Campus Competitions at UC Next Step in More Than $18 Million in Scholarships

The 14th annual Cincinnatus Scholarship competition will be held at the University of Cincinnati on Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, culminating with more than $18 million in scholarships offered to students, including 10 full Cincinnatus awards of $80,000 ($20,000 per year).

The on-campus event is expected to bring in 730 high-achieving students representing 34 states, according to Lucinda Cohen, assistant director of UC Student Financial Aid. Their average ACT score is 31.83, compared with the national average ACT score of 21.1. The average ACT of the 2009 UC freshman class was 24.8. A total of 1,680 guests, including competitors and their parents, are expected to attend the competition.

UC Student Financial Aid determined eligibility of high-school seniors who applied to UC last fall, based on a minimum 3.2 high-school GPA – with further eligibility determined by the academic program they selected at UC – and awarded $2,000 in renewable scholarships. Scholars were further reviewed with the highest achieving students admitted to the University Honors Program and invited to compete on campus for awards ranging from $3,500 to full tuition, room, board and a book allowance. 
 
The competition not only reviews the student’s academic talent and leadership abilities, but also his or her commitment to community service. Once awarded and enrolled, each scholarship recipient performs 30 hours of community service per academic year for scholarship renewal. UC’s Student Financial Aid Office reports that 3,235 students are currently Cincinnatus scholars, which would amount to 97,050 hours of community service that these students will contribute to serving the community over this academic year. Those activities include tutoring students in after-school programs, raising money for service agencies or medical research and providing assistance at area soup kitchens.

A national survey released last month on the attitudes of college freshmen revealed that paying for college is a leading concern for first-time college students, with 53.3 percent of 2009 freshmen interviewed for the survey turning to college loans – the highest number reported in a nine-year period. The survey, “The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2009,” is conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles.

The survey also reported a record number of 2009’s first-year students –  more than 30 percent – indicated that they planned to perform some kind of volunteer service during their college years, a commitment reflected in the spirit of the Cincinnatus Scholarship competition.

Check-in for the Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 Cincinnatus Scholarship competition gets underway at 8 a.m. in the lobby of the Great Hall, located in Tangeman University Center. The welcome and formal keynote address will be held at 8:30 a.m. in the Great Hall and will be led by UC President Gregory H. Williams.

As classes got underway at UC last fall, the university reported an enrollment of 39,667, the highest number of students since 1980. The 2009 freshman class was the largest in UC’s history, with an overall number of 6,200 and 4,301 for the Uptown Campus.

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