Distinguished Scholars Weekend Invites

<p>Just wondering, but has anyone gotten an invitation to the Distinguished Scholars Weekend in March? Looking at threads from previous years, it seems that the invitations for that have come in the mail around this time of year.</p>

<p>My DD received hers Saturday the 11th. Im hoping to accompany her; I just booked a hotel for myself. Are any other parents going?</p>

<p>Hi tennismomof3,</p>

<p>Out of curiousity, where are you located? We were told that the invites went out last week, so I’m wondering if some folks won’t hear until today or tomorrow.</p>

<p>We are located in Rochester NY and have not heard anything yet.</p>

<p>We are in Massachusetts.</p>

<p>We actually didn’t get any mail on Saturday, which was strange. Hopefully something today. Congratulations to your DD, though!</p>

<p>My DS was hoping for an invitation, but nothing in the mail yet. We are in NJ so we should have had it by now.</p>

<p>I’m in Northern California, and I got mine today! Very excited and happy…the only problem is a plane ticket to Delaware is so expensive!</p>

<p>Daughter got her invite today. We’re from California. How many of the 100+ finalists actually get one of the distinguished scholarships? Anyone know what the “competition” consists of? And if the student can’t get there (or aren’t chosen after they attend), what other merit scholarships do they qualify for?</p>

<p>I got mine today, in New Mexico, extremely excited. Also, I’d like to second some of the questions, mainly how are guests incorporated into the process?</p>

<p>Also, on top of the other valid questions, how many of the eugene dupont scholarships are there? I ran across a google result that said 8 men and 8 women, but it was from 1993.</p>

<p>Hopefully this will provide a few answers. My D received an Alison scholarship which (for last year’s recipients) is 23,000/year. This is the mid-range “DiScho” award, for which we are very thankful. For the scholarships that are not DuPont, they are a fixed dollar amount and do not rise when expenses go up. The weekend last year was quite tiring but fun for my D – several mixers, organized meals, an interview and a “test,” which involved group interaction and a writing assignment. Nothing she could have prepared for in advance. It seems that about 15 or so people are offered DuPont and most of the rest are offered one of the other named scholarships. There are probably candidates who are not offered a “DiScho” at all, but my D did not know anyone who had that experience.</p>

<p>As for guests, they are not incorporated in any way, at least not last year. There were no meetings or activities for parents and many of the candidates traveled there alone. We are from NYC. We drove our daughter down, took a regular tour of the campus together, and left her there. She took Amtrak home two days later. After seeing so many schools and going to so many meetings, I did not really mind not being involved. I know there were parents who stayed down there for the weekend, but I assume they did not see their kids until the activities were over.</p>

<p>Good luck everyone. My D really loves UD, although she has had her adjustments to make, like many other students.</p>

<p>A quick warning … last year, there were UD students who invited DiScho candidates to go out and party (it was over St. Patrick’s weekend, but I think that could have happened any weekend). Apparently, some went. I would strongly advise students against this … the weekend is busy and tiring and there is a lot of money on the line. Last year, there was an optional first night on campus with a host student, when is when these invitations were issued (not by the hosts, as far as I know). I don’t believe there were any such options on the second night, which was in a hotel. My D had a great experience with her host student, and got a taste of campus life, so I would recommend that, but would suggest caution.</p>

<p>Has UDel notified out of state honors applicants already? My D (from NJ) has not heard anything yet. Just checked the UDel portal and it says nothing also.</p>

<p>Last year, Distinguished Scholars invitations came before admissions notifications for general applicants or honors applicants.</p>

<p>I head on Saturday February 11th, and I am very excited! who else is going?</p>

<p>Does anybody know how formal the attire should be for this event?</p>

<p>I would go casual but neat for most of the activities. For interview time, business attire. I think my D wore a businessy dress with a cardigan on interview day, and nice pants/top the rest of the time.</p>

<p>For a male, would you recommend a jacket for the interview day or would a dress shirt and tie suffice?</p>

<p>Probably either is Ok … but if you have a jacket, why not wear it? And for the non-interview times (ie: meals which are done with faculty), I would suggest khakis and a button down.</p>

<p>^^^ but there may be guidance on your invitation, so make sure you check there … and bring an extra tie, just in case you decide you need one for the “business casual” day</p>

<p>Thanks! There wasn’t any guidance on the original invitation, so I was somewhat worried about being severely under or over dressed.</p>