<p>It infuriates me about the story because I never had anything bad like them. If I knew about the scholarship ten years ago I would have done a lot more so I could have an easy story to write. I must stand out to win.</p>
<p>Trust me, If what you’ve done is important to you, it will we be important to the scholarship board. Don’t get discouraged, we’re all here with you :)</p>
<p>I should really break down every essay prompt and answer it before I just dive in to make it easier</p>
<p>I hope everyone that commented on this one wins the gms</p>
<p>I submitted mine yesterday</p>
<p>damn. you got it proofread?</p>
<p>@SammyxB aleady??? Well I hope you’re one of the 1,000 :)</p>
<p>@Cfletch how do you write the essay. If I write just the answer to the prompt, will it be bad because it is so hard for me to tell a story.</p>
<p>@emenya Yep 
I hope so too.</p>
<p>And yes. Already proofread.Thing is, I did them in the summer haha @noobsallowed</p>
<p>damn. I had the whole summer and only did 1 and I did that in march</p>
<p>Trust me, it was hard for me to stay motivated LOL</p>
<p>@noodbsallowed I think to raise your chances of winning, you should go beyond what the prompt is asking you. Each prompt itself asks many questions, so make sure you address each question thoroughly. Also, you could use a quote to start off and then tie the quote in with your essay. Don’t make it harder than you should. </p>
<p>@Cfletch may you give me an example because I just don’t want to write something to bore the readers.</p>
<p>I’m applying even though I’m pretty disappointed in the essay questions. I thought that they would be questions that really asked questions about topics that really make you think. However, hopefully I get this scholarship because if I don’t, I know I’ll have no chance going to a college out of state. I will be at UIUC, which is not bad but I don’t want to go to school with a lot of people from my high school. I need something new. </p>
<p>@Youngambition The essay questions do really make you think!!! </p>
<p>@noodbsallowed For example, if you’re writing about an obstacle you’ve faced, you could search “quotes about courage” on Google. Then find a quote you like, include it in your essay, and talk about how you overcame that obstacle through courage.</p>
<p>@Youngambition As a 2014 scholar, I believe that you do need to think carefully when writing those essays. You want to paint a complete picture of yourself while making your point across. Since there is no interview for this scholarship, you need to ask yourself when writing the essays what are some questions readers have in their mind when they read your application. By doing so, you can distinguish yourself from the rest 50,000+ applicants.</p>
<p>I’m a community volunteer in a small rural community. Last year our high school had 17 Gates Millennium candidates, six finalists, and three Gates Scholars (two Native Americans and one Hispanic). I helped about a dozen of the candidates with their essays, six of them intensively. Based on that experience, here’s my advice.</p>
<ol>
<li> Many posters seem to be asking for a recipe for winning. There is no recipe, but there are principles and guidelines for increasing your chances.</li>
<li> Be authentic, but be strategic too. Research the general profile of what the Gates folks are looking for. Since the minimum GPA is 3.3, it’s obviously not just about academics. Look at a journal article by William Sedlacek entitled “Employing Non-Cognitive Variables for the Admission and Retention of Non-Traditional Students.” Why? Because this professor emeritus came up with a set of eight variables for assessing which “disadvantaged” students were most likely to succeed in college. Seven of his eight variables match the first seven Gates essay prompts, and in the same order. That’s no coincidence. His eighth variable talks about the importance of a strong support person, so weave the impact of mentors into some of your essays.</li>
<li> Think outside the box when considering what to write for the leadership and community service essays. Perhaps you had to take on additional leadership as the oldest sibling in a single-parent household. Perhaps you became an informal mentor and “safety officer” at your local skate park. That’s community service. It’s not about titles and winning elections.</li>
<li> There is a huge difference between a “sob story” that focuses on how unfair a hand life dealt you, and an inspiring story about how you overcame various types of adversity and how the challenges you faced have developed an inner resilience and an iron will to achieve ambitious goals.</li>
<li> Since every candidate is from a racial minority group, dealing with racial discrimination may be too common a topic for essay #3. Consider a different “unfair experience,” especially one that highlights the maturity of your response (even if nothing changed).</li>
<li> Start early and give the application your best effort, hoping to win but not counting on it. One of the students I helped extensively last year was a finalist but not a Gates Scholar. By continuing to apply for other sources of aid, he ended up with awards equaling the full cost of attendance with not a penny in loans. And all but $2,000 was renewable.</li>
<li> The “self-marketing” skills you develop by completing the lengthy application are skills for a lifetime. In a very real sense, there are no losers in the Gates Millennium competition.</li>
</ol>
<p>if nominations and recommendations were okay, will the best essays make up for it?</p>
<p>I need to start on these essays. But I’m already doing questbridge so I’m trying to get that done before I even think about this one.</p>