A behind-the-scenes look at the YACT scholarship selection process — what we look for, what we don't, and why we cap the cohort at ten.
Every year we receive far more scholarship applications than we can accept. People often ask us how we decide. Here is the honest answer.
What we look at
- School attendance over the past 18 months
- A short conversation — not an interview — with at least one parent or guardian
- A handwritten application from the child about what they want to learn
- The teacher's observations, in their own words
What we don't look at
- Standardised test scores
- Parental income alone
- Polished essays — we want the child's voice, not a coached one
Why we cap at ten
We could fund twenty. We choose ten.
The reason is simple: ten is the number of children you can know by name. Know their families. Know what they're reading, what they're struggling with, when something is wrong. Beyond ten, the work becomes administration — and we are not interested in administration.
YACT was founded by real people, for real people. The time we spend with these children — learning about them and from them — is the backbone of everything we do. That closeness is not a limitation. It is a choice. Maintaining that humanity is the ethos of YACT, and how we intend to move forward.