Yes, we ask that no more than two students per school submit an application. If there are multiple eligible students at a school, we suggest the school host an internal selection process to identify the top two candidates to move forward with submitting an application.

Applicant's school must:

• Be a public high school in the United States (charter, magnet schools, and tribal schools through the Bureau of Indian Education are also eligible).
• Have a 30% or greater free and reduced lunch rate.
• To encourage equity of opportunity, students that attend schools who have had a Scholar in the last two years are not eligible to apply. For the 2021 application cycle, ineligible schools include:
• Amundsen High School in Chicago, IL
• ASU Preparatory Academy: South Phoenix High School in Phoenix, AZ
• Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans, LA
• C. E. Byrd High School in Shreveport, LA
• Charlottesville High School in Charlottesville, VA
• Colton High School in Colton, CA
• Gahr High School in Cerritos, CA
• Glen A. Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights, CA
• Gonzales High School in Gonzales, CA
• Granada Hills Charter High School in Granada Hills, CA
• Harlingen School of Health Professions in Harlingen, TX
• Harrisburg High School- SciTech Campus in Harrisburg, PA
• Hawthorne Math & Science Academy in Hawthorne, CA
• Ideate High Academy in San Diego, CA
• James Hillhouse High School in New Haven, CT
• Kokomo High School in Kokomo, IL
• LaFayette High School in LaFayette, AL
• Livingston Collegiate Academy in New Orleans, LA
• Noble High School in North Berwick, ME
• Piedmont Classical High School in Browns Summit, NC
• Pomeroy High School in Pomeroy, WA
• Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, PA
• West High School in Salt Lake City, UT
• West Valley High School in Cottonwood, CA

Applicant must:

• Be a junior during the current academic year and a senior the following academic year.
• Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or have received DACA status.
• Not attend one of the ineligible schools listed above.
• Have a proven track record of demonstrated leadership in their school and/or community.
• Be enrolled in, or have taken, one or more Honors, Advanced Placement (AP) classes, International Baccalaureate (IB) classes, or college-level courses.
• Be available to fully participate in the year-long program and attend all dates for the Aspen Ideas Festival trip in Aspen, Colorado: June 25 - July 1, 2021. We apologize in advance, but no exceptions for late arrival or early departure (barring an emergency) can be made.

Only students who are juniors at a public high school during the current academic year may apply.

The Educator Nominee needs to be one of the following:

• A current school staff: Principals, Vice Principals, and other school staff beyond current teachers are eligible to be nominated.
• A current school partner staff: School partner staff refers to an outside agency or organization who partners with a school to provide services, resources, and/or opportunities to the school community.
• The Educator Nominee cannot be a family member of the applicant.

We cannot make exceptions to this requirement.

An Educator Nominee should be someone who connects and work well with students, is supportive of student-led projects, can provide constructive feedback, and understands and can commit to the year-long program requirements which average 5-20 hours per month.

Educators must attend all program dates in Aspen and must plan on being at their school for the following academic year.

Educators cannot apply on their own. If an educator is interested in this opportunity, they should engage and encourage a student leader who is currently a junior at their school to apply.

Student applicants will need to identify and nominate an educator from their school in their application who will serve as an engaged participant and collaborative partner throughout the year-long program. As an educator, they will accompany their student to Aspen and work with them to design and execute a community change project.

An Educator Nominee should be someone who:

• Is a current staff, school partner staff, or volunteer working at the school and not a family member of the applicant. Principals, Vice Principals, and other school staff are also eligible to be nominated.
• Connects and work well with students.
• Is supportive of student-led projects.
• Can provide constructive feedback.
• Understands and can commit to the year-long program requirements which average 5-20 hours per month.
• Can attend all program trip dates in Aspen.
• Plans on remaining at their current school for the following academic year.

We advise applicants to solicit their principal and/or vice principal for support and feedback on their educator nominee.

Being enrolled in or have taken at least one Honors, AP, IB, or College Level Course is required as part of the application. If your school does not offer one of these types of classes, consider enrolling and taking a class at your local community college or an online college level course you are interested in. If you do, work with your school to also see if they will allow this course to go toward your high school credit graduation requirements.

While academic rigor is a qualifying requirement, we recognize that many factors can affect a student’s success beyond grades, GPA, classes, and test scores. If an applicant has had any academic challenges, we encourage and advise them to share this in their essay responses and include evidence on how they are actively addressing them.

We also recognize that some schools do not offer or have limited Honors, AP, IB, or college level courses. If these classes are not offered or offerings are limited at an applicant’s school, we advise them to share that in their essay responses.

That is ok! Submitting these test scores is optional and if not submitted, will not count against you in the application review.

While academic rigor is a qualifying requirement, we recognize that a holistic selection process requires that we look at a students entire high school career and value that they are more than just a GPA or test score. Many factors can affect a student’s success. If an applicant has had any academic challenges, we encourage and advise them to share this in their essay responses and include evidence on how they are actively addressing them.

