<p>ACT- 33
Rank top 10%
3.96 GPA UW
Varsity softball, bunch of clubs, volunteer</p>
<p>Thanks DinDune for the info</p>
<p>Luckily UM gave me a great financial aid package, so I can now afford to go without the Singer scholarship, without the financial aid, I would have no chance of going to UM.</p>
<p>d did not get Singer, but got $2,000 more and no Foote fellow. She found out last Friday she also got into UCLA (we’re in state) – the costs between the two schools are now about the same. We were hoping for Singer because she would have chosen U of Miami, now she is not sure.</p>
<p>Those of you who have been notified, did you find out through email or through snail mail? Also, when did you find out? Thanks!</p>
<p>d found out through email, we will get snail mail notification in a few days. She found out yesterday.</p>
<p>I found out on Monday by email</p>
<p>What’s the minimum SAT for Singer?</p>
<p>DinDune,</p>
<p>A great post…“This is not the end…it is a path to a great beginning.”</p>
<p>Wise words for all these outstanding students.</p>
<p>Did any of you receive a message about the Marta Weeks full-tuition academic scholarship? Is this is same as the Singer Scholarship?</p>
<p>So if 34 is minimum for ACT, then does that include superscore?</p>
<p>Really? Not everyone at the first weekend got Foote Fellow? That’s a shock to me. I also wonder about the possibility that a later weekend was a better choice. I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing… son is reconsidering.</p>
<p>Do subsequent weekends have to interview, or was that just for Stamps? If not it seems that they knew going in who was going to get Singer or not if it was just based on grades, resume, etc. Weird.</p>
<p>This is an old thread…from 2010. This year everyone at the Singer/Stamps weekend (the first weekend) is a Foote Fellow and got at least a Gables 4000.00 scholarship if not Singer or Stamps. </p>
<p>All weekends have to interview. The U chooses your weekend, you do not choose. They must have a reason for who gets invited to which ones. Things are very different this year as opposed to previous years, as the U gets more popular and more competitive.</p>
<p>Thanks for that info DinDune. Much appreciated. Are you saying that most people at the first weekend got Singer? I’m still pretty confused about how they decided. Son has 35 and Nat’l Merit, and it seemed that is in line with most Singers I’ve read about on here. Lots of EC, etc. Don’t want to be a whiner but he has gotten top honors at other schools and UM fell a bit short. May have to go elsewhere because the $$$ is better so he is disappointed.</p>
<p>No, not most got Singer…about 25 percent did, which is about 25-30 kids got Singer or Stamps…the rest got Foote and Gables scholarship. I’m sure that some 35/36 ACTs did not get Singer, it is based on a plethora of information and I don’t really know what it all is…and also compared to the other candidates. And the interview and how well they got on with their interviewer and student interviewer. Sounds like your S is a wonderful student and you have reason to be proud. I think he will need to go where your family is comfortable and if he got better offers from comparable schools, then UM may not be the right place.
But, just keep in mind that getting invited to one of the interview weekends is quite an honor with all of the wonderful applicants this year. And not all of them will win the big scholarships. There were many disappointed students who felt they deserved to be invited to a weekend that weren’t. So, it is all a bit of perspective. I’ve tried to explain to my kids that there will always be someone richer and someone poorer…someone with a bigger scholarship and someone with a lesser scholarship. But really, once school begins in the fall, no one will know who got what…the kids don’t talk about it and no one really cares…(except the ones paying the bills) Now, it seems that it would be what the kids care about, but I have a S who is a Jr and an incoming D who will be a freshman and neither will know who on their floor or who of their friends are Singer or Stamps or Footes…that just goes away and they are all just kids on the journey of learning and growing and respecting others. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>That’s a great perspective DinDune…and I’m sure you’re 100% correct. This too shall pass. S is comparing himself to older sister who has full scholarship (and legacy) to Columbia, and also has twin sisters who will be seniors next year. He’s a softie and is looking out for the cash outlay of our family for the two that follow not just him. As you know, even with tuition paid, or close to paid, all the other expenses can be mind boggling. D in NYC = $$$$$, and two right behind him. So yes, unfortunately, every little bit helps. He has great scholarships at UM, but we live west coast, so trips home, etc. are pretty steep since we are on the west coast. He has full scholarship to another university in state, including room/board, so it is a tough decision. </p>
<p>He really thought/hoped he had a chance at Singer and maybe even Stamps which would’ve been huge…as it would’ve been to so many who attended the weekend. And when it seemed to come right down to the success of the interview, he really took it personally. Particularly when he was being courted heavily by UCLA. I’m not minimizing other’s accomplishments because that room was clearly full of the best and the brightest from all over but strangely he didn’t really prepare himself for the worst, just hoped for the best. I am legacy to Columbia, and he was accepted there too, in addition to UCLA and Berkley. Got some $$$ at Columbia, but more at Cal colleges. We’ll figure it out and I hope he goes where he wants and not where he thinks is best for the rest of the family, though that is an admirable trait.</p>
<p>Mithwhizmia, your S sounds like such a caring and sensitive young man. I wish more kids were like that. Funny that your S compares himself to his older sister. My D not only compares, but competes and this has been a gift to her because each time she “beats” her brother, she attributes it to the high bar that he set.
Finances seem to be key at this point and you have to do what is right for your family. Keep in mind that many kids stay at school and have a blast at Thanksgiving and Spring Break, so that might save on the finances a bit. The dorms only close at Christmas.
