Bit nervous. I got to talk to some previous scholars. They had like over two hundred service learning hours and I have under a hundred. Trying not to sike myself out. :-<
@Snowbunnybug This scholarship is not about the quantity of “statistics” in your application. It’s about the quality of your overall narrative, which is why the essays (and the responses of your Nominator and Recommender) are so important. (And “psych” is spelled that way.) Keep applying for other scholarships to take your mind off of the outcome of this one. Winning scholarship money is partly a numbers game. I have helped five finalists, three of whom became Gates Scholars. The other two got aid covering their entire Cost of Attendance without a penny in loans.
@northernAZ how did you manage that? Do you have any suggestions for us?
@RerunGirl If your question is how did the two non-winning Gates finalists get all the grant/scholarship aid they needed, the answer is that they had good grades, were low-income (of course), qualified for big tuition awards at their public in-state universities, and applied for lots of private scholarships, plus a Work/Study job. The Cost of Attendance was about $26,000 a year.
I submitted all the parts of the application on time. I got emails saying my student form, nominator and recommender form were all submitted before the deadline. The package status of my application also says “complete.” However, I never received a confirmation letter saying my package was complete. Is everyone who applied supposed to get a confirmation email about the package?
@Leen08 “Package Status: Complete” is confirmation that they got all three parts of your application.
@northernAZ Oh okay thank you! 
I was freaking out since my friend who also applied got a fourth email stating that her package was complete. I looked all over my email and found nothing so I thought something bad might’ve happened with the system and my package somehow messed up while I was viewing it after submission.
I submitted mine earlier and I continued to research about the scholarship. A lot of forums had parents of scholarship winners talking about Gates did not pay for everything? I’m a bit confused. If one becomes a gates scholar, will they be receiving a full ride? I know it is based on unmet need, but is the foundation going to pay for ALL the unmet need? (books, dorms, etc. that they mentioned)
@Mariana2016 Some Gates Scholars come from families that have a Family Contribution greater than zero. GMS does not cover that amount. The GMS is a “last-dollar” scholarship that covers “unmet need,” meaning need that is not covered by other parts of the aid package from your college. If loans and Work/Study are part of the aid package, that is called “self-help aid” and Gates will cover that amount also. Gates will not cover any loans that the family may have to take out to pay for the Family Contribution. So “full ride” is a misleading term when describing the GMS. But other than a possible Family Contribution, it provides any balance of what the student needs to cover the Cost of Attendance. And of course it provides support for graduate study in seven specific fields.
Woah. I was misinformed as well. I thought it covered the EFC too. 
When will we have access to our application/essays once again? I forgot to save my later essay drafts on a separate document ;-;…
Keep applying for other scholarships! If you completed all those essays, you should have plenty of material to tweak for other scholarships - don’t forget your local area may have a bunch too.
I received my GMS last year. The portal update process is slow. If you got a message that your application was received, relax. You’ll next hear in March. Good luck!
One more month guys 
I am planning to go to a pilot university in the fall. Would the GMS pay for my coa AND my flight fees as well? To pay for the flying hours, it’s a pay as you go process. Would the foundation cover those costs?
Hey Guys! I am Senior who attends High school school in Japan, ( I am an American citizen) However, my school is a school for American students but for some reason our GPA calculations are different. My question is…if selected as a GMS finalist do you guys think the people who review our transcripts will recalculate our grades using the regular system (A= 4,B=3, AP: A=5, B=4, then divided by how many classes we have taken that year to get the final GPA for that year and then add it to the final GPA of each year (freshman, sophomore , junior, senior,) and then divide by 4 to get the cumulative GPA ? Or do you think they will just look at the cumulative GPA that is reported on the transcript? Sorry if it’s confusing.
I don’t know if they would convert it. They would probably know if your gpa is above the threshold or not
@Mariana2016 GMS won’t pay for pilot school. If must be an accredited four-year degree program.
@MichaelBeezly I went to an American International School and won a GMS last year. If you are named a finalist, they will send you a form. You have your guidance counsellor complete it. At that time your school will convert your GPA into the standard scale. However, they are accustomed to different scales (my school used 11 points). You also will submit your transcript.
Yes, @excanuck99 I’ve read the rules. I am speaking about the University of Michigan or Central Missouri, both universities that offer a professional pilot degree. Along with these course are hands on flight hours, and I wondered if the foundation would pay for those hours as well.
I know they say Finalists should be notified in mid-Marc, but decisions for 2014 were announced March 6th, for 2015 it was announced March 5th, so I’m hoping that this year’s decisions will be announced March 4th, which would be this Friday!!! I’m super anxious