Do you have questions?
Below you’ll find answers to the most common questions you may have on the Orr Fellowship. If you still can’t find the answer you’re looking for, just contact us!
First Career Goals
Frequently Asked Questions
We tried to stop the puns and acronyms, but we just couldn’t. Here are some of the major ones you need to know:
ROTC: Reception on the Circle
FD: Finalist Day
NOFO: New Orr Fellow
BOFO: Bob Orr Fellows
FLT: Fellow Leadership Team
BLSS: Business Leader Speaker Series
Who Can Apply
No! Orr Fellows come from all backgrounds and areas of study. Current Fellows majored in everything from business to engineering to computer science to English literature to chemistry. The Fellowship highly values passion and potential, so go ahead and apply!
Yes! We take all Fall graduates (August & December).
Short answer: Absolutely! While Orr Fellowship actively recruits in Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri at this time, we are always looking for talented individuals from any four-year university, even those that are not represented by current Fellows. If Orr Fellowship sounds like a great fit for you, we highly encourage you to apply.
In the past, all applicants needed to have a GPA of at least 3.2 without rounding. This year, we will still review resumes of anyone with a 2.5+ and take into consideration why candidates could still be great Orr Fellows. You may have an additional follow up step in the application process if we need more info to understand your full story!
The protocol for Masters Student is that they must have gone straight from undergraduate studies directly into a graduate program. This is because Orr Fellowship is seen as an early career opportunity and if they have work experience somewhere else between undergrad and grad school they do not qualify. We know a lot of schools do 3+1 or 3+2 programs so undergrads are then completing an undergrad and grad degree in 4 or 5 years. If they fall into the bucket of no work experience graduating Dec 2023 or May 2024 then we accept them.
If a student is authorized to work in the US and this will not change at any point now OR in the future, they are eligible to apply for Orr Fellowship. Because every student’s visa status is different, it is up to each student to determine their eligibility for working in the US as it cannot be guaranteed that a Partner Company will have a visa program of which the future Orr Fellow will be able to enroll.
Orr Fellowship’s ultimate goal is that candidates matched during Finalist Day remain with their Partner Company well beyond their two years in Orr. Companies hire Orr Fellows with the understanding that sponsorship is not needed for any of the candidates they interview at Finalist Day, and therefore we cannot accept candidates needing visas or sponsorship at any point now or in the future.
Yes! Here is a form you can complete to request info and stay in our pipeline! You can also subscribe to our newsletter.
The Recruitment Process
Learn more about our recruitment process here. In short, our application process consists of 4 stages, starting in August and ending in November. Each stage has an action item that must be submitted and an enrichment experience where candidates learn about Orr Fellowship and interact with current Fellows, Board Members, and the Executive Team. 
We have some funds available to offset travel costs to Finalist Day. We also have Fellows who open up their homes for applicants to stay overnight for both Finalist Day and ROTC stages of the recruitment process. We do not offer funds to offset costs for ROTC, however we have a virtual option for those who cannot make the trip due to expense or distance.
No, not initially. However, there will be another chance to submit an updated resume later on in the recruitment process, once applicants are invited to re-apply (Stage 3).
It depends on how many applicants there are each year. In recent years, the average acceptance rate (those who made it to Finalist Day AND received a full-time employment offer from a Partner Company) has been between 5-8% of overall applicant pool.
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