<p>I cannot find anything about the average student profile of a full Banneker/Key scholarship winner. Is anyone aware of any published stats for this?</p>
<p>And...as a 'chance thread'...DD2 is ranked in the top 5-10 of 450+ in a competitive public high school, and her GPA is approximately 98 out of 100 (uw). She has already taken the ACT in the spring as a sophomore and got a 35. She has taken one AP course so far, and received an A in the course and a 4 on the world history exam, and 2 SAT2s, Math 2 (750), and Literature (740). She has a loaded junior year schedule next year wih 4 AP courses and other honors level courses. She is heavily involved in equestrian, spending 20+ hours every week with training and competing in regional and national eventing competitions. She has some other ECs as well, but nothing remotely involved as this. Her recs and essays should be very good. She is vary interested in UM for a variety of reasons, and this will be articulated in her essays.
Would she be competitive for a full Banneker/Key when she applies in fall 2012?</p>
<p>I have it straight from the scholarships department that says a 1450 SAT (CR + M), plus good GPA, will place a candidate for either a Presidential or Banneker Key. </p>
<p>I’m not sure about ACT equivalents, though.</p>
<p>Some people seem to have followed the history of Maryland and the Banneker/Key for years. </p>
<p>I have not. But I can say that last year, B/K awards seemed to be rather unpredictable. Some applicants with lower (but still very good) statistics were offered B/K, while others with higher objective qualifications were not. As for the full B/K vs. partial, I am under the impression that this distinction is less about test scores and GPA than it is about the interview. I may be mistaken, however, and I’ll gladly defer to any later poster who knows better.</p>
<p>I will add this, though. Most of the high-stats applicants I know of who were passed over for B/K last year were offered other very valuable merit scholarships, usually President’s.</p>
<p>And finally, do you already know that in order to be considered for any merit aid, including B/K, she must apply to College Park by the November 1 Priority Deadline?</p>
<p>@CDK, will your D take the PSAT? If it’s merit $ you are seeking, nothing is more important than the PSAT. Although Maryland only gives a small award for NMS, many schools around the nation award up to a full ride, based solely on the student’s NM status. Also, why did your D take the SAT 2s so soon? And is your D taking as many AP courses as she can?</p>
<p>As for the BK process, it starts with being invited to the Honors College, since all B/K finalist are selected only from HC students. The HC is very numbers driven. I feel your D would very likely be invited. After that however, it gets a little hazy. They are looking for “leaders”, or people who have accomplished things outside the classroom. The interview is very important. I’ve was told that they like students that are focused and sure of themselves and their goals. Best of luck.</p>
<p>My daughter did take the PSAT as a sophomore (without any true studying or prep), and did ‘OK’…like a 205…but would not have qualified for NMSF for PA where we live. She will certainly prepare for it this fall as a junior, when it counts. Not sure where her score will be…but hopefully a bit higher than her sophomore score. She took those 2 SAT2s and her AP exam because she was finishing those courses in high school. She took the ACT this past spring mainly for self-assessment and ‘practice’ and my wife and I were a bit shocked when her score of 35 came back. She will basically max out what is offered for AP courses this year and next. She is a very mature and focused student, and has her future goals very clearly laid out (Science/biology/pre-vet major, and then vet school). The one issue that may hamper her is that she is very heavily involved in one main EC (equestrian- eventing, 20+ hours each week) which takes place outside of any high school oversight or mentoring. She will never be president of student council, involved in yearbook, play another varsity sport, etc…she is way too involved with her horses and competing on a regional and national level. She also wants to continue this in college, but this is not usually done through the typical ‘equestrian teams’ that compete in the IHSA…it will be more self-driven, and she would eventually like to take a crack at being a high level eventer, including possibly being a student/apprentice for an Olympic rider and move up the ladder herself.</p>
<p>UM (Honors) looks like a great fit due to location and opportuniteis both academically and equestrian. My daughter really wants to compete for a full ride and use her college ‘fund’ to cover vet school…an admirable plan if she can pull it off. The full Banneker/Key scholarship sounds like a great opportunity…wish it were ‘guaranteed’ like Alabama, etc., but I would think she will definitely apply in fall 2012…prior to the November 1 deadline (thanks Sikorsky!).</p>
<p>I hate to see people’s plans derailed because they miss that early deadline. It’s really put the squeeze on the guidance offices and registrars in a lot of Maryland high schools, where as much as half the class is trying to make that Nov. 1 date.</p>