<p>I got a package from Columbia today saying I was likely to be named an Egleston Scholar (I got a likely from SEAS a few weeks ago). </p>
<p>Do any current recipients have thoughts on your experiences, or how beneficial this program has been? What are the special "excursions" and "enhanced support" they mention in the letter? </p>
<p>Thanks for your input!</p>
<p>Is there any scholarship money that goes with it?</p>
<p>It says there is “A $10,000 stipend for academic and professional development projects.”</p>
<p>Nice. So what are you worried about? There is no need to decline a 10,000 grant to do things, is there?</p>
<p>[The</a> Egleston Scholars Program | The Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science - Columbia University](<a href=“http://engineering.columbia.edu/egleston-about]The”>http://engineering.columbia.edu/egleston-about)</p>
<p>Looks like you will be part of the 3rd batch of such scholars. I see photographs of 16 students for last year.</p>
<p>@neverending</p>
<p>I’m a current Egleston scholar (SEAS '14), I’d be happy to answer any specific questions you are any other prospective Egleston’s might have. I’d also encourage you to join the Facebook group so you can see who else has been admitted and receive input from several sources. </p>
<p>Secondly, you should absolutely take advantage of the free flight out to NYC to visit for the Egleston Scholar experience in April. The weekend is awesome–good food, cool sight visits/presentations, and several of us Eglestons will be hosting and guiding y’all on campus.</p>
<p>As for my experience, the money has allowed me to do some incredible things–it is accessible for several different experiences, but it is designed to supplement your summers. Last summer, I used it to fund the writing of an independent research paper on the solar industry. In addition, I was able to travel to Hong Kong all expenses paid over winter break for a global engineering experience through SEAS. The money is just the beginning of the benefits–it essentially allows you to put your foot in the door for any research lab in SEAS even as a freshman or sophomore. You’ll be connected with a faculty advisor in your field, several administrators who can help with internships, fellowships, etc, and even Dean Pena-Mora. </p>
<p>A lot of the students accepted into the Egleston program are accepted into several top schools (which wasn’t the case for me, not sure how I got into the program haha). This is a way of acknowledging your high school work beyond a likely letter, and also giving you a reason to choose Columbia. I have commented on Egleston threads before on College Confidential, and I will say it again–there is no other program like this in the Ivy League. The opportunities it has given me are incredible, and I couldn’t be more thankful. </p>
<p>I’d like to give you just a bit more of an idea of the all-encompassing impact of the Egleston program. Over our spring break, the Eglestons were schedule to have lunch with the CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. I was planning on attending, but I had to decline because I have an interview with a NYC environmental engineering firm for a summer internships that was arranged by Egleston advisers. In addition, my roommate is also an Egleston, and he’s been paid to work in a biomedical research lab since halfway through his first semester, a connection he made through the Egleston program. He’s working on his own projects in the lab now as a sophomore. In addition, he used Egleston funding to travel to Ghana last summer to install a latrine system with Columbia’s Engineers Without Borders. </p>
<p>I hope this helps, I have more field specific examples if you need them. I think that’s a lot of information to digest, congratulations on your likely Egleston designation.</p>