After his first year, he could also apply to be an RA or an AF where either room and board or just room is covered and a stipend.
Whatever he decides, he is a success because he cares so much about what is most important, family. Best of luck in his decision.
On a different note, my D also thought her interview went fantastically well, so the shock of not getting Singer was also pretty huge. However, she has friends who have had much worse disappointments and once she got over her shock and stepped away from it, she realized that it would all work out okay. I am proud that she moved on with grace and has become appreciative for what she did get. I’m sure that your S also feels that way or will with time. It really feels so personal when it doesn’t work out the way we hoped…I know that time does heal.</p>
<p>I do think that there are minimum standards for winning the Singer based on previous winners posts. I also think there are standards for the Foote Fellow. That being said, I’m not sure how I feel about UM inviting students that really have little chance of winning. My D had no interest in the university at all. Only applied because of the merit scholarships. When she was invited to the Singer Weekend she was pleased and wanted to win. She saw many other students that had as good and better credentials and she was able to see that the school was not the party school that many people said it was. She didn’t win the Singer but not getting the Foote is what rankled. She still bemoans it. So, I guess what I’m saying, is that if she did not go to the Singer weekend and see the all of the students of her academic league showing such enthusiasm than she prob would have chosen our flagship. So it was good for the school ( they got her 
) and it was good for her because she is happy!</p>
<p>My S also did not become a Foote, had a 33, and was at a Singer weekend. Back then there was no Stamps. It also was pretty clear afterwards that 33’s were not getting Singer and we wondered why they bothered inviting him. He wished he would have known that a 33 was not enough and would have tested again. This time we did not make that mistake. D had a 34 and is a Foote. You live and you learn. But, he is happy at the U and took the required courses and has not looked back. D is so thrilled about exempting the gen ed requirements and might not have gone to the U without that perk.
Hopefully our entries here will help future applicants and their expectations. The U is a mighty addictive place!</p>
<p>
I am much less qualified to speculate than you, being a parent with two kids having gone through the process, but I really don’t believe that from the pool of interviewed Singer/Stamps candidates, stats play much of a factor. I think that of those who are invited to Singer/Stamps weekend, everybody is on an equal playing field at that point and the make-or-break factor is the interview and what the candidate reveals about themselves, their outlook, their aspirations, etc… It really wouldn’t make sense to consider stats in awarding Singer, because stats already factored in when they decided who to invite. In other words, if they didn’t have the stats, they wouldn’t have been invited in the first place.</p>
<p>Seekinguni, I have to disagree. One of the parents above posted that she was informed after the fact that her son would have needed a 34 act to get the Foote. Since no one gets the Singer without the Foote then it would seem that the minimum for Singer is 34. The purpose of the interview is more likely to assess personality and social behavior. The college is investing a lot of $ in these winners and they want to be sure that their investments are sound, that the winners will be assets to the university. So a student who is extremely introverted, or socially awkward would be less likely to win.</p>
<p>Interesting points. My S had a 35 ACT. I’m sure there could’ve been better GPA’s mainly because he goes to a school that does not follow an AP curriculum, IB, or any of that, so it is difficult to discern where he falls in the whole intellectual realm to an outsider unfamiliar with his school. They did say over and over that the interview was the dealbreaker, which is what ultimately led to my S’s anguish over not getting Singer…he took it personally…that they didn’t like him enough. He is a very caring and sincere young man but may have come off too shy. We’ll never know. </p>
<p>We did meet another student who got Singer but not Stamps who was downright obnoxious at the event amongst the students, but he obviously was a good interviewee. </p>
<p>As far as $$$$ invested goes, I believe that all the kids at S/S probably had at least University Scholarships based on MERIT, and maybe more, so for the Singer the added money was not huge. There were a lot of very nice kids there and I’m sure it was hard to select only 1/3. If you didn’t get picked I guess you’ll always wonder what you could’ve done/said, that would’ve gotten the desired result. Would be interesting to hear how the interviews went with the winners. </p>
<p>My Son thought his interview went great at the time. His mentor was his interviewer…and was not a Singer or Stamps which I found interesting…and they really seemed to hit it off over lunch etc. I can just imagine admin having to sit and go through rounds of kids culling each time. At some point, they have to look at the whole picture I’d think because just personality would leave them with too many kids, just as merit would. Maybe after they pick the best interviewees they wheedle those down based on merit. Remember, there were limited spaces, and if you happened to be one of the unfortunate who clicked RSVP after they’d reached your limit, you didn’t get to go, no matter how smart of personable. That would’ve been even more painful!</p>
<p>My S is just now starting to see through the dark cloud that hung over him for the days after notification. It’s part of his personality to take things personally…which isn’t all bad. He has a good heart, helps others whenever possible and never, ever steps on someone else’s toes. It’s most likely that he didn’t sell himself as much as others may have…that’s just not who he is. Gosh, I’m making him sound somber and gloomy…NOT. But he is a soft spoken, sweet kid, and maybe they were looking for more Rah Rah.</p>
<p>He’d paid his deposit a while back, then got a fabulous offer from UCLA so was reconsidering and honestly wondered if the fact that he’d apparently committed made a difference in their decision…they were marketing to everyone in the room and maybe to get the really bright stars they needed to award the Singer and for some it may have made the difference between going to UM or not. Funny that it didn’t seem to be the case for us at the time, but now it’s working out that he’s back to 50/50. </p>
<p>I think I’m rambling…I’ve said most of all that before I’m just now realizing!</p>