The Boettcher Scholarship was awarded to 57 DU students for the 2011-2012 academic year. Ten of the students accepting Colorado’s most prestigious award were freshman students at DU. This is down from 17 in the Class of 2014 last year.
In some cases, Boettcher scholars may be granted an additional year of funds and full-ride privileges if they choose to continue their education for a fifth year in efforts to earn an additional major. Six of the 57 Boettcher Scholars at DU are continuing to receive the Boettcher Scholarship to support their education while enrolled in the University of Denver’s dual-degree program.
The Boettcher Scholarship is a merit-based award only given to graduating Colorado high school students. Scholars are entitled to a full-ride at any accredited college or university in Colorado. Boettcher Scholarship winners typically fall within the top 2 percent of their graduating classes and usually score an average of 1400 on the SAT and at least a 27 on the ACT. Beyond the grades and the test scores, Boettcher Scholars are selected based on their engagement in school activities like clubs and sports, as well as in their community through time spent participating in community service activities.
Megan Neumann, an undeclared freshman scholar from Wray, Colo., is excited to continue her high level of involvement at DU.
“So far I have taken the opportunities to participate in Rush and join a sorority, become a member of DUPB, play a number of on campus sports and meet new people pretty much everywhere I go,” she said. “One of my favorite things about DU is that I feel like there are so many great opportunities for freshmen. Here you don’t have to wait to get involved. In fact, it’s so easy to do that you almost have to try harder to not get involved than you do to get involved.”
Neumann said the Boettcher scholars have a feeling of community, and that for her, choosing DU was a no-brainer.
“I chose DU because I felt like DU did a great job of making me feel like more than a number, and that everyone here, from staff to students, were all so helpful to me when I was trying to make my final decision between DU and CU. It made me see that DU has the type of environment that I wanted to be a part of for my college experience.”
After four weeks, Neumann feels the choice was a good one.
“I have loved my experience at DU so far. I really like the students, and the feeling of community around campus,” she said. “Also, I really like that anytime someone has a problem, the staff here are always readily available and more than willing to help out however possible. I already find myself bragging to my friends about how great it is here at DU.”
Anna Gauldin, another freshman scholar and journalism major from Glenwood Springs, agreed, but said the decision was tougher.
“Before receiving the scholarship, I was really set on going to the University of Missouri. I definitely hesitated at first, unsure of what to do. But after I thought it through and looked at my options, I realized it was too incredible to pass up. And now that I’m here, I know I made the right choice.”
The Boettcher Foundation, a Colorado-based foundation that invests in education and non-profits, established the scholarship in 1952 with the intention of keeping Colorado students within the state for their college education.
Each year, the Boettcher Foundation selects 40 students to receive the scholarship. Applicants endure a lengthy selection process, with 250 Colorado students competing in semi-finals and 72 progressing to finals, where they are interviewed by Boettcher Foundation board members, who make the final cut.
The Boettcher Foundation receives more than 1,000 applicants. For 2010-2011, there were more than 1,300 applicants. Based on this high number of applicants, the 40 students declared winners represent a mere 4 percent of the entire applicant pool.
While the number of Boettcher scholars that chose to attend DU this year has decreased from 17 to only 10, Neuman attributes it to the interests of her class, not the quality of the education at DU.
“I think that the distribution of each year’s class of Boettcher Scholars depends quite a bit on the academic interests of the students that year. This year we had a class with very diverse interests, which lead to us being more spread out, with less of a cluster here at DU. There just didn’t happen to be such a big number lined up with DU this year.”
