Summer is a time to try new things, the kinds you never can during the school year, so hemmed in by demands on your time. We’ve discussed this before, looking at some of the many many options high school students have for spending their summers, and investigating how different options can best serve students with different interests and goals. In this article, we’re going to look at one program in particular, the prestigious Anson L Clark Summer Scholars Program, run and hosted by Texas Tech University. We’re going to go over what it is, who can benefit from it, and how you can apply to it yourself. Let’s jump right in, and see if this is a great way for you to spend your summer!
What is the Clark Summer Scholars Program?
Founded more than thirty years ago, the Clark Program is a dedicated research opportunity for high school students. These students come to Texas Tech’s campus, where they are partnered with a faculty member, and spend seven weeks working on a research project under their guidance, while also participating in seminars, lectures, and experiencing life on a college campus.
Unlike most prestigious programs of this nature, Clark Summer Scholars accepts students from all academic disciplines, not just the hard sciences. Note that research areas available vary from year to year; you can find the currently available ones here. This is because research areas directly depend on there being professors available to mentor students in their work. The majority of these are in the hard sciences, but the option for humanities and social sciences is notable.
Note that high school students are absolutely forbidden from contacting any faculty at Texas Tech directly about Clark Summers Scholars mentorships.
The most notable part of this program is that it is completely free for students to participate. This includes both the program itself, and costs such as housing and meals while on campus. There is a $25 application fee, and students are responsible for travel costs to and from the program, plus any personal expenses they have while there. There is, however, a $750 stipend awarded to all students upon successfully completing this program, which can be used to offset these costs.
How to Participate in Clark Summer Scholars
Clark Summer Scholars is a very small and very selective program, they only admit twelve students each summer, never more than that. This is due to both funding restrictions, and the needs of the program; since each student admitted works one-on-one with a faculty member at Texas Tech, the program is constrained by the number of faculty members willing to take part.
The program has more restrictive eligibility requirements than many, but fewer than some programs:
- You must be 17 years old or older by the program start date.
- You must be a current junior or senior when you apply.
- You must be a US Citizen or permanent resident. Note that US citizens living abroad are eligible to apply, but you are responsible for your own transportation to the program.
There are no strict academic eligibility requirements. That said, this is a very competitive and academically focused program. Despite the lack of requirements, students who are not academically competitive will not get in. These are the academic components we recommend for students who are applying:
- Test scores in the 99th percentile. They don’t mandate this, but they have shared that this is the average for students who are admitted.
- Very high grades in challenging academic coursework. They don’t release an average GPA (since different schools calculate those so differently), but we advise one as near to 4.0 as possible on an unweighted scale.
There are further components of course, which we will get into in the next section, on the application. These are simply the baseline, what you should have in order to be considered a serious candidate for this program.
How to Apply to Clark Summer Scholars
The application for the program is done entirely online (which is convenient). The application opens on January 2, and is due February 16. We advise submitting a few days before the deadline, just to make sure you don’t get derailed by technical glitches. We also advise working on all application components outside of the application itself, so that you can craft and edit them without fear of losing work you’ve done.
The application requires the following components:
- The online application itself, this is a fairly simple form to fill out, and isn’t meant to be a challenge. Just take care to ensure you answer all questions correctly.
- Essays. These are of core importance; we discuss them more below.
- High school transcripts, these do not need to be official, and you may upload PDFs directly to the application. You may also upload AP score reports.
- Standardized test scores. These must be entered directly, and a score report uploaded. SAT or ACT is preferred, but you may substitute the PSAT if you won’t have other scores available by the deadline.
- Three recommenders. Two of these must be teachers, the third may be a teacher, principal, research mentor, or volunteer supervisor. These are not letters (and you should be certain your recommenders know that), but short questionnaires to fill out. These will be automatically sent to recommenders, and must be completed by the deadline.
- A list of your top five activities. Note that you are limited to five; additional lists or resumes are not accepted. This can include awards, research programs, and extracurriculars, associated with your school or otherwise.
They will not accept supplemental information, or any recommendations or test scores which arrive after the application deadline. You will be notified about acceptance no later than early May; they will post on their site if you can expect to hear back sooner.
Answering the Clark Summer Scholars Essays
The program asks for four essays, and these are probably the most important aspect of the application. You need strong grades and test scores to demonstrate you have the intellectual capacity to succeed, but it is the essays that help you stand out from other applicants, and really show admissions officers what you can bring to the program as a whole.
