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Application

Application Process

Applications for the 2024-2025 McNair Scholars Cohort are being accepted for students graduating in Spring 2025 or later.

Application Deadline

Sunday, February 4th, 2024, 11:59 pm
Please read the instructions and gather all application components prior to submitting your application.

Application Form

Instructions for filling out the online form

The form will allow you to save your progress, allowing you to return to finish entering your information.

If you need to make changes after you submit the form, please contact the UW McNair program and submit an additional form. However, no changes will be accepted after the submission deadline.

The application material that we collect serves two purposes. First, it provides the UW McNair staff with information to help us make program admission decisions. Secondly, the UW McNair program must collect and maintain eligibility information for the Department of Education. See our information and privacy disclosures at the bottom of the page.

Application Part 2 only needs to be completed by applicants if they are selected for an interview in mid-February. Applicants will receive additional instructions and the necessary electronic forms to fill out.

In order to complete the application form, you will need the following information:

  1. Your demographic information, Name, gender, and race/ethnicity.
  2. Your UW GPA (if you have one).
  3. Your current number of UW and total academic credits.
  4. Your major(s) or intended major.
  5. Parent(s) or Guardian(s) education level. For determining first-generation status.
  6. Citizenship or Immigration Status.
  7. Taxable Income for the 2022 tax year which was submitted to the IRS in 2023. See below for more detailed information about taxable income.
  8. The 4 Items that you will be uploading as part of the Application Form:
    • Your Written Response to the Personal Statement-saved as a pdf
    • A copy of your current Resume or Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) (pdf)
    • Writing Sample (At least 2-pages in length, that was completed within the last 12-16 months (e.g. a paper from a course.))
    • Unofficial copy(ies) of college transcript(s). Note that we do not expect you to pay for transcripts. Do not worry about including transcripts if you cannot easily obtain your transcript from a non-UW school. If this is the case, let the McNair team know.

Information about taxable income

Your submission of Taxable Income must come from the tax return that was filed in 2023 for the 2022 tax-year. If you are a dependent, this is your parent’s or guardian’s taxable income.  If you are considered independent according to FAFSA, then it is financial information from your tax filing. Taxable Income is not the same as Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Taxable income is income after deductions are subtracted. On the 2022 tax form 1040, taxable income is found on line 15.

Instructions

The McNair application written component consists of 4 short answer questions and a 1-page personal statement essay. The short answer questions should be between 3 and 6 sentences and be a direct response to the prompt. These questions can be typed or copied directly into the text boxes on the electronic application form. To make filling out the form more manageable, we recommend writing them in a Word or Google doc and then using the copy/paste functions. The 1-page personal statement essay should be well-written and answer the prompt about your educational journey. We recommend that you have your paper edited and use one of the UW Writing Centers, either at Odegaard or the Instructional Center. This essay should be written in Word or Google Docs and saved as a PDF before uploading it to the McNair Application Form.

Short answer prompts:

1. Research Interest Prompt

Tell us about your research interests. In 3-6 sentences, describe what you would like to study and why. This can be during your undergraduate, graduate, or professional career.

For example:

  • What impact do you want to make through your involvement in research?
  • Is there a specific social, environmental, or health problem you would like to address?
  • Or is there an academic area that you are incredibly passionate about?

2. Graduate School Interest Prompt

Tell us about your graduate school interests. In 3-6 sentences, tell us about the type(s) of graduate programs (i.e., Ph.D., Master’s, etc.) you might be interested in and why.

For example:

  • What are your educational and career aspirations?
  • How would graduate school support you in achieving these goals?
  • If you have specific programs in mind, please tell us about those as well.

3. McNair Program Impact Prompt

In 3-6 sentences, tell us what you hope to learn and achieve by participating in the TRIO McNair Program.

4. Community Engagement Prompt

In 3-6 sentences, tell us how you engage with and within your communities through extra-curricular activities, work, or volunteering.

Community is defined broadly and can be a student organization, religious group, or family, among other things. If applicable, include how community engagement connects with or influences your research and graduate school goals.

Similarly, we consider engagement broadly. Depending upon the context, this may include work, volunteering, or participating in family activities and family obligations.

Personal Statement Essay Prompt

Describe your personal, educational journey. We want to hear your story and what shapes your interests and motivates you to pursue your goals.

For example:

  • What are your current and future educational and research interests?
  • What factors influenced the development of these interests? These can be things that happened inside the classroom or outside of it.
  • If applicable, what is your family’s educational background, and how has that influenced your educational journey?
  • What is your academic plan (major(s), minor(s), etc.), and how does this plan of study connect to your educational and research interests?
  • What is your projected timeline for completing your degree and attending graduate school?
  • What do you enjoy about your current academic work, and what do you hope to learn and achieve from your fields of interest?
  • Finally, include information about your academic successes and challenges.

This Essay should be 1-page maximum, single-spaced, 12pt font Times New Roman, 1″ margins. Upload a PDF copy of your essay.

Instructions

**This information will only be collected if you are selected for an in-person interview in February.**

As part of your application, you will report the income that either you or your parents/guardians filed with the U.S. IRS and/or with FAFSA. We also need to receive a signed copy of the income verification form, which we will send to you if you are selected for an interview. Note that if you are considered a dependent for FAFSA, you must have this form signed by your parent or guardian.

Why is this information necessary?

As a federally funded TRIO program, the McNair Scholars Program is required to provide documentation of a student’s eligibility for the program to the U.S Department of Education and implement the TRIO regulations that state two-thirds of the students served must meet federal low-income guidelines. The information on taxable income that is collected will only be used to determine or verify TRIO Student Support Services program eligibility. The U.S. Department of Education provides more information about TRIO and eligibility requirements online at Dept. of Education TRIO Income Eligibility.

Information Privacy

Applicants’ demographic information, personal or family income levels, family degree attainment, and citizenship status are all retained electronically by the UW McNair Scholars program for the duration of the grant. The UW McNair Scholars program assures that all family income and student information we collect is kept secure and confidential using University of Washington-approved and maintained systems and never provided to any State of Federal agency other than the Department of Education.