Society of Yeager Scholars

The Society of Yeager Scholars is the name of the highest academic scholarship offered at Marshall University, named in honor of Chuck Yeager, the first recorded pilot to break the sound barrier.

Membership

Members of the society are selected through a highly-competitive interview process from high school seniors from throughout the United States. The process of selecting Yeager Scholars begins with an application made directly to the program and submitted by December 1st of each year. The application consists of information about each student's extra-curricular activities, honors and awards, and includes personal essays. Each application must be accompanied by three letters of reference and a transcript of high school grades.

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The applications are screened by a special committee of faculty and administrators and are evaluated on a system that takes into consideration scores on the ACT and/or SAT tests, cumulative grade point average in high school, range of extra-curricular activities, the nature of awards and honors achieved, and the information contained in the letters of reference. As a result of the screening a number of applicants are invited to become semifinalists and are interviewed at locations near their home on a Saturday in late January.

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The results of the semi-finalist interviews are then tallied, and a number of semi-finalists are then invited to become finalists and to be interviewed at the Marshall University campus in Huntington in late February. The finalist weekend includes, in addition to two sets of interviews, a tour of the University campus, the opportunity to meet with faculty from departments in which the finalist might wish to major, the chance to watch a home basketball game in the Henderson Center (depending on the basketball schedule), and the opportunity to talk informally with the current Scholars and with the staff of the Yeager program. The weekend is designed to give the finalists a chance to get acquainted with Marshall University and the Yeager Scholars program and to give the selection committee the opportunity to determine which of the finalists will be asked to become Yeager Scholars. Those selected to become Yeager Scholars will have until early April to accept the Society's invitation.

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Those chosen receive a four-year scholarship that includes full tuition and fees; full room and board; study at Oxford University ; a stipend for textbooks and supplies; $4000 for an additional study abroad experience; and the use of a personal computer while he or she is enrolled in the program.

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