The UG Application Requirements

In order to apply for a NYU Reynolds Undergraduate Scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Must be full-time undergraduate students who will be completing their sophomore years in any school at NYU in May of the year they submit their applications and are scheduled for graduation May of their second Reynolds year, or undergraduates who will have two years of full-time study left to complete beginning in Fall of their first Reynolds year and are scheduled for May graduation in their second Reynolds year. International students are welcome to apply.
• Must have a 3.5 GPA at the time of application.

As part of the Online Application, applicants must submit the following as one PDF document. We strongly suggest that you complete these materials before you start Part II of your application as you may only submit your information once. Click here for an example:

• Undergraduate transcript including most recent grades and the classes you have registered for the upcoming semester. An unofficial copy will be sufficient. You may copy and paste your transcript from Albert (please keep original tables intact). Please include "UG Transcript" at the top left of each page of your transcript. Please Note: You must have a 3.5 GPA at the time of application in order to be eligible to apply.
• Resume divided into the following six sections (Please include "Resume" at the top left of each page of your resume):
  
  
  • 1. Education (including current NYU school, major(s) and minor(s), if applicable and cumulative and major GPA,
  • 2. Work experience,
  • 3. Volunteer Experience (including any relevant non-paid research work and conference presentation(s),
  • 4. Honors/Scholarships/Awards (if applicable),
  • 5. Relevant High School and College Extracurricular Activities and
  • 6. Publications (if applicable).
• Social Entrepreneurial questions: Answer the following four questions each in 200 words or fewer.(Please include the question before your answer and "Social Entrepreneurial Questions" at the top left of each page of your answers):
  
  
  • 1. What do you think is one — or some — of the biggest problems facing society today and why?
  • 2. If you have a social entrepreneurial idea already, what is it? If you do not, please describe one or a few of the areas you are interested in working in and the type(s) of role(s) you hope to play. Remember, you do not need to have already launched or developed a social entrepreneurial idea in order to be eligible for the Reynolds program.
  • 3. What are some of the specific things you would hope to get from the Reynolds Program that would help you to realize your changemaker goals or vision?
  • 4. What Reynolds activities have you already participated in, if any? What were your key take-aways?
• Essay: In 500 words or fewer, describe the following: some previous experience where you had the opportunity - working with others or alone - to participate in, design or create a strategy for tackling an issue of social importance. Explain what the problem was/is, how you became interested in the work, what your role was, what the strategy was, and who your allies were. We are as interested in stories of failure as much as we are interested in stories of success. Describe what you learned both about yourself and about the challenge. Identify some of the particular obstacles you encountered, and describe the ways in which you addressed them. Please include “Essay” at the top left of each page of your essay.
• Biographical Sketch: Broadly speaking, the program attracts three types of changemakers; 1) those that have or are in the process of developing an innovative idea to address a specific social problem in a pattern-breaking, sustainable, and scalable way, 2) those that will work in and/or build the infrastructure needed for social entrepreneurial work to take root, including individuals who will practice their profession in a social entrepreneurial organization (accountants, lawyers, etc.) and individuals who want to improve the operations and management systems of public, private and not-for-profit organizations and, 3) those who will bring action oriented awareness on a national and/or global scale to particular social problems through, journalism, the arts, photography, film making, television production and other media avenues.
  
  These roles are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and one individual can play multiple roles. Further, each role can be thought of having its own trajectory beginning with the desire to change the world, and ending with the implementation of a pattern breaking, sustainable and scalable idea or approach. Eligible applicants can be at different points on these trajectories with some working to fully develop an idea, while others may be ready to launch an idea, while still others may be ready to bring an already launched idea more fully to scale. (See www.nyu.edu/reynolds for more information.)
  
  Imagine that you have been selected as a Reynolds Undergraduate Scholar. Please write a biographical sketch of approximately 500 words that describes the experiences in your personal history that have brought you to the Reynolds program. What qualities do you see in yourself that would make you an effective changemaker as described above? Be sure to discuss which changemaker role(s) you plan to play, and what you hope to accomplish both during and following your Reynolds fellowship experience. Only typed biographical sketches will be accepted. Please include “Biographical Sketch" on the top of each page of your biographical sketch.
• Two Written References: We strongly suggest one reference comes from a faculty or staff member from within the NYU community, and one comes from an individual who can speak directly to your commitment to addressing issues of social importance, who is outside of the NYU community. Click here for information to provide your references prior to their submission of your recommendation.