We visited UMD this summer and my son loves it and it now is his number one choice. University of Alabama is second and he knows he will get full tuition scholarship. With a partial scholarship, UMD will be too expensive. Does he have what is necessary to be considered for the BK full scholarship? Probable major in chemical engineering and nanoscience minor.
ACT 35
Commended scholar
5/530 class rank with 4.22 UW and 5.38 W GPA
AP US history, Spanish language, economics, US gov, English language … all scored 5
Taking AP calc BC, physics C, Chem , English lit this year
Taking SAT subject test for math 2 and physics next month
4 year 2 season athlete in cross Country and track…co-captain and made all conference 2 years
EC…fellowship of Christian athletes, peer helpers, Spanish mentor, ultimate frisbee, member of pi sigma pi, mu alpha theta, NHS, honors Spanish club and will earn the seal of biliteracy this year
Has worked every summer since he was 12 as a baseball umpire and volunteered at cross country summer camps
Has anyone gotten this scholarship with similar stats? I’m not sure if he has enough EC and leadership activities.
Unfortunately, there is no predicting what will make a student standout to receive a B/K invite. Two students with identical stats could have different outcomes regarding B/K. Stats alone do not help predict. Honestly. Don’t get too caught up in the B/K fever, especially given that engineering scholarships are available also (but I think notification of these come out much later than B/K invites - perhaps at same time as “regular” scholarships such as Presidential, Dean’s - usually in April) http://www.engrscholarships.umd.edu/scholarships/new-freshmen
@perch1024 - @maryversity is totally correct in that it is impossible to predict who will get a B/K invite. But, I think it’s safe to say that students with similar stats have gotten the full B/K. I personally know a student with lower stats who got a full B/K, but I have also seen students with similar stats not even get into the Honors College (a prereq for B/K).
This is not meant to discourage you, but rather to reinforce what maryversity said. Stats alone are not enough. ECs, LORs and Essays matter. I personally think that the essays matter a lot for Honors College admission and B/K invites.
I do encourage your son to apply, provided that the application fee is not a hindrance. Having full tuition at the University of Alabama is a great option. I also believe that the partial B/K’s are full tuition, leaving only room & board and books/fees. There are also Presidential and Deans Scholarships at UMD.
Many times I have seen stats of B/K invites and thought that they were similar to my sons’ stats. But what is missing from the postings are the huge number of applicants with similar stats that don’t get invited and hence, don’t post their stats to the B/K thread. I’ve always assumed with 26000 applications, the few hundred or so B/K invites have something fantastic in their intangibles where they have done something like volunteering in Africa with Doctors Without Borders. The other scholarships like Presidents and Deans probably are more dependent on stats alone, which is what my in-state son received.