The Coolidge Scholarship is a non-partisan scholarship and summer program for rising high school seniors (you apply as a junior). It includes tours of Washington D.C. and access to various conservative thinkers and leaders. There’s also a Coolidge Bowl trivia competition during the Senators’ Summit that could earn you an extra $1,000 in scholarship money.
You don’t need to be a conservative to apply or have a strong chance of winning—I’m a progressive Democrat myself. The scholarship has three levels: Senator ($1,000 for the top 100 applicants), Finalist ($5,000 for the top 10), and Scholar (full ride for the top 5). I was selected as one of the 100 Senators out of 3,842 applicants last year. Feel free to ask any questions!
I’m not sure, but remember that test scores are a competitive factor, not just a cutoff. The higher you score, the better. Just like with college admissions, once you hit around a 1550 SAT equivalent, additional points don’t make a big difference.
I have a bunch of questions: What are your various test scores (ACT, SAT, etc.)? Did you take the PSAT/NMSQT, and if so, did you become a semi-finalist or finalist? If you took it but didn’t qualify, how close were you? What’s your GPA? Do you feel that your upbringing gave you any advantages?
Even if you’re not from a privileged background, still apply. Equity issues often worsen because qualified individuals from underprivileged backgrounds may experience imposter syndrome and doubt their qualifications. Even though I’m not low income, URM, or first-gen, I didn’t feel nearly as impressive as the winners featured on their website. At the Senator Summit, I felt my accomplishments didn’t compare to those of other Senators. But you never know what the Foundation might find noteworthy in your application that you might consider unremarkable. Many Ivy Leaguers who review admission files see this happen.
Test scores are important, but I don’t think a 1410 would disqualify you. One finalist mentioned that applications with SAT scores below 1400 or equivalent PSAT/ACT scores are generally not reviewed.
Keep in mind that this scholarship is purely merit-based. They expect exceptional performance across all reviewed factors (recommendations, test scores, grades, essays, extracurriculars, etc.), with no consideration for contextual factors. Unfortunately, they do not practice affirmative action (race, socioeconomic status, geographic location, etc.), so it can be very challenging to win the scholarship if you faced significant disadvantages.