<p>Hi... I helped start College Matters in 1999, helped write the McGraw-Hill book (which helped start the scholarship), and am still involved as an advisor. The students who run it are Harvard undergrads, taking a full load of classes and volunteering their time to College Matters as a way to help our greater community. </p>
<p>As a full-time student yourself, you can probably imagine how daunting a task it is for a small group of students to review 9,000-10,000 applications (think a roomful). </p>
<p>Caution is always taken to shred or delete financial information. As for personal replies, while College Matters appreciates and carefully reviews each application, unfortunately there was just not enough manpower to reply to every applicant. There are midterms and finals to study for and papers to write! As has been mentioned, winners are posted at <a href="http://www.cmscholars.org%5B/url%5D">www.cmscholars.org</a></p>
<p>Hope this post helps clarify some concerns.
Jacquelyn</p>