Congratulations! You have been selected as one of seven finalists to interview for Vanderbilt’s prestigious Carell Scholarship. Interviews will be held at Vanderbilt.
I will call you in the next 24 hours to discuss your availability and travel arrangements to Nashville. Ideally, we would like for you to travel to Nashville on Friday (February 20th) and have one of our students serve as a host for you on Friday night. We plan to have you return home following your interview on Saturday. Please reply to this e-mail and provide a contact phone number and time when you can best be reached.
You were selected to interview for the Carell Scholarship based upon your outstanding academic record and the fact that you have held part-time employment during your high school years. The Carell Scholarships were established in 1998 by Monroe J. Carell, Jr. (B.E. 1959) and his wife, Ann Scott Carell (B.S. 1957, Peabody). The late Mr. Carell was former chairman of Central Parking System, a Nashville philanthropist, and Vanderbilt University Board of Trust member from 1991 until his death in June 2008. The late Mrs. Carell served on the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Board of Directors as well as serving in many other philanthropic endeavors. The scholarship is a full-tuition and fees award, per year, for four years, along with a one-time summer stipend of $5,000 for an approved summer experience.
Once the travel arrangements for all the finalists have been finalized, I will contact you with specifics regarding transportation to and from the airport, your overnight host and other logistical details.
Congratulations on this honor! We look forward to your visiting Vanderbilt.
Best wishes,
Has anyone here every received this e-mail before and if so what does this interview entail? I’m kind of nervous and excited at the same time so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also, what were the requirements to receive this scholarship because I originally did not apply for any merit scholarships at VU. Thank you :)!
congratulations to you! Be yourself…they already picked your resume out of thousands. Don’t focus on winning so much getting to know the interviewers. It is always nice when someone who did paid work in high school is noticed for their real world experience and maturity. perhaps others with more insight will post. Do a little role playing with a trusted party at home. You probably want to get across perhaps 4 things about yourself…not too much. Get to know those who are asking the questions. You will be AOK.
Congratulations! The Carells were significant donors to Vanderbilt in the same league as the Ingrams. Just being a finalist is a big deal and you should be proud. Good luck:)
I received a different finalist announcement and an invitation to apply for a different merit scholarship email too. I didn’t apply for merit aid in December either because after I was deferred from my first choice, I was so swamped with essays and applications that I couldn’t make it a priority. I completely honored and confused. I’ve been asked to submit an essay and a graded paper.
How would you interpret this in terms of general admissions? I didn’t get a Mosaic invitation. (at least not yet)
Congrats, as 2VU0609 said, this is one of the named merit scholarships at Vanderbilt, donated by the Carell family. I’m familiar with it because I was a finalist a few years back, but did not end up actually receiving it. Luckily, Vanderbilt’s financial aid was good enough that there was not all that great of a financial difference for me. You are considered for this scholarship whenever you fill out the Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship application. Applicants are considered who worked in high school.
It’s quite a nice scholarship: full tuition and fees for 4 years, as long as you hold a part time job during your time at Vanderbilt. You can fill the job commitment by working in the dining hall, or in a variety of other positions, such as an undergraduate assistant in a research lab. It’s nice because you get a little bit of the “white glove treatment,” so to speak, and the scholarship people will help you get whatever you are interested in.
There are a small number of finalists (~10), and you all interview with members of the Carell family and some officials from the university. It is a pretty relaxed event, and they give you a good lunch where you can meet and talk to the other finalists and the aforementioned representatives of the school.
They get back to you a few weeks later, and choose 2 students from the finalists to receive the scholarship. It’s quite difficult to plan anything for the interview; just relax and try to give a good representation of your personality. Regardless, it is good news as it means you have been accepted, so I would just enjoy the experience and hope for the best.
fdgifg…what a helpful post! indeed for those who would receive a high amount of need dollars anyway, admission to Vandy is going to likely be do-able for you financially --with our without the merit offer.
Soapymango…you need to put your head down, submit an essay (hopefully someone reliable can give it a look over and help you with a second and third quick draft to make sure it is solid re form and grammar). And dig out a graded paper with the help of a teacher. Unless your essay is outside of the bounds of acceptable writing and content of thought, I am not going out on a limb to suggest you are in the admitted pool-- Merit offer or no Merit offer. Do not focus on winning this scholarship so much as focus on presenting yourself with clarity, grace and a great outlook on life. Perhaps your essay should show another aspect of you not previously obvious in what they have to look at now. You do not have to have invented the wheel to be a good candidate. You only have to be a good “you.” congrats on being singled out for a merit offer. Life if full of being a semifinalist and someone has to win and someone has to be the runner up. Be an outstanding person no matter which way it plays out for you.