<p>WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) – Classical music spills from her home in Southeast DC. That is the community where Ola Canty learned that knowledge can open the doors to opportunity.</p>
<p>The young scholar’s mother taught her to follow paths unpopular with some of her peers. The 18-year-old’s love of learning took her away from home and to an exclusive private school, Phillips Academy, in Andover, Massachusetts.</p>
<p>Ola says leaving DC opened her mind to incredible challenges. She graduated from Phillips in June as an honor student. Now the teenager is preparing to attend Harvard on a full academic scholarship.</p>
<p>Dorenda Thompson Canty says her daughter is exactly where she is supposed to be after all the hard work in school. The single mother blazed her own trails as one of the first women in the U.S. Merchant Marines. Canty suffers from an inflammatory illness but never let that stop her from getting on a bus with Ola to get to piano and dance classes.</p>
<p>Ola’s third grade teacher says the teenager’s success is also a story about a devoted parent.
Valera Commissiong recognized her student’s brilliance at Martin Luther King Elementary School. Commissiong and Canty teamed up to open up a world of possibilities for Ola.</p>
<p>The teenager says she would like to work on cancer medicines when she completes her education.
That might not be until Ola gets her doctorate.</p>
<p>I agree with you, Bay. It’s a frequent inaccuracy. I sort of cringe every time I hear someone/newspaper/tv talk about a full scholarship to ivies, etc when there are no merit scholarships given. I know, it’s probably picky but it is inaccurate. However, the girl does seem to be a great person and highly accomplished-not her fault the newspaper is slightly inaccurate.</p>
<p>She seems to have indeed received an academic scholarship, but not from Harvard. It’s from the JKC Foundation. If she received financial aid from Harvard, it would be need-based, to supplement what she received from JKC.</p>
<p>There is another URM girl who is going to attend Stanford. Like Ola, she is also very intelligent. I have heard great things about these kids. These URM kids can compete with any kids from any race. I am an Asian who thinks that given the proper tools including $$$$$ in aid, any motivated kids irrespective of race or gender can compete anywhere anytime. JKC foundation is going to make a big difference in upbringing intelligent and resourceful but kids who lack resources. These kids will be able to compete anywhere with anyone.</p>
Absolutely, marite. It is legitimate and it is accurate, but it is not as complete as it could be. That lack of completeness could send dozens of souls (some of whom could be stellar students also) to Harvard’s website looking for the “full academic scholarship” . I know it would have sent me there early in the process.</p>
<p>Cur and Marite, the distinction between need and merit scholarships can be as clear as a bottle of Chinese ink. </p>
<p>Several foundations support scholars who are selected on a number of criteria that OFTEN include financial need or unmet needs. For the winners of the scholarship, the foundations COMPLEMENT the financial aid package offered by the school but does NOT replace it. Programs that place a qualification such as qualifying for a Pell grant expect their contribution to be a fraction of the full package as the college or university provide the bulk of the aid via NEED BASED aid.</p>
<p>In so many words, an academic scholarship might end up being fully based on … need. </p>
<p>Fwiw, I believe that the financial contributions of the Cook Foundation is quite limited during the undergraduate years. Hence, the statement “Now the teenager is preparing to attend Harvard on a full need-based academic scholarship awarded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.” might still be incomplete. </p>
<p>However, that is all semantics. The bottom line is that combination of the generosity of the colleges AND the Foundation allows very deserving students to attend expensive schools they might only have dreamed about. The exact terms of the flattering announcements matter little!</p>
<p>Yes, the Jack Kent Cooke programs operate on a both-and basis of high academic promise and grave economic need, and do a great job of finding outstanding young people who far exceed the usual expectations of their socioeconomic status.</p>
<p>I wonder how they paid for Phillips? I would have been even more impressed if she was going to Harvard after graduating from her crappy city school district.</p>
<p>Like Ivy Leauge schools, Andover, Exter are need blind and give admissions based on merit. In a typical year you will find say 5-10% of the student body, on a full need based aids attending any top prep schools. Program such as Carl Ichan scholar, prep for prep, Phelps scholars and similar program allow to pay full aid to these kids. By these scholarships kids attend prep school despite having low socioeconomic backgrounds. Xiggi is correct in his assessment (#11)</p>
<p>Adding to what stockmarket has said in post #15, I will note that the Malone Foundation funds scholarships for schools for gifted students, including the new [EPGY</a> Online High School](<a href=“http://epgy.stanford.edu/ohs/]EPGY”>http://epgy.stanford.edu/ohs/). So in principle an avid student of very low means can find a challenging curriculum without having to move across country, as some of the early Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars chose to do. EPGY Online High School follows the usual independent high school financial aid methodology, with third-party review of financial need by the School and Student Service for Financial Aid </p>