Welcome to USA Awards

One of the major programs in RCAAA’s portfolio of services is the Welcome to USA Awards. RCAAA annually welcomes applications from RC graduates who are accepted to universities and colleges in the United States for a “happy landing” check. This long-standing tradition of RCAAA has been sustained since 1993 without interruption.

Any RC senior, who is planning to attend college in the US demonstrates need for support, can apply for this Award. The goal of this initiative is not only to provide financial support to young alumni continuing their higher education in American colleges, but also to build stronger ties between Robert College, and the RC alumni community in the United States.

The awardees will be a part of the RCAAA Young Alumni Leadership Counsel. This counsel is designed to be a career planning, enhancement, and networking platform for the recipients of this prestigious award.

The selection is based on a number of criteria including financial need, academic excellence, and extracurricular activities. In the RCAAA application survey, the candidates describe their backgrounds, portray their interests, and express their need for financial support. Applications are reviewed and evaluated by RCAAA Board Members. The process is typically conducted during April – May timeframe each year. The selected awardees are announced in June in time for the Awards to be officially presented during the RC Graduation Ceremony.

An RCAAA Subcommittee comprised of RCAAA Board Members is established each year specifically for the purpose of overseeing and managing the Welcome to USA Awards Program. To initiate the process, this Subcommittee will send a reminder note to the RC Headmaster and College Counselor every year in April. The note will include a brief overview of the program goals, and will request the School’s assistance in socializing the program to seniors who are planning their their undergraduate education in North America. The candidates interested in applying for the Award will be asked to fill an applicantion survey provided by RCAAA demonstrating their financial need as well as describing their academic interests, extracurricular activities, and career goals. Transcripts and RC College Counselor’s survey filled for each candidate will also be attached to the candidates’ application and submitted to the RCAAA Subcommittee for review and consideration.

Timelines:

• Note from RCAAA Subcommittee to RC by mid-April

• Completed applications due to RCAAA Subcommittee by mid-May

• Notification presented to recipients during the RC Graduation Ceremony

a) Candidate Requirements and Selection Criteria:

• Anticipated graduation from RC at the end of the academic year

• Acceptance letter from at least one undergraduate school in the United States

• Proof of registration as evidence of intent to enroll (RC College Counselor’s approval would suffice)

• Completion of Welcome to USA Award applicant survey

• School transcripts and RC College Counselor’s recommendation letter

b) Selection Process:

• RCAAA Subcommittee to be established by the RCAAA President through the appointment of, at least, three RCAAA Board Members,

• RCAAA Subcommittee to initiate process as stated in Section 2,

• Completed applications to be submitted to RCAAA by the date stated in Section 2,

• RCAAA Subcommittee to review and evaluate applications,

• Individual Subcommittee awardee selections submitted to the President,

• A meeting to be set up and chaired by the President to review and discuss Subcommittee Member evaluations of each applicant,

• Candidates ranked by the Subcommittee based on available funds.

c) Notification:

• President (or Board Member appointed by the President) communicates the list of awardees to the Headmaster, College Counselor, and the RC New York Office

• President (or Board Member appointed by the President) to draft and send individual letters to each successful recipient.

d) Award:

• Successful recipients to be presented with an official Award Letter during the RC Graduation Ceremony RCAAA will make every effort to have a Board Member or Donor to attend the RC Graduation Ceremony to present the Awards in person.

• Each recipient obtains a letter of confirmation from their undergraduate school as a proof of enrollment and send it to the RCAAA President & Treasurer,

• Award checks are sent to recipients upon receipt of their confirmation letter from the undergraduate school to which they are officially enrolled.

For questions and information related to the RCAAA Welcome to USA Awards, please refer to the following sources:

Website: www. rcaaa.org

Istanbul: RC College Counseling Office

1993

Fuat Koro: University of Rochester

Pınar Nilgün Acar: University of Rochester

Onur Göker: Princeton University

1994

Burcu Gürsel: University of Chicago

Emre Eren: Swarthmore College

Bogaçhan Sahin: Princeton University

Ugur Koç: University of Chicago

1995

Cenk Ergan: Dartmouth College

Ersev Samim: Erdogan Princeton University

Nergis Ertürk: Harvard University

1996

Çaglar Tanrıkulu: Ohio-Wesleyan University

Oguz Silahtar: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Kıvanç Karaman: Franklin & Marshall College

