Summer Scholars

Applicants must be female identifying high school students in Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota or South Dakota. Applicants may be US or non-US citizens so long as they reside and attend high school in the states listed. Summer Scholars are academically high-achieving students who will be entering 11th or 12th grade in Fall 2023. Occasionally, an exceptional rising 10th grader is selected as a Summer Scholar. Past Summer Scholars, who used their scholarships, are not eligible to apply again for another scholarship.

No, except in extenuating circumstances – such as illness or injury – students will be named a Summer Scholar only once.

If you previously applied, but were not selected as a Scholar, you are welcome to apply again. Make sure you still meet the eligibility requirements and list your prior application on your current Joyce Ivy application.

Joyce Ivy partners with a specific set of colleges and summer programs. The quality of the experience, inside and outside of the classroom, is important, and these partners also have a commitment to enrolling a diverse student body, including students from the Midwest, and making scholarships available. Review our set of summer program partners. You might pick a program based on a class that is offered, or because you are interested in that college or university, or because you are curious about what it is like to study in that part of the country. After you pick your summer program and course(s), you should simultaneously work on the applications for the specific summer program(s), including financial aid (if applicable), and the Joyce Ivy application. You do not need to wait to receive an acceptance notification from the university in order to apply to the Joyce Ivy Foundation. Make sure you are aware of all deadlines – the summer program deadlines are often different from the Joyce Ivy Foundation deadlines.

Pending changes in the course of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Joyce Ivy Foundation will only support on-campus, residential summer programs for summer 2023. Please review our list of eligible programs carefully. Extenuating circumstances that require a student to participate in a virtual program only may be considered.

Supported programs are at least two weeks in length. We are not able to divide a scholarship between different programs.

No, the Joyce Ivy Foundation has special partnerships in place with the colleges and universities on our list. These institutions offer academically rigorous summer programs and have a demonstrated commitment to making their programs accessible to students from different backgrounds, geographic regions, and income levels. Through our special partnerships, we work closely with these programs to build scholarship packages.

All components of your Joyce Ivy application should be submitted online. Our application portal will allow you to upload your transcript, test scores, tax information, financial aid applications, and make a request to a teacher or guidance counselor to upload a letter(s) of recommendation. If you are unable to upload a document, you may submit it via email to info@joyceivyfoundation.org or via fax at 734.661.0229. If you are unable to submit materials via one of these methods, please contact us.

Yes, applicants to the Joyce Ivy Foundation must also apply to the summer program institution for financial aid. The summer programs need these applications to calculate your partner scholarship. Many programs have limited funds that they award on a rolling basis, so be aware of deadlines and apply early. We also recommend that students apply to at least two summer programs to increase your financial aid and admission options. Students applying to Brown do not need to apply for financial aid directly with Brown and will automatically be considered for a partnership scholarship if you identify yourself as a Joyce Ivy applicant.

In some cases, yes. We recommend you reach out directly to info@joyceivyfoundation.org to inquire about fee waivers. Depending on the summer program partner, the Joyce Ivy Foundation may cover the application fee for selected Joyce Ivy Scholars who demonstrate financial need.

If you have two living parents who are divorced, please submit tax returns from both parents. If securing tax returns from one parent will be an issue, please contact info@joyceivyfoundation.org

Students should complete all components of the application. While we encourage parents and guardians to assist in the process, the student should complete the application.

The Joyce Ivy Foundation requires one letter of recommendation. You may submit a letter of recommendation that was written for a summer program application.

While getting your application in well before the deadline does not have an effect on the final decision made by the Joyce Ivy Foundation, submitting it early does allow for it to be checked and for us to notify you of any missing components. Applying early to the summer programs for admission and financial aid is also helpful because it allows Joyce Ivy and the summer program to track you as a Joyce Ivy applicant. Summer programs also usually award financial aid on a rolling basis, so there is more aid available the earlier you apply.

No. You should only submit one application to the Joyce Ivy Foundation. Please indicate on your application which summer programs you have applied to – and don’t forget to identify yourself as a Joyce Ivy applicant on your summer program applications!

The summer program offices at each institution have authority over admissions decisions. Being named a Joyce Ivy Scholar does not guarantee admission. Many of our partners do grant special status to Joyce Ivy applicants; however, their admissions, financial aid, and course selection process is competitive. It is important to apply by the summer program deadlines or earlier, if possible.

Completed applications (including all supplementary materials) are due on March 1, 2023. You are welcome to submit anytime between December 4 and March 1. The Joyce Ivy Foundation will send decision notifications via email by early April and the deadline for accepting the scholarship is mid April.

The majority of our scholarship money goes to supporting families with the greatest financial need. We have two need-based funding levels: up to $6,600 (typically family income under $85,000) and up to $3,300 (typically family income between $85,000-$160,000). We also grant a very small number of $1,000 awards for students with family income above $160,000. Joyce Ivy scholarships may be used in addition to any scholarships/financial aid awarded directly by our summer program partners.

The Joyce Ivy Foundation scholarship is competitive. In our decision process, we consider a student’s academic record, intellectual qualities, extracurricular involvements and leadership in her school and community. We also take into account family circumstances and we consider how transformational the opportunity might be for the student (for example, if this will be the first opportunity to travel away from home). Typically, one in every three or four applicants is awarded with a Joyce Ivy scholarship.

You are more likely to receive a Joyce Ivy Summer Scholarship as a 10th or 11th grader. While we sometimes select an exceptional 9th grader as a Summer Scholar, please know that you will be competing against some of the top 10th and 11th graders in your state.

The Joyce Ivy Foundation looks at the cost of each summer program as well as an estimate of airfare and sundry expenses Scholars will have when attending. We also work closely with our partner schools on what financial aid the schools are able to offer. In addition, we factor in what families believe they are able to contribute and their financial situation. If you have special financial circumstances, please let us know. In many cases, the Joyce Ivy Foundation is able to put together a package that fully funds the Scholar for the summer. Moreover, it is our hope that even in cases where we can offer only partial funding, no Scholar will be prevented from attending a program based on financial constraints, although this is not always the case. Most often, our scholarships range from $1,000 to $6,600. Financial aid from the summer programs can be up to one half the cost of the program or more.

Our partner institutions are presently planning for on-campus programs this summer, with some virtual options also being available. Plans may continue to change; therefore, we recommend monitoring the individual institutions’ websites for the most up-to-date guidance on their plans.

The Joyce Ivy Foundation welcomes any applicant who identifies as female, regardless of gender assigned at birth. We also welcome nonbinary and gender nonconforming applicants who wish to join a community of empowered women. Our admissions policy does not affect the network and support offered to past Summer Scholars – once a member of the Joyce Ivy community, always a member of the Joyce Ivy community, whatever your gender.