Schools Attended

Page 3

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Biographical & School Information

Select LEDA representative if a LEDA representative presented at your school.

Select LEDA Scholar if a LEDA Scholar did a presentation at your school or told you about LEDA

Select CBO if anyone associated with a community based organization, college access, college preparedness, or college bound program told you about LEDA. This person may be a counselor or advisor who works in the school but is hired by a CBO outside of the high school e.g., college possible, college crusade, college advising corps.








Select all that apply. To select more than one, hold down CTRL while selecting.


Page 4

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Academic Information Request
Submit the full name and email address of a guidance counselor who can submit a transcript and provide academic information on your behalf. Once you submit their name and email address, they will receive an email invitation to create an account and provide academic information in support of your application. 

Please check-in with the recipient at least three weeks prior to the application deadline to confirm that the request was received and that they intend to complete it. We will not review applications that do not have complete academic information. You will not be able to see whether or not your academic information is complete so we recommend that you confirm completion with your counselor prior to the deadline.




If your counselor or school administrator does not receive the email invitation, please contact recruitment@ledascholars.org for further assistance.
STOP

Click the Save my progress and resume later box in the upper right corner of this page. Your work will not save automatically. Once you press save your counselor will receive an email invitation to provide academic information on your behalf.

Page 5

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Letter of Recommendation
Submit the full name and email address of a core subject academic teacher (History, Language, Literature, Science, Math) who will submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf. We recommend that you speak to your teacher in person to describe the program, why you are applying, and ask if they are willing to write you a letter of recommendation prior to entering their name here. Once you submit your teacher's name and email address, an email invitation will be sent to them to create an account and provide a letter of recommendation in support of your application.

Please check-in with the recipient at least three weeks prior to the application deadline to confirm that the request was received and that they intend to complete it. Your application will not be considered complete until this information is submitted.




If the selected teacher does not receive the email invitation, please contact recruitment@ledascholars.org for further assistance.
STOP

Click the Save my progress and resume later box in the upper right corner of this page. Your work will not save automatically. Once you press save your teacher will receive an email invitation to provide a recommendation on your behalf.

Page 6

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Extra-Curricular Activities

In this section we would like to learn more about your interests outside of the classroom. Please provide information about all of the activities you are involved in. Your activities may include arts, athletics, clubs, employment, personal commitments, and community service.  

  • For each activity you will be asked to provide the name, years of involvement, weekly hourly commitment, your role, the length of commitment per year and a brief description of the activity. Please answer all questions for each activity.
  • To add additional activities select the additional activities link on the bottom right hand corner of this box.
  • List activities in order of importance to you.
  • There should be no limit to the number of activities you enter. If you have any issues email recruitment@ledascholars.org.
  • For the type of activity question select the option that most closely represents the activity you are involved in from the drop-down list. 
  • If you do not see your activity in the drop‐down, you may select one of the “Other” categories at the bottom of the drop‐down. Please provide the name of the activity in the description box.
  • You will have the opportunity to describe each activity, so even if it is not listed in the drop‐down we will be able to learn about your involvement.







ScPage 7

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Scholarships & Awards
Scholarships and Awards
List any honors related to your academic achievement that you have received since ninth grade. Include any scholarships/awards that you have received or scholarship programs of which you are a member. Include the date you received the honor/scholarship/award and/or how long you have been a member of the scholarship program. If the honor/scholarship/award included a prize, please describe.
What other summer programs are you applying to?
.

Page 8

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Summer Activities
Describe how you have spent the past two summers. List academic, community service, and/or
athletic activities, as well as any other activities you participated in during the summer. Explain
the length of commitment and amount of time spent participating in each activity.

Page 9

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Writing Sample
Scan and upload one analytical essay written during your sophomore or junior year of high school. Submit the essay that you feel best represents your writing ability. Do not submit poetry or science/math reports/projects. 

The writing sample must be uploaded as a word document or a PDF. You will only be able to upload one file. If you scan multiple pages of an essay you must condense it into one file in order to upload. You can do this by copying and pasting each image into one word document or by any other method you are comfortable with.

Photo copies are acceptable, but must be legible and in one file.

Email recruitment@ledascholars.org if you have trouble submitting a writing sample.