1997

Melis Bilgin: Bennington College

Yasemin Sıralı: Swarthmore College

Semih Özlem: Princeton University

1998

Günes Bender: Swarthmore College

Evren Odçıkın: Princeton University

Zeynep Senatalar: Vassar College

1999

Esen Eren: Çelik Franklin & Marshall College

Ardan Araç: Princeton University

Volga Aksoy: Knox College

2000

Burak Cendek: California Institute of Technology

Orhan Edalı: Swarthmore College

Tugce Kurtis: Bennington College

2001

Sehnaz Kıymaz: Swarthmore College

Seda Savas: Bennington College

2002

Can Çeliktemur: Bates College

Isıl Özgener: Stanford University

Ata Türkoglu: University of Miami

2003

Erinç Tokluoğlu: Cornell University

Senem Yaman: Mount Holyoke College

Mehmet Sağlam: Cornell University

Ayşegül Altıntaş: Yale University

2004

Ulaş Selim Can Gülkırpık: Washington University in St. Louis

Emre Özen: Georgetown University

Didem İlter: Williams College

R. Yiğit Dula: Yale University

2005

Nahide Özüm Demirel: Wesleyan University

Cem Kurtuluş: Bates College

2006

Ömer İşçimenler: Cooper Union

Ezgi Nihan Akçınar: Yale University

Övül Sezer: Harvard University

2007

Meriç Akkan: Middlebury College

Mert Karakus: Bates College

Yasemin Gökçe: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2008

Yigit Aytan: University of Richmond

Zeynep Coskun: Williams College

Ipek Nergiz: Lehigh University

Alper Can Yildirim: Harvard University

2009

Emircan Uysaler: Grinnell College

Ceyda Erten: Georgetown University

Emre Turan: Lehigh University

2010

Tolga Zeybek: Tufts University

Berk Sarioz: Brandeis University

Zorbey Canturk: Drexel University

2011

Selen Uman: Yale University

Gokce Gokmenoglu: Trinity College

Gizem Sakalli: Cornell University

2012

Nur Yazir: Amherst College

Ege Yumusak: Harvard University

Feyza Haskahraman: MIT

2013

Kutay Onayli: Brown University

Setenay Gel: Harvard University

Dinc Ciftci: University of Richmond

2014

Bita Koc: MIT

Elif Naz Samanci: Wellesley University

Berkay Guldur: Cornell University

2015

Yasemin Tekgurler: Davidson College

Atakan Baltaci: Princeton University

Bariscan Goc: University of Chicago

2016

Sule Kahraman: MIT

Mirac Suzgun: Harvard College

Anil Cengiz: Pomona College

Eren Kafadar: Yale University

2017

Berkay Aydin: University of Chicago

Idil Demirelli: Lafayette College

Eylem Guzelocak: Cornell University

Ilayda Orhan: Yale University

2018

Ekin Vardar: Purdue University

Ece Korkmaz: Stanford University

Bora Demiral: Dartmouth College

2019

Inci Anali: Harvey Mudd College

Ebru Ermis: The University of Chicago

Beliz Utebay: Georgia Institute of Technology

Ihsan Uyan: Trinity College

Mert Yapucuoglu: The University of Oregon

2020

Anil Alper: Grinnell College

Emir Arda Deger: UCLA

Gizem Dogan: Bowdoin College

Azra Haseki: Harvard University

Serra Kocoglu: Stanford University

Bilge Tayyar: Claremont McKenna College

Ezgi Zeren: Tufts University

2021

Taylan Aydın: Princeton University

Necdet Canım: Pomona College

Doğa Kılınç: Tufts University

Zeynep Yılmaz: University of Chicago

2022

Zeynep Bayırtepe: Dartmouth College

Dilara Bıkmaz: Yale University

İpek Bozkurt: Georgetown University

Bengisu Bulur: Pomona College

Mert Dindar: Bennington College

Simge İldeş: Colby College

Eslem Gönül Saka: Princeton University

Ardıl Turhan: Duke University

2023

Arda Daren Aslan: Vanderbilt University

Nihan Cedimağar: Lafayette College

Ayseli Karabekmez: Colby College

Ayşe Melek Keleş: Vanderbilt University

Berkay Kurnaz: Kenyon College

İpar Özay Kurt: Stanford University

Batu Özer: Dartmouth College

Tuna Sağdan: University of Pennsylvania

Ahmet Volkan Turan: Franklin & Marshall College

Sarp Türker: University of Chicago

Mehmet Can Yılmaz: Dartmouth College

We would like to thank the following graduates and affiliates for their generous support in expanding the award coverage in 2022:

BENEFACTORS

• $200 and above contributions to the fund.

SUPPORTERS

• $100 and above contributions to the fund.

FRIENDS

• $50 and above contributions to the fund.

DONATE