Application deadlines for the 2021 cohort have not been released yet. They will be shared by September each year. Applicants must complete and submit their application by midnight of the deadline – in the time zone the student resides.

Applications are not complete until the applicant’s educator nominee and recommender also submit their forms. This needs to be done by the deadline.

To start an application, students must first affirm eligibility and create a profile. A profile allows you to save and return to your application any time before the deadline. Once you submit your application, it can no longer be edited. A completed application includes:

• Parts 1 and 2 completed and submitted by the student
• Once an applicant clicks “submit” they can no longer go back in and make edits/changes to their application.
• Applicants can submit their application after they have sent their educator nominee and recommender an invite, and before these individuals have submitted their forms. Applicants need to submit their application by the deadline.
• Applications are not complete until the applicant’s educator nominee and recommender submit their forms. This must also be done by the deadline.

30 scholars are selected each year:

• 12 U.S.- based high school juniors and a nominated educator from their school
• 5 students and 1 educator from the African Leadership Academy

A selection committee comprised of a diverse group of leaders in education, youth leadership and development, science, the arts, and Bezos Scholars alumni evaluates and recommends candidates based on:

Leadership Qualities

• Demonstrated leadership and civic engagement
• Identified leadership traits & skills
• Collaboration
• Independent thought and ideas
• Intrinsic motivation

Readiness to Engage in the Program

• Social-emotional maturity
• Expression and listening skills
• Readiness & capacity to grow

Academic Rigor

• Rigor of coursework
• Cumulative GPA

While academic rigor is a qualifying requirement, we recognize that there are many factors that can affect a student’s success beyond grades, GPA, classes, and test scores. If an applicant has experienced any academic challenges, we encourage and advise them to share this in their essay responses and include evidence on how they are actively addressing them.

We also recognize that some schools do not, or cannot offer Honors, AP, IB, or college level courses. In these cases applicants can submit courses taken outside of their school, at other learning institutions, or online. If advanced coursework is not offered at an applicant’s school and an applicant therefore has had limited exposure to this, we advise them to share that in their essay responses.

Student Written Responses Essay Questions

• Strong competency of written responses that demonstrate complete and supported ideas, statements, and actions that show leadership, creativity, humility, and compassion.

While student written responses are an integral part of an application review process, we recognize being an English Language Learner may affect English writing competencies. We encourage and advise applicants to address anything affecting their ability to craft and write their essay responses in their application, with the emphasis that they do not have to disclose anything they are not comfortable disclosing.

Educator Nomination and Personal Recommendation

• Enthusiastic support and encouragement for the applicant with insights on the applicant’s areas of achievement, academic rigor, reliance, ability to face and learn from adversity, and/or leadership in the community.
• Supportive evidence and multiple tangible examples of applicant’s maturity, ability to work well with others, and why this applicant is ready to become a Bezos Scholar.

We seek passionate and intellectually curious young people who are rising leaders in their schools and communities. We value cultural, racial, socioeconomic, geographic, and gender diversity among applicants and seek to select a cohort that reflects the diversity across the U.S.

To encourage equity of opportunity, students that attend schools who have had a Scholar in the last two years are not eligible to apply. Due to COVID, Scholars were not able to be selected in 2020. For the 2021 application cycle, ineligible schools include:

• Amundsen High School in Chicago, IL
• ASU Preparatory Academy: South Phoenix High School in Phoenix, AZ
• Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans, LA
• C. E. Byrd High School in Shreveport, LA
• Charlottesville High School in Charlottesville, VA
• Colton High School in Colton, CA
• Gahr High School in Cerritos, CA
• Glen A. Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights, CA
• Gonzales High School in Gonzales, CA
• Granada Hills Charter High School in Granada Hills, CA
• Harlingen School of Health Professions in Harlingen, TX
• Harrisburg High School- SciTech Campus in Harrisburg, PA
• Hawthorne Math & Science Academy in Hawthorne, CA
• Ideate High Academy in San Diego, CA
• James Hillhouse High School in New Haven, CT
• Kokomo High School in Kokomo, IL
• LaFayette High School in LaFayette, AL
• Livingston Collegiate Academy in New Orleans, LA
• Noble High School in North Berwick, ME
• Piedmont Classical High School in Browns Summit, NC
• Pomeroy High School in Pomeroy, WA
• Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, PA
• West High School in Salt Lake City, UT
• West Valley High School in Cottonwood, CA

The Bezos Scholars Program was founded in 2005 by Mike and Jackie Bezos who are passionate about amplifying and elevating youth voice and leadership. It is funded and run by the Bezos Family Foundation. The Aspen Institute, whose mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values, also provides support. The Bezos Family Foundation’s vision is that all young people—especially those furthest from opportunity—can reach their full potential and meaningfully contribute to society.