Each high school applicant must:
- Be a U.S. Citizen, non-citizen national, or legal permanent resident
- Be a Junior attending a high school in Philadelphia
- Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale (on official transcript)
- Be available to attend 10-12 full Saturday enrichment sessions during Spring of their junior year and fulfill other ASPIRE Program requirements
- Be part of a household with demonstrated financial need, for example, the student’s household meets the Federal TRIO Programs Current-Year Low-Income Levels criteria (which specifies that household taxable income for the preceding year not to exceed 150% of the poverty line)
- Other examples of households with demonstrated financial need would be households with minimal disposable income after paying bills, households living paycheck to paycheck, or households that otherwise struggle to pay bills or are seriously affected by debt or low job security.
The Review Process
Applications for the ASPIRE Program undergo a holistic review of the student’s entire application, considering the student’s biographical information and experiences, grade point average, letters of recommendation, written essay and interview. As long as the student meets the eligibility requirements set forth in “Eligibility” section, above, no one aspect of the application will determine whether a student is selected to be an ASPIRE Scholar and students are therefore encouraged to apply!
We welcome persons of any race, gender, age, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, disability, ethnicity, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law.
A goal of the ASPIRE Program to make a career in the nursing profession possible for students of all backgrounds and situations. Therefore, special consideration will be given to eligible students whose parents did not graduate from a four-year accredited college or university, and/or other eligible students whose opportunities have been, or still are, limited for any reason. Please note only 25 applicants will be selected for each cohort.
