Cincinnatus Competition Attracts Nation's Top Students:
Eleven Million Dollars are Up For Grabs

High school seniors from around the nation will come to the campus of the University of Cincinnati Saturday, March 3, in a unique competition that has $11 million up for grabs in scholarship money, the largest amount ever. It's the fifth annual Cincinnatus Scholarship competition, in which the top prize is a $60,000 full scholarship for tuition, fees, room, board and books.

The scholarship competition is unique in that students have the opportunity to interact with their peers as they participate in a group problem-solving activity for the scholarship money. Every student who competes is a winner and will receive at least a $1,500 annual award. This year marks the first time UC students will join faculty in assessing the candidates during the group problem solving activity. The 80 UC seniors were among the very first Cincinnatus scholars to compete in 1997.

Connie Williams, director, UC Student Financial Aid, says 1,640 high school seniors will take part in the Cincinnatus V competition. To be considered, the students must have at least a 3.0 grade point average and meet one of these requirements:

A top five percent high school rank

ACT composite of 26 or higher

SAT combined score of 1170 or higher

Kelsey McKelfresh, a freshmen from Ft. Collins, Colorado was one of six UC freshmen awarded a full Cincinnatus scholarship last year. The musical theater major in UC's College-Conservatory of Music says the competition was an unforgettable experience. "At first, it was a little overwhelming. But then, it was so cool to get to meet and know everyone. I loved the essay portion of the competition, and we did a group activity that was just like doing a group project in high school. I was really impressed by Cincinnatus, and I was thrilled that they talked with me about the Honors Program. It made me really happy about coming here."

Students will register at 8 a.m. at UC's Shoemaker Center and will wrap up their day around 3 p.m. For those who can't get to campus that weekend, two other dates were established. About 120 students competed on Feb. 19, and a final group competes March 9. Awards will be announced in the spring.