Scholarships

Applicant must meet these requirements:
*previous applicants are encouraged to apply but previous scholarship recipients are not eligible.

• Submit materials by May 15, 2026
• Resides in the United States
• Has a formal diagnosis of Down syndrome
• Is at least 18 years old
• High school diploma or certificate (or plans to receive by Spring 2026)
• Enrolled or planning to attend the Fall semester 2026 in an inclusive postsecondary education program (IPSE) at a university, college, or community college within the United States. It must be a program of, or directly affiliated with, an accredited institution of higher education (IHE), and it must support students with intellectual disability.
- Proof of enrollment in the IPSE
- Documentation of estimated tuition for the 2026 Fall semester for the IPSE
• Personal essay – no more than 500 words
- Tell us a little about yourself and your accomplishments that could include:
- Employment
- Experiences in your postsecondary education program
- Extracurricular activities
- Advocacy work
- Impacts you have made in the community
- Your future goals.
• Two letters of recommendation
• One photo
• A letter from a qualified medical professional confirming the applicant’s diagnosis of Down syndrome is required.
• One video (max 3 minutes) that shows YOU and your authentic self! You can include props, word cards, artwork, dance, or talents.
- Your video may include answering up to 3 of the following questions, or you may include other interesting information about yourself. (the questions are optional):
- If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
- What is your favorite holiday, and how do you celebrate it?
- Who is your real-life hero, and why?
- Who is your favorite teacher, and why?
- What is something that you find difficult or challenging in life?
- If you could meet anyone famous, who would you want to meet and why?
- What is one chore that you hate doing the most, and why?
- What is one thing you would like to learn to do better?
• FINALLY, ALL applicants should end their video by answering ONE of the following questions:
- Why you should be awarded the UPS/Jake Pratt Scholarship OR
- What receiving this award would mean to you
• Video guidelines:
- Maximum of 3 minutes
- Hold your phone horizontal
- Quiet location to reduce background noise
- Record in an area with plenty of light
- If you would like to submit a transcript of the video, add that as a PDF attachment
- Files in MP4 and MOV
• Optional: Submit up to two personal items in a picture, document or an additional video that show your unique personality or a hobby/skill.
• Applications are due by May 15, 2026

We are extremely excited to get to know you and learn about your journey in higher education!

• Scholarship funds must be applied toward tuition and fees
• Funds can be used for housing, food, or transportation ONLY if these costs are already included as part of the IPSE programming fees.
• Funds must be paid directly to the IHE
• No payments will be made to the individual or family
• Five (5) winners of $5,000.00 scholarships will be determined by a scholarship committee using a scoring rubric
• Five (5) winners of $1,000 scholarships will also be awarded by the scholarship committee using a scoring rubric.
• All scholarship funds will be applied towards the 2026 Fall semester tuition and fees

Applications are due by May 15, 2026

Please read all steps thoroughly.

• Must apply online
• All supporting materials must be submitted using the Dropbox link in the application.
- We will not accept extra materials by email
• Upon submission, you will receive two (2) email confirmations:
- Application confirmation and summary
- File upload confirmation
If you have not received both confirmation emails to the email you provided within 48 hours, email info@ndsccenter.org with the subject line “Jake Pratt Scholarship Application Status – Your Name”

STEP 1: FILL OUT THE APPLICATION

• Complete the application found within the “Submit Online Application” drop-down.
• For time-sensitive questions or concerns relating to the completion of this application, email info@ndsccenter.org

STEP 2: WRITE AND SUBMIT A PERSONAL ESSAY

• Help us get to know you better! The essay or personal statement should come from your heart and be no longer than one page (no more than 500 words).
• You can tell us a little about yourself, including your accomplishments that could include:
- Employment
- Experiences in your postsecondary education program
- Extracurricular activities
- Advocacy work
- Impacts you have made in the community
- Your future goals.
• Type or copy your essay into the text box within the application.

STEP 3: UPLOAD TWO LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

• This could come from a teacher, coach, therapist, best friend, employer, etc. (500 words max).
• Upload PDF versions of individual letters using the Dropbox link in the application.

STEP 4: SUBMIT A VIDEO

• Submit one video that shows us YOU and your authentic self!
• Your video may include answers to up to 3 of the following questions, or you may include other interesting information about yourself. (these questions are optional):
- If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
- What is your favorite holiday, and how do you celebrate it?
- Who is your real-life hero, and why?
- Who is your favorite teacher, and why?
- What is something that you find difficult or challenging in life?
- If you could meet anyone famous, who would you want to meet and why?
- What is one chore that you hate doing the most, and why?
- What is one thing you would like to learn to do better?
• FINALLY, end your video by answering one of the following:
- Why you should be awarded the NDSC Jake Pratt Scholarship Presented by UPS OR
- What receiving this award would mean to you
• Video guidelines:
- Maximum of 3 minutes
- Hold your phone horizontal
- Quiet location to reduce background noise
- Record in an area with plenty of light
- If you would like to submit a transcript of the video, add that as a PDF attachment
- Files in MP4 and MOV
- Upload your video using the Dropbox link in the application.

STEP 5: SUBMIT SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS

• One photo (.jpg, .png, etc.)
• Proof of enrollment in the IPSE (PDF)
• Estimated tuition for the 2026 Fall semester for the IPSE (PDF)
• Letter from a qualified medical professional confirming the applicant’s diagnosis of Down syndrome (PDF)
• Optional: Submit up to two personal items in a picture, document or an additional video that show your unique personality or a hobby/skill.
• Upload documents to the Dropbox link in the application.

FILE NAMING

• To keep all application materials together, follow these file naming instructions when uploading your files:

• Two letters of recommendation
- firstname_lastname_letterofrec1
- firstname_lastname_letterofrec2
• Video
- firstname_lastname_video
• Video transcript (optional)
- firstname_lastname_videotranscript
• One photo
- firstname_lastname_photo
• Proof of enrollment in IPSE
- firstname_lastname_proof
• Estimated tuition for the 2026 Fall semester for the IPSE
- firstname_lastname_tuition
• Letter from a qualified medical professional confirming the applicant’s diagnosis of Down syndrome
- firstname_lastname_diagnosis.pdf)
- Optional personal items (identify with firstname_lastname) in the file description.