Career Services | Extraordinary Success Program
The Extraordinary Success Program (ESP) seeks to encourage Centre seniors to pursue a broader range of outstanding graduate or professional school opportunities with particular preference for out of state programs. Additional programmatic objectives include helping students determine if a graduate or professional institution forms a good match, encouraging thoughtful conversation regarding graduate school planning between students and faculty, and financially supporting travel for graduate school visits, application fees, producing portfolios and other similar activities. The program will be administered through the Career Services office.
Selection for this competitive program will be based on the quality of the proposal, articulated graduate or professional school goals, perceived quality of the graduate/professional school opportunity and the student's financial need. Students must have at least a 3.35 grade point average in their major to be considered for the program. Proposals will include a cover letter outlining graduate school aspirations, a record of appropriate graduate or professional school standardized testing, a letter of support from a faculty sponsor, an expense budget, and a resume.
Selection for this competitive program will be based on the quality of the proposal, articulated graduate or professional school goals, perceived quality of the graduate/professional school opportunity and the student's financial need. Students must have at least a 3.35 grade point average in their major to be considered for the program. Proposals will include a cover letter outlining graduate school aspirations, a record of appropriate graduate or professional school standardized testing, a letter of support from a faculty sponsor, an expense budget, and a resume.
The committee will focus resources on students who have impressive graduate or professional school plans with reasonable positive outcomes to be expected. Further, resources will be focused on students who will not otherwise have travel funding from their intended graduate schools. Applicants and faculty sponsors should address why a given institution or set of institutions is particularly well suited for the applicant and why the institution and program should merit this committee's attention.
The committee will review applications twice yearly: those submitted by November 1 and by February 15 (although funding is limited, so we suggest you apply in the fall). Corresponding notifications will be made within two weeks of the application deadline. Up to $500 per approved student will be provided. Funding is by reimbursement only and receipts will be required (note: credit card statements are not acceptable as receipts). Only expenses requested in the budget submitted with the proposal are eligible for reimbursement and only schools listed in the proposal will be eligible for reimbursement. In-state application fees and travel and fees related to graduate school testing/score reports are ineligible for funding.
ESP Checklist
The proposal must include the following items and should be submitted to Deb Jones in Career Services by the above-mentioned deadlines:
• A cover letter outlining graduate school aspirations
• A record of appropriate graduate or professional school standardized testing
• A letter of support from a faculty sponsor
• An expense budget (see sample)
• A resume
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