Hey guys, I am a first year Jefferson Scholar at UVA and I remember this time last year very clearly-- I was stressed, unsure, and had a lot of questions about the Jefferson scholarship and UVA in general! I have had a wonderful experience with the Foundation and I am so glad that I took them up on their offer-- financially and personally, one of the best decisions I have made. With that said, I really want to give back the gifts that I have been given by helping you all out as you are traveling down the same path that I did last year, and I really welcome any questions you have about the process (whether you are interviewing in your region or were just selected for the finalist weekend). If you have general questions about UVA as well/questions about the college decision process, please feel free to post too! I love giving advice and helping out and I want to be a resource for as many prospective students as possible, and I know CC is a common place to go for answers.
I am nervous for my upcoming interview - should I wear a full suit (I am a girl)? What questions should I anticipate being asked? What should I bring to my interview?
I really appreciate your willingness to help!! 
For my interview, I wore a sweater dress with tights! But it is totally up to what you feel comfortable with. I think it is good to air on the side of formality, but a full suit for girls might be a bit much for the regional interviews. I think a dress, skirt, or dressy pants are all totally appropriate. I brought a tote bag with my resume inside a folder, but I never had to give it to them-- they actually had printed out my resume and essays and had them in front of them while I interviewed.
Expect pretty personal questions related to your application-- I would definitely reread your essays one more time and think about why you participated in important activities on your resume/what they taught you. Be prepared for questions related to current events in your field of interest (e.g., if you were into politics, they would probably ask you some questions about the state of government/political parties today). These questions honestly have no “right answer”, and since you are being interviewed by a committee of 3-6, chances are your committee won’t all agree. Disagreeing with a committee member is fine-- they are looking for someone who can present an educated stance on their opinions, yet still remain respectful to others who don’t share those opinions. Also, there will be some of the generic “who would you invite to a dinner party” questions that are common to other interviews.
I was super stressed before mine, so advice to not stress will probably be very moot, but honestly despite all the formalities of a serious interview, they really just are trying to get a sense of who you are as a person. Don’t put on airs, feel free to joke around and get comfortable with the committee members! In my opinion JSF is looking for people with intellectual vitality that also care for others and want to help the university committee-- and this can be fulfilled in such a broad range of ways that the most important part is you, and your passions, shining through!
My daughter is going to her second round interview on Friday. Do you have any advise/words of wisdom for that round? Will it be similar to the 1st round. They asked her very specific questions based on her resume content. and some current event questions (a bit controversial-ish topics).
Hey there, good luck to your daughter! I actually came from a region with less applicants, so I only had to do one round of interviews. However, from what my friends from larger regions have told me, it sounds like they substantially pare down the applicant pool going into the second round, so it’s even more personalized than the first round. I would expect generally tougher questions as they probably got a good idea from round 1 where your daughter’s interests lie. But from the interview I did at the finalist weekend, I remember it being very similarly formatted to my regional interview–so I wouldn’t expect many curveballs in the formatting, except maybe more panel members. I would say this round take the chance to ask committee members about their own UVA experience because they really can provide good insights about the school and the scholars program! JSF looks for very passionate people who want to enhance and contribute to the UVA a community, so if she lets her passions shine through and finds a way to link those passions to possible opportunities at UVA (either existing or ones that she could create), I think that could help her stand out this round.
My daughter lives in upstate NY and has been nominated by her school principal. She has received her EA admission but has heard nothing about the nomination via email or regular mail. Is this normal?
@jmk518 Hey there, when I was nominated, my guidance counselor sent me a link to the Jefferson scholarship nomination portal soon after he told me he would nominate me. There was an email with instructions how to create an account, and once you got on there, there was a common-app like portal. If your daughter created an application through that portal and submitted it by the deadline (I forget what mine was exactly but I think it was late December–this may vary by region), chances are she has a slow selection committee since that would mean all went according to plan on the high school’s side. However, if she never got an email with a way to create an application, this may have gotten lost in the shuffle with the principal. I would check in with your daughter’s high school in either event to make sure nothing was lost, and if that email was never sent with instructions to create an account, see if the deadline has not passed yet.
Thank you. We did not receive any email to a nomination portal, so that does not sound very encouraging.
Hey, @mocktrialgirl I got called back for a second interview (thanks so much for your initial advice)! I know this round is gonna be harder - any tips? Much appreciated!
@habitualnerd omg congrats!! I’m so glad I could be of assistance. I actually was from a region that didn’t need a second round interview, so please take all my advice with a grain of salt. Below is advice from friends that I have heard about second round interviews, as well as my personal opinions about succeeding in them:
- you have significantly better odds here. Someone I know had their region go from 60 (1st interview) to 10, and out of those 10, 2 finalists were selected to go to the weekend.
- format will be very similar except for possibly more interviewers (someone I know went from 3 to 6)
- the questions will most likely be more in depth because they have seen you once before and have a good sense of your interests. I would even be prepared for them to bring up something from your interview notes last time, so think back about the interview! When questions get tough, it is totally okay to take a minute to sit and think on them–I think the committee appreciates thoughtful answers rather than the first thing that pops into mind.
- to me at the finalist weekend and thinking about your position currently, an important aspect is differentiation. They really like everyone they chose for the second round, but I’m sure it’s important to them to see if YOU really like THEM. A handful of people at the finalist weekend didn’t act like they actually wanted to be there–it was just another accolade. They didn’t end up receiving the scholarship, and regional selection committees want their nominee to receive the scholarship. So my advice would be to strike the balance of continuing to be your genuine self while demonstrating that you have vested interest in this scholarship program and bettering the UVA community. Maybe do some reading about a club you’d join or want to found, academic programs that sound interesting…if you are able to tie this into a question you get, I think that would look great. Alternatively, asking committee members questions about their UVA experience is another way to look like you are genuinely interested in the scholarship.
Good luck on the next step!!
Thank you for this helpful thread! I am planning on applying for the Jefferson Scholarship next year and was wondering if I have to apply EA to be eligible?
@potatoepotatoe you can’t actually apply for the Jeff Scholarship. You have to be nominated by your school, if they are a “nominating school”. Most schools that are Nominating schools can usually nominate one student, sometimes two. I believe you should apply EA…no reason not to (although I am not certain you “have to”). The Jeff application is due in the Fall…I don’t recall specifically if it is November 1 or December 1. All of this information will be in the application packet IF you are the nominee for your school.
@MAsecondtimer Great, thank you!