Scholarship alert! FLP offering P200K grants to junior and senior law students.

Managing one’s finances in law school can be tough. Aside from the mounting tuition fees, law books and printing costs may really subject one’s purse to some substantial beating. As a working law student myself, I know how every peso is hard to earn and even harder to spend; that’s why last year, I applied for the same scholarship as well.

The Foundation for Liberty and Prosperity (FLP) is opening once again its scholarship programs to aspiring and deserving third-year and fourth-year law students all around the Philippines, provided they have met certain criteria prescribed by the Foundation, to wit:

• A student of one of the eligible law schools (these are all law schools that have obtained a percentage of passing above the overall percentage of passing for the 2016 bar exams based on the statistical data from the Supreme Court Office of the Bar Confidant.)
• In the top 20 of the batch of their respective law schools in terms of academic performance;
• Must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) not lower than 85% or 2.25 for the immediately preceding school year (2017-2018);
• No dropped subject and no grade lower than 75% or 3.0 during his or her stay at the law school;
• Must not have taken a leave of absence for the immediately preceding school year (2017-2018); and,
• Must have enrolled and completed the full load for the first two (2) years of law school in case of the 3^rd year students.

In addition, the following should be mailed or hand carried to: Foundation for Liberty and Prosperity, 3rd Floor, PCCI Corporate Centre, 118 L.P. Leviste Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City. Except for the transcript of records, they should ALSO be transmitted electronically to secretariat@libpros.com.

1. one copy of the duly accomplished FLP Scholarship Application Form (click to download!)
2. one copy of the nominee’s/applicant’s official transcript of school records for the first two years of law school for the incoming third year applicants and the first three years of law school for the incoming fourth year applicants
3. one (1) hard copy of the essay
4. a certification from the School Secretary/Registrar or any authorized school official that the applicant
   1. is among the top 20 of his/her batch in law school in terms of academic performance; and
   2. has enrolled and completed the full load for the first two (2) years of law school for incoming 3^rd year students, or first three (3) years of law school in the case of incoming 4^th year students

This scholarship program is co-sponsored by the Tan Yan Kee Foundation and undertaken in cooperation with the Philippine Association of Law Schools.

The selection process is stringent. Law students from all around the country apply. An essay is required tackling the Foundation’s philosophy of “safeguarding of liberty and nurturing of prosperity under the rule of law.”  The essay should answer, inter alia, the following questions:

• What do you understand by the philosophy of liberty and prosperity under the rule of law?
• How can you promote this philosophy as a student? How will you apply this in your legal career?

The essay must be written in English with a minimum of 2,000 words and a maximum of 3,000 words. It should be printed on an 11-inch by 8.5-inch white bond paper with text in 14-point font size, Times New Roman, single-spaced, with one-inch margins on both sides, top and bottom.

In addition, interviews will be conducted by esteemed persons from the legal profession. When I applied, it was acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio who chaired the panelists who *grilled* me during the interview. Other members of the panel were Atty. Joel J. Gregorio (FLP Corporate Secretary and Trustee), Former Education Secretary Edilberto C. de Jesus, Philippine Association of Law School (PALS) President and Ateneo Law Dean Sedfrey M. Candelaria, and Tan Yan Kee Foundation Executive Elizabeth Alba.

Well, the stringent selection process is justified by the nature and amount of the grant. The FLP Scholarship is a monetary scholarship award of PhP200,000.00 of which a maximum of PhP100,000.00 shall be for tuition fee and PhP20,000.00 for book allowance. The amounts for the tuition fee and the book allowance will be transferred to the account of the student created especially for this purpose and in tranches corresponding to the schedule of payment for tuition fee per semester of the pertinent academic institution. The remaining PhP80,000.00 for stipend shall be deposited monthly throughout the academic year to the same account created for this purpose.

Moreover, you’ll have a new family of bright law students (plus me!) and the entire Foundation. You get to interact and establish connections with law students from all over the country and meet Ret. Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, who is truly an insightful fatherly figure.

Prepare your requirements, incoming junior and senior law students. See full details here. The deadline for the submission of nominations/applications is on or before 5 p.m. of September 16, 2018.