Sorry. Hi, y’all. Black finalist from Chicago. Congrats to all finalists and everyone else who found the strength to complete the application.
In 2013 my son received his letter on April 17th. He is now a second year at UC Davis and is double majoring. After all his fees are paid, including rent, he has $900.00 left over to buy food and other incidentals. I can not tell you how much this has meant to me, as a single mother, to not have to worry about his schooling.
@GinaRivera if you don’t mind me asking what state are you guys from and when was the letter dated as I’m trying to predict how long it will take to get to me too.
In 2014, the three Gates Scholars from my high school in Arizona received their notifications on April 17th. Notifications are not sent from a central location, so there is no guarantee that they will all arrive on the same day. As stated on the Gates Millennium website, all finalists will receive written notification of the results, regardless of the outcome. The best way to use your excess nervous energy is to apply for as many other scholarships as possible and have a strong academic finish to your senior year. As I posted earlier, one of the three non-winning finalists from my high school got full funding for his cost of attendance, with no loans, from multiple other sources. Naturally he was disappointed not to be selected as a Gates Scholar, but he didn’t let that become a barrier to achieving his goals.
As the below post states, it depends on what location it comes out of. I am in Calif and I can not remember where it comes from only when it arrived. You do need to apply for other scholarships. Do not bank on getting the Gates. Apply for everything you can. I wish everyone could get the Gates, but only 1000 get it per year as you know.
Do they also notify by email? My scholar has changed addresses recently and is concerned about getting the notification.
@NJRoadie
They WILL notify you by email, so it is important to have your email address up to date.
At the same time, as has been mentioned, they will mail an envelope to your listed mailing address if you are selected as a Gates Scholar.
Best of luck to you.
what was the due date for the finalists materials for last year? this includes SAR, and GPA form, and ect.
April 7th
I have been admitted to Columbia University and they have given me a financial aid award that covers my entire cost of attendance. It is all grants and no loans. The only thing I have to contribute is summer earnings. If I understand correctly, winning a GSM won’t make any difference, as I have no loans or unmet need. Is that right? All that effort for nothing?!
@excanuck99 Did you get full tuition plus room and board? I did but I’m still expected to pay all the fees and the insurance, as well as books & travel costs along with other expenses. So GM would definitely help, assuming they cover these costs…
Hello, everyone! I received the email saying I was a finalist three days before my birthday! I considered it an early birthday gift. I am an African-American male from Mobile, Alabama. I’m so anxious!
My financial aid from Columbia covers everything including insurance, books and travel. I don’t have any loans, but just a summer earnings expectation of $2,100 that Gates won’t cover. So I’ll get zero from this scholarship it seems!
It seems to me if you are offered the Gates that you should turn it down then, so that another person who actually needs it will benefit. Great job to you on getting everything paid for from Columbia!
I spoke to the GMS folks. They said that this situation arises frequently but that the scholarship will pay for “augmented” travel, books and fees as well as college work study. They claim they work with universities to establish the value of the reward. Confusing process!
Hey guys! A bit late to this, but, I’m a finalist with GMS. Does anybody know when previous finalists received their letter? Super anxious about this scholarship.
Never mind! I posted without reading. Am I the only one losing hair over this?
No, my scholar is extremely anxious. We visited the first choice school on Saturday and that just served to increase the anxiety over getting this. Scholar’s first choice school is not a “big name” school so I worry that will hurt their chances. We’ll see.
@blm789 hello, i am an asian finalist from biloxi, MS!!! good luck !!!
@NJRoadie hello Nj, the college that one goes to does not affect one’s chance to receive the scholarship as most gates scholas attend state university.