The Posse Foundation recruits and trains students with leadership qualities for the future. As the United States continues to become more multicultural, Posse believes that the leaders of the future should reflect the country’s rich demographic. Posse scholars earn full tuition leadership scholarships from Posse’s partner colleges and universities.

In order to be considered for Posse, a high school senior must be nominated by their high school or a community service organization, demonstrate leadership within their high school and showcase academic potential. Posse is in search of students that are positive, talented and ambitious about their future aspirations. The scholarship is neither a minority nor need-based scholarship and is for students of all backgrounds. For Posse Miami, the universities that are available to choose from are: Davidson College, Franklin & Marshall College, Hamilton College, Mount Holyoke College, Pomona College and Syracuse University.

Students who wish to participate in the Posse Scholarship must be evaluated under the Dynamic Assessment Process, which is a unique evaluation method that identifies leaders with great potential. The process runs from September through December each year, looking for any students who might have been missed by the traditional admissions criteria at highly selective schools. Using a three-part process which consists of group and individual interviews, Posse and college administrators select a diverse group of 10 students for each institution.

“I’d recommend the experience to anyone that holds similar passions because the DAP process allows admissions to get to know what your values are and not just your test scores,” senior Briell Robinson said.

After the evaluation process, students who earned the title of Posse Scholar enter the Pre-Collegiate Training to develop as leaders before their enrollment into the college or university of their choice. This step takes place from January to August of senior year and the newly-selected Scholars meet weekly with Posse administrators and peers for a two-hour workshop that addresses four different points: academic excellence, team building, cross-cultural communication and leadership.

During each Scholar’s four-years at their respective institution, the Campus Program is put into motion to ensure the focus of the Posse Scholars and to increase the impact of the program on campus. Staff from Posse visit each school four times a year for meetings with Scholars, campus liaisons and mentors. Scholars will meet weekly with their mentors as a group and individual every two weeks.

The final stage of Posse is the Career Program, which connects the Scholars and alumni to highly coveted development opportunities and internships. In partnership with industry-leading companies and organizations, the program offers tools to secure competitive internships and leadership track-jobs in varying fields across the globe. The Career Program is split into five different sections: Internships, Career Development Workshops, Career Coaching, Graduate + Fellowship Program and The Alumni Network.

Posse’s four programs are optimized and designed in hopes for the success of each Scholar. With support from Posse, Scholars excel in academics, internships and even have the potential to win distinguished awards. A prestigious program, many Posse alumni are hired for well-paying jobs and accepted into elite graduate programs after their undergraduate years. Overall, the Posse scholarship is one of the strongest funding options for higher education across the United States that should be considered by all students.