Girard College

Girard College is an independent college preparatory five-day boarding school located on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school was founded and permanently endowed from the shipping and banking fortune of Stephen Girard upon his death in 1831. Girard College enrolls academically capable students, grades one through twelve, and awards a full scholarship with a yearly value of approximately $63,000 to every child admitted. The scholarship covers most of the costs of attending Girard, including tuition, room and board, books, and school uniforms. The scholarship may be renewed yearly until the student's high school graduation. Applicants must be at least six years old (by the first day of first grade), demonstrate good social skills and the potential for scholastic achievement, and come from a single-parent, low-income (determined by HUD guidelines) family. Girard accepts students based on previous school records, admissions testing, visits, and interviews. The process is conducted without preference for race, gender, religion, or national origin. Girard's mission is to prepare students for advanced education and life as informed, ethical, and productive citizens through a rigorous educational program that promotes intellectual, social, and emotional growth. Stephen Girard's legacy Born in the seaport city of Bordeaux, France, Stephen Girard (1750-1831), was the eldest of nine children. His mother died when he was 11, and three years later he left to spend the next 12 years sailing the seas and learning the international mercantile and shipping business.