Question one: Describe your primary research interests and potential project ideas, being very specific; this will help with matching you to a research professor. (2,000 characters including spaces)
This is a very straightforward question, but that doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to answer. Indeed, this is one of the main questions students are asked when they apply to PhD programs. In both cases, the goal is the same: to understand what exactly you want to research, and how much knowledge you have in that field already.
You are applying to this program to study a specific field in some depth, doing a directed research project. The more knowledge you have of the field already, and the more clear ideas you have about an actionable research project, the better this program will serve you, and the more you will get out of it.
If you are interested in a project in physics, for example, you should briefly discuss past experiences, what subfield you are interested in, and what particularly you want to research. Let’s say, for example, that you have a particular interest in astrophysics. You want to look at existing data on exoplanets, and see if you can make a statistical model based on that to map their distribution, and predict future occurrences.
Now, you may not end up working on the exact research topic you are interested in, but that’s not the sole point of this essay. They want to be sure you have a firm starting point to work off of, so that you will be able to jump directly into the interesting parts of research.
Question two: Optional – Describe your secondary research interest, being very specific. (2,000 characters including spaces)
This is, as it appears, exactly the same as the first, and should be answered in the same way. You do not need two research interests, but if you have two, then you should talk about both.
Question three: Tell the Selection Committee about yourself and your reasons for applying to the Clark Scholarship Program. Please include your future goals and how becoming a Clark Scholar would contribute to achieving those goals. (2,000 characters including spaces)
This question accompasses a lot of ground, but is really your place to tell them about your academic and personal interests, and to showcase exactly how participating in this program would be great for you. This should be based primarily in academics, both in your motivations to apply, and in what you hope to gain from the program.
You can take this as a chance to briefly explain other research you’ve done (though that can also be discussed in your earlier essays). You can also talk about non-research academic ventures which have drawn you to this, and shown you the benefits of doing research in an academic setting.
Your future goals, should you go into them, should focus on future research prospects or projects. You shouldn’t focus on this, nor on future careers. Instead, you should state the interest, and then talk about how the Clark Scholars Program can aid you in achieving these goals in an actionable way.
You should avoid talking about more basal things in this essay; how nice the dorms are or how much you want to spend time on a college campus. Instead, this should focus on the academic aspects of it, since this is the core focus of the program. You can discuss specific professors, but we advise against this, instead looking at how the program as a whole will benefit you, since there are no guarantees on which professors or labs are participating.
Essay four: Tell us about your most fulfilling service experience. This can be through an organization within or outside school. (1,500 characters including spaces)
This essay is specifically about a volunteering or other community service experience you’ve had. This can be one of the activities you discussed elsewhere in the application, but does not have to be. Indeed, they suggest this is a way for you to discuss an additional activity, one you did not have the room to cover elsewhere in your application.
What they are looking for here is evidence of who you are as a person, what values you hold, and what you consider important. There is no one right answer; showcase how you have given back to communities you are part of, and what you have learned from doing so.
Should You Apply to Clark Summer Scholars?
If you are interested in pursuing high level research, and you meet the eligibility requirements, then you should definitely consider applying to Clark Summer Scholars. In past years, it has been less popular with students, as it was only open to current seniors. The fact they now allow juniors to apply has made it far more intriguing, and allows it to be a shining achievement when it comes time to apply to colleges.
This is a very significant application however, and should not be done needlessly. If you do not meet the academic benchmarks they set out, this may not be the right choice for you. They only admit twelve students each year, and are thus able to be as selective as they want to be when deciding who gets to partake in this program.
Finally, this is an excellent research program to consider for students interested in non-STEM research fields. While it is of course a great opportunity for students interested in STEM, there are far fewer opportunities like this for students in the humanities and social sciences. If you are interested in pursuing one of those fields, then you should definitely consider applying to Clark Summer Scholars.
Final Thoughts
Summer is a vast open canvas, one which students may fill however they wish. Programs like Clark Summer Scholars are a great way to spend your summer, teaching you something remarkable while letting you take part in something grand, bigger than yourself. We hope that this article has fully introduced you to this program, and given you a sense of whether or not you would benefit from it.
If you are looking for the right summer program to match your interests, or want help applying to one of these very competitive programs, then Ivy Scholars can help. We have a vast library of programs, and our mentors have experience in helping students craft essays that properly showcase who they are, and what they are capable of. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help you.
