Source of Money 27: Leonard M. Rieser Fellowship for Science

Tuesdays we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Sonia, a native of Latin America, studied at a university in the U.S. She needed additional funding to help pay for school. She met with several of our coaches to help her find scholarships and complete her master application. She struggled with a number of concepts: finding scholarships, sifting out the bad ones, copying and pasting from her master application into scholarship applications. Her confusion nearly paralyzed her ability to apply. After working with our staff several times, she started getting money for college.

Characteristics of the Leonard M. Rieser Fellowship

The family established the Leonard M. Rieser Fellowship to honor his zeal. Carleton College describes the purpose of the fellowship “Leonard M. Rieser was passionately committed to supporting the ideas and potential of young people to build a more peaceful world.
The Rieser Fellowships support undergraduate students who want to pursue projects that explore issues at the intersection of science, global security, and public policy.”

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists facilitates the fellowship:

• Any undergraduate student studying at a U.S. college or university is eligible to apply
• Students must propose projects aligned with the purpose of the fellowship

Columbia University states:

“The Rieser Fellowships provide up to two successful applicants with a one-time award of up to $4,000 to pursue projects that explore issues at the intersection of science, global security, and public policy, focusing on a significant aspect of nuclear security, climate stabilization or biotechnology.

In addition to the monetary award, each Rieser Fellow will be eligible to submit his or her fellowship project results to be considered for publication on the Bulletin's website or for use in a Bulletin program. Rieser Fellows will also be eligible to participate in the Bulletin's Annual Clock Symposium in January of their fellowship year.”

Disadvantages of the Rieser Fellowship

• Many colleges list the fellowship on their web sites
• There are only two fellowships offered each year
• There is high competition for the fellowship

Thursday we answer some of your questions about reusable letters of recommendation

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