The L. Robert and Della M. Nessler Memorial Law School Scholarship Charitable Trust (the “Charitable Trust”) offers a variety of different scholarship programs. The following is a summary of the Charitable Trust’s policies and procedures regarding these programs.
Please note: For scholarship consideration within the 2020 academic year, all scholarship applications must be submitted by December 1, 2019.
Scholarship Grant Selection Committee
All of the Charitable Trust’s grant and scholarship programs shall be overseen and managed by the Charitable Trust’s Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees will screen and review all applications for funding and will select funding recipients according to the procedures set forth below.
Scholarship Grant Programs
The Charitable Trust will consider scholarships from a variety of sources. All scholarship requests will be evaluated in accordance with the Charitable Trust’s stated priority to support graduated high school students that are in financial need to attend law school.
Scholarship Grants to Individuals Procedures
The Charitable Trust will provide scholarship grants to individuals for study at an educational institution (as defined in Code Section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii)). Interested students must complete and submit applications for the scholarship program. The application requires applicants to provide comprehensive information including: a complete biographical history with supporting materials; a description of their academic careers; a detailed statement of their educational plans; letters of reference (including recommendations from teachers and/or administrators); and an essay on a topic to be determined by the Board of Trustees.
The applications submitted will be reviewed by the Board of Trustees. Throughout the entire process, applicants will be evaluated and selected based on the following criteria, all of which are related to and designed to effectuate the charitable purposes of the Charitable Trust. Each applicant must be accepted to, or already enrolled at, an accredited law school, have outstanding community service, exceptional academic records and strong letters of recommendation. Special consideration will be given to those applicants who have an above-average grade point (“B+” or “3.5” or higher) and those who have scored above 150 on the Law School Admission Test.
The awarding of scholarships will be based solely upon the objective judgement of the Board of Trustees as to which candidates demonstrate the greatest potential for utilizing the resources offered by the scholarship program. Once selected to receive a scholarship, the student will receive an award letter in substantially the format shown here.