Page 10

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Upload Recent Photo of Yourself

Page 11

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Family Information
Parent Information

To be completed by a parent/guardian. If you have a question about who should fill out this section on your behalf, please call 646-787-0632.

If you are the legally adoptive parent(s) of the applicant, complete the following forms as they apply to you. If you do not have information for one of the parents/guardians enter 0 in that category.
 


Mother/Parent 1










Check all that apply
Check all that apply



Father/Parent 2










Check all that apply
Check all that apply



Parent Education Information








Custody Information
We understand that the following questions are personal and may be difficult to answer. We appreciate your honesty. This information is required to apply for financial aid at most colleges. Answering the questions honestly will better allow us to advise Scholars on how to complete their financial aid forms as well as what colleges to consider for best financial fit.












Enter the first and last name of the custodial parent. In the case of joint custody, list parent with whom the applicant has most often resided within the last 12 months.





Grandparent Details












Sibling Education
Enter information about all of the applicants siblings below. To add an additional sibling select the Additional Siblings link located at the bottom left hand corner of this box.





First Generation College Student

A first generation college student is defined as being the first in one's immediate family to attend a four-year college or university. If the applicant has a sibling who attends or has attended college, the applicant is still considered to be a first generation college student.
With whom does the applicant live?
List all members currently residing in the household and their relationship to the applicant. To add a resident click the Add resident link at the bottom right hand corner of this box.




Please calculate the total number of household members listed above including the applicant.
Income Information

LEDA follows certain income eligibility guidelines, however each candidate is considered on a case by case basis. Income information will remain strictly confidential. In order for a candidate to be considered, the information requested below MUST be completed by a parent or guardian.

Please be aware that if the applicant is asked to continue to the next round all parents and step-parents (with whom the applicant has contact) will need to provide a copy of their most recent federal tax return. Write 0 if a question does not apply to you.
During the senior year of high school LEDA works with our Scholars and their families to complete financial aid and scholarship applications for college. In order to consider applications for financial aid, most highly selective colleges require financial documentation from both parents including the non-custodial parent and/or step-parents or other guardians (when applicable). We therefore ask that you complete this section thoroughly so that we may best gauge the applicant’s financial need as will be evaluated during the college application process.

2017 2018
Mother/Parent 1 annual income
Stepparent 1 annual income (if applicable)
Father/Parent 2 annual income
Stepparent 2 annual income (if applicable)
Child support received by custodial parent per month (if applicable)
Alimony received (if applicable)
Annual social security benefit amount (estimated, if applicable)
Annual public assistance amount (estimated, if applicable)

If married, include both parents' combined annual income. If remarried, include the parent and the step-parent's combined annual income.


Assets
Enter the total amount of money in each of these accounts. (Do not enter the account #'s).
Amount in Checking Accounts Amount in Savings Accounts
Custodial parent(s)
Applicant

House Value Information

Approximate value of real estate other than home:
I certify that ALL the information provided above is true to the best of my knowledge. IF the applicant is advanced to Part II I will submit proof of this information by providing a copy of my most recent tax return or proof of benefits. I understand that if the income information requested is not provided, the applicant will not be eligible for the LEDA Scholars Program.


Page 12

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Academic Records Release Form (completed by parent/guardian)*

Important Information

Please note that this section MUST be filled out by the parent/guardian.
Applicant Information
I hereby authorize and request the release of all of my child’s school records (including but not limited to transcripts, family information, test scores, lunch payment status, etc.) to LEDA to use for consideration for admission into the LEDA Scholars Program. I understand that my child’s records will be handled in a confidential manner and be reviewed by LEDA staff only. I give permission to the LEDA staff to meet with or otherwise speak with the school’s principal, guidance counselor, teachers, or any school official in regard to my child and give permission to such individuals to speak with and/or provide written information about my child for consideration by LEDA staff.

Page 13

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Essay Instructions

Take your time answering each essay prompt. We recommend that you complete each essay in a word document before copying and pasting them here. 


Each essay should be a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 500 words.

Essay #1
LEDA seeks to bring together a community of scholars whose diverse life experiences have shaped their perspectives and goals. Tell us your story. How has your life experience shaped the person you are today?
Essay # 2
Tell us about a time that you witnessed someone demonstrate leadership. This can be about you or someone you know. How does this story relate to your own concept of leadership and personal development?
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