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Online Application with Résumé and Cover Letter. The online portion of the application will consist of a form, résumé and cover letter; all three must be present before submitting. A confirmation email will be sent to you upon successful submission.

1. Acknowledgement of Commitment – After carefully reading the Neeley Fellows Statement of Values, Dr. Rob Rhodes Learning Mantra and program requirements, enter your digital signature to indicate your understanding and commitment to the expectations of being a Neeley Fellow, if selected.
2. Complete the Application – Supply the requested information, attach your résumé and cover letter, and answer the short answer questions:
   1. Short Answer Questions – thoughtfully respond to the following prompts using 2000 characters or less
      1. Why are you pursuing a business education and how do you anticipate using it for personal, professional and/or community impact?
      2. The Dr. Rob Rhodes Learning Mantra provides inspiration to how our community approaches learning. Candidates will want to take the time to read the mantra linked above and view the video that explores the intent behind it before answering this question. Reflecting on the Learning Mantra and your passion for learning, provide an example that relates to one of its pillars and illustrate your love of learning.
   2. Résumé – Upload your résumé in the format shown in the template and sample résumé.
      1. Your one-page résumé should focus on where you have had the most extensive involvement that covers a breadth and variety of experiences that most impacted you during high school and college, with post high school activities being a priority. Be intentional when determining which to include with quality (over quantity) being the driving factor.
      2. Use the following file naming convention for the PDF version of your résumé: “LastName, FirstName Resume” before uploading.
   3. Cover Letter
      1. Your thoughtful, thorough one-page letter should convey to the selection committee that you have spent time researching the program, talking to its current members and thinking about your future. You are encouraged to be authentic, considering your traits and values in how you communicate who you are and why you are a good fit for Neeley Fellows.
      2. Should be addressed to: Meg Lehman, Program Director, Neeley Fellows
      3. Use the following file naming convention for the PDF version of your cover letter: “LastName, FirstName CL” before uploading.

1. Provide your recommender with information about the Neeley Fellows program (www.neeley.tcu.edu/Fellows); this information should drive the direction of their recommendation, focusing on the candidate’s fit for the program.
2. The letter should elaborate in detail on your strengths, accomplishments, specific traits such as dedication, leadership, initiative, responsibility, work ethic, attitude, integrity, passion for learning, interpersonal and communication skills, and teamwork.
3. Your recommender should be someone who knows you well -- a high school or college teacher or counselor, employer, or leader in one of your areas of involvement in the community.
4. A letter from a friend of the family is acceptable only if the person can speak as the applicant’s teacher, employer or community involvement leader.
5. Your minister or pastor is an acceptable recommender only if the applicant was/is involved as an employee, intern or in community service through their church.
6. Letters from family members will not be accepted.
7. A letter from paid independent college counselors will not be accepted.
8. The letter should be current (i.e. not used for your college application).
9. Should be addressed to Meg Lehman, Program Director, Neeley Fellows and submitted by your recommender to Cathy Cox, Program Specialist, Neeley Fellows at c.l.cox@tcu.edu.
10. Approach the person whom you wish to write your recommendation at the beginning of your application process, providing your recommender ample time to research the program and write the recommendation. Deadline for the Neeley Fellows Department to receive your letter of recommendation is March 10, 2023. You will receive a confirmation email when this letter has been received by our department

Informational interviews will occur between March 20 and April 3, 2023. Each applicant will receive the email addresses of two current Neeley Fellows for the purpose of setting up an interview with each. Attire for these interviews is casual.

The purpose of the informational interview is:

1. For the Neeley Fellows applicants
   • to become more knowledgeable about the program
   • to become comfortable with networking, a critical part of the program
2. For the current Neeley Fellows
   • to have an opportunity to connect with future Neeley Fellows
   • to have an opportunity to give back to the program by actively participating in the program’s admissions process
3. For the Neeley Fellows program
   • to receive feedback about the applicants from the current Neeley Fellows. This feedback is one of many assessments of the applicant.

These are by invitation only. Applicants will be notified on April 14, 2023 if they will be moving forward in the application process and participating in these interviews.

1. These interviews will occur on Sunday, April 23, 2023. While the interviews will be conducted via Zoom with our alumni and program faculty/staff, we do ask that the applicants come to the Neeley Fellows office to participate in the interview in one of our interview rooms.
2. You will be notified with the time of your session prior to this date. Therefore, please keep this date open until the time assignments are communicated.
3. Attire is business professional.

While it is not a requirement for Neeley Fellows applicants to be a current Honors College student or accepted into the Honors College as part of the fall 2022 or spring 2023 process, it will greatly increase the competitiveness of your Neeley Fellows application if you are.  

Yes, you can apply to Neeley Fellows and Honors College concurrently. If you are not currently in the Honors College and plan to apply to Neeley Fellows, you should apply to the Honors College as part of the fall 2022 or spring 2023 application process. If you are applying to the Honors College, please review the college’s important dates, deadlines and application process and put as much care and effort into your Honors College application as you do your Neeley Fellows application. 

If you applied to the Honors College in the past and were not accepted, you may apply again, but are encouraged to revisit your initial application to identify areas of improvement.

If you are accepted to Neeley Fellows and not a member of the Honors College, your Neeley Fellows invitation will be contingent on successful completion of Honors College application and invitation to join the Honors College.

Neeley Fellows and the BNSF Neeley Leadership Program are both three-year, cohort-based programs. You're encouraged to explore both, but are only able to apply to one.

In the past, we have not accepted applications from transfer students as most have already taken courses that make up the Neeley Fellows curriculum.  In addition, we require students to have a minimum 3.5 GPA both semesters of the first-year and it is difficult to compare GPAs from various institutions.  With Neeley Fellows being a three year, cohort based program, it’s really not designed to be a transfer program.

With that being said, we will consider applications from transfer students with the following caveats:

• The applicant cannot have taken any of the courses in the Neeley Fellows curriculum at TCU or other institutions – the lower division courses where there is typically conflict are the following: Fundamentals of Accounting, Marketing Management, Business Law and Financial Management
• Plan to graduate in May 2026 (preferred) or December 2025 as it’s a three year, cohort based program
• Meet 3.5 GPA minimum in the spring semester
• Apply to the Honors College