<p>Basically, this scholarship is the only way I can attend UVA. I am one of 15 regional nominees from the Dallas area. The more I hear about the upcoming interview in January, the more nervous I get considering only one will advance to the national level.</p>
<p>Some scores:
SAT: 730 verbal, 780 math, 800 writing
SAT II: 780 math, 740 us history
AP Scores: US History, 5; World History, 5; Physics B, 4; Computer Science A, 4; AP English Literature, 5
Rank: 3/488</p>
<p>Some extracurriculars:
Vice President, Students Against Destructive Decisions
Captain, Tennis Team
Advisory Committee, Hebrew High School
Section Leader, Communications Officer, Chamber Orchestra
National Honor Society
Mu Alpha Theta
Lifeguard/Instructor
BPSkolnick Consulting (technically self-employed)</p>
<p>Good Essay
Good Rec
Good Texas High School</p>
<p>Any tips for the interview? I have had two interviews from other colleges thus far, but they seemed to be more of a personality gauge than anything else.</p>
<p>Just be yourself. I know that sounds really hard to do when you're nervous and anxious, the interviewers are all UVa alumni/past Jefferson Scholars sometimes who want to get to know you. Some tips for the interview would be be prepared to talk about what you wrote in your Jefferson Scholar application (depth and breadth of your activities and interests), your personal beliefs, and some creative questions about situations. I live with a couple of Jefferson Scholars and from what I can tell, they are confident, composed, ambitious, and sincere. Show your love for UVa, but don't be fake about it! Good luck!</p>
<p>your january interview is a great opportunity to show the regional selection committee just how great you are. it's hard to "chance" you because it's based a lot on feel and your interview as well as the rest of your applicant pool. i was told by many in the jefferson selection committee that they are more interested in a person that fulfills all criteria--scholarship, leadership, citizenship--than just one or the other.</p>
<p>i, for one, was not at the top of my class. i did not have an outrageous gpa (a "lowly" 3.9 gpa) or perfect test scores. however, i was extremely passionate about everything i did in high school and made sure the regional selection committee knew it. i walked out of that interview knowing that i had done the very best i could and was absolutely ecstatic a few days later when i received a call notifying me of my new status as the national finalist. </p>
<p>be sure you elaborate when ever you can. know your application like the back of your hand--they will probably ask you a lot about it. give them a glimpse of what makes you YOU and you can't go wrong. also, it might be a good idea to think about what your future plans are, how you plan to tie together scholarship, leadership, and citizenship, what you think of your potential scholarship's namesake, and why you want to go to UVa.</p>
<p>just relax, do your best, and don't get flustered. it's okay if you don't know the answer to a question right off the bat or need a minute to think of your response. everyone is human and you are not expected to be perfect. as long as you are honest and sincere and portray yourself as well as you can, you will do great. </p>
<p>Do you think that the judges for the scholarship committee will way test scores like the SAT heavily. For example if I don't have a 2000 SAT will they way that a lot even if the rest of my application is awesome? I just hope that just because I don't have high test scores that it will run me out of the race.</p>
<p>It should be all over the website, but honestly, you're okay!</p>
<p>It's focused on leadership and citizenship. They'll weigh your SAT scores, but not heavily at all.</p>
<p>Plus the interview's pretty huge. There's almost no room for the SAT.</p>
<p>At the same time, I saw somewhere that the average score for accepted Jefferson scholars was 2240. But that's likely just a testament to the extremely strong applicant pool.</p>
<p>If you have everything else, that's fine!</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>feladis - Same, I haven't gotten any more specific information than the date. Do you know when they send that out? I might've missed it in the phone conversation.</p>