The Bonner Center works with the Admission’s Office to recruit high school seniors to apply to the College and the Community Scholars Program. Anyone who is interested can apply during their senior year of high school!
In addition, TCNJ students who volunteer for a year–acting as Bonner Volunteers or BVols–are also recruited to join the program when scholarship funds become available. All Bonners receive aid that equates to 50-100% of the tuition portion of their bill.
If you are interested in receiving an application please send an email to our recruitment coordinator at bscholar@tcnj.edu. We will add you to the list of perspective students to receive an application in February.
Please be sure to include:
- Name
- Hometown
- Phone number
- How you found out about the program
Frequently Asked Questions
What do we look for in an applicant?
We are looking for students who have a passion for community service and social justice. The Bonner Community Scholars are a well-rounded group of students with all different experiences, skills, backgrounds, majors, and passions. During the recruitment process we are looking to bring students in who have different strengths (experience in community service, non-profit background, public speaking, leadership, etc.) in order to make our program as successful as possible.
How does the Application Process work?
- All steps will be completed before you begin at TCNJ
- For High School students, this will begin during the end of your Senior year.
- For Transfer students, this will begin during the last semester at your previous school.
- February – We send out and begin receiving Written Applications
- March – Written Applications are due
- April – We will choose about 30-40 applicants to come in for an Interview
- April/May – We will offer about 10-20 applicants the opportunity to become Bonner Community Scholars for the upcoming school year
What can I expect if I am selected?
If selected, you would be joining a team of 100+ students, staff, faculty, and community partners working together to make our local community and national community a better place. Each Bonner student will be on a team with other TCNJ Bonners working on an issue they care about. The team, along with the staff and community partners, plan out their goals and schedule at the beginning of each year. Students serve together at the site and work on projects as a team.
Beyond service, when you enter this program you will gain many new skills and joining the Bonner Family. The TCNJ Bonners are a very close group and we continue to build relationships through fun team building activities and group service trips.
Graduated Bonners say that they gained more from the program than they ever could have imagined. Many of our graduates have entered the non-profit world, working for some of our current partners in Trenton, while others have continued their education at the graduate level. We hope that students leave TCNJ prepared to be active citizens in their own communities and continue the work they started while in the Bonner Program.
What happens if you are not selected?
Even if you are not selected to becoming a scholarship recipient, we encourage you to get involved in our Bonner Volunteers (B-Vol) group! Please visit this page for more information.
Since our recruitment process typically happens before students even get to TCNJ, we have already given out all of our scholarships at the beginning of each school year. However, sometimes scholarship opportunities become available and we are able to allocate funding to current TCNJ students. We look to our best B-Vols first!
Thank you and we look forward to meeting you on our campus soon!
If you are interested in applying or have any questions about the application process, you can reach our recruitment coordinator at bscholar@tcnj.edu or 609-771-2481.
We are members of a National Network!
We are one school in a national network of over 85 other colleges and universities with the Bonner Program! If you are applying to other schools, be sure to check to see if they have a Bonner Program also! Here is the link to the Bonner Foundation’s Website and list of participating schools!