High School Awards Program

The University of Rochester is pleased to sponsor four prestigious award programs which recognize high school juniors' outstanding achievements in leadership and academics.

Nomination Information

Each year, participating high schools may nominate up to four qualified students, one for each of these awards. All nominees will have their application fee waived and will be eligible for merit scholarships worth at least $7,500 per year.

Participation in these programs is open to all secondary schools. The priority deadline for nominations is March 15, 2012. If your nomination is received by this deadline, you'll receive a certificate in April which you can present at your school's awards ceremony. The final deadline for nominations is June 15, 2012. All award packets will be mailed directly to the award nominator at their high school.

For more information, please see the High School Awards Program brochure.

If you have any questions, please contact Patrick O'Neill, High School Awards Coordinator, at (585) 275-3221, toll free at (888) 822-2256, or by email at patrick.oneill@rochester.edu.

Submit Nomination(s)

Click here to nominate students for any of the awards online. If you prefer to submit a paper application, click here to download the PDF version. Please note that you may nominate only one junior for each award, and multiple awards may not be given to the same student.

A Reminder of Award Qualifications

Please note: The relative weighting of award criteria is left to the discretion of the faculty at the individual high school, but all criteria should be taken into consideration.

Bausch + Lomb Honorary Science Award

• High achievement and rigor in science classes
• High PSAT Math and/or SAT Math scores

Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award

• A demonstrated commitment to understanding and addressing difficult social issues
• Leadership and dedication to community action
• Strong grades and rigorous courses taken in the humanities and social sciences

George Eastman Young Leaders Award

• Strong leadership experience at school and in the community
• High grades and challenging courses
• Extensive involvement in extracurricular activities

Xerox Award for Innovation and Information Technology

• A strong interest in innovation and/or information technology and a high level of achievement in this area
• Exposure to new technologies outside of school, such as pursuing serious work opportunities in local laboratories or industry
• Leading other students to new approaches to old problems, e.g. business plans for fundraising; innovative community service; after-school activities; and best uses of internal communications tools such as chat and blogs