<p>hey i just wanted to know are there any gates scholars on here and if so, what advice do you have for applicants like myself. i really need this scholarship.</p>
<p>Sorry I don't have any specific advice, but here's some recent threads you can read through until someone else comes along that can help. If you do a search on the Financial Aid/Scholarship forum you should be able to find some threads from previous years that might be helpful. Good luck!</p>
<p>ok thanks i'll read them</p>
<p>Here are some of my Gates Scholar insights:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Use vivid, personal examples--When you answer the essay questions, give examples so you can show the readers what you are talking about. You don't want to write essays where the stories described could fit for a bunch of other students. You want to really stand out by making it personal.</p></li>
<li><p>Go deeper with your essays--When you answer questions that ask about your activities, your classes, or your volunteer service, don't just simply describe the things you do. Go deeper with your ideas by showing why you do them. Tie in your experiences so the reader really gets to see your passion.</p></li>
<li><p>Show them you're worth the investment--Since the scholarship is an investment in "Leaders for America's Future" (GMS Motto), you want to show them that you have the potential to succeed and give back to society. When you write about what you've done, don't spend so much time describing your leadership positions and activities; show them how they changed you, what you learned, and how they've shaped who you are.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I hope these tips are helpful. I have written some other posts with tips in the two threads above as well. Feel free to PM or email me if you have specific questions. Good luck!</p>
<p>I PM'd you Husky! I'm applying, but I hate writing essays and they're about a paragraph each. I guess I'll have to do a rewrite... anyways, Good luck everyone!</p>
<p>only 10 days left guys...i only have 2 done...this christmas break has not been a break at all...all i've done is college essays...</p>
<p>but how long does it take to write each question approximately for you guys?
any more tips would be appreciate!!</p>
<p>aubrey, I received your PM, and I will send you a response soon. But I wanted to clarify the deadline so that people who are applying know when the GMS is due. The deadline is this coming Friday, January 11, at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. If you're not on the East Coast, make sure you get it in before that time. Just to be safe, I would suggest not waiting until that last day to submit your application (like I did when I applied) as too many people do that and the site runs slower than usual.</p>
<p>When I wrote my essays, I used almost the maximum number of characters available; however, the length is not what makes or breaks an application. They look at how deeply and how well you answer the question, so use lots of examples and show, rather than tell. I'd suggest reading your essay out loud and then seeing if your statements create "why" and "how" questions. If so, that's an opening for you to expand and use examples to show exactly what you mean. One final suggestion: make a copy of your entire application before you submit it. It's a good habit to practice for any forms you turn in, whether it's for a scholarship, college application, or anything else. Who knows...perhaps you can help out another student applying for the GMS next year. :)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I submitted mine already. My essays were probably about a page each. I've gotten into the habit of writing concisely (but effectively).</p>
<p>I didn't want to ramble.</p>
<p>does anyone know if there's an income cut-off for the gates scholarship? they talked about the pell grant in the scholarship packet--what is that? I filled out a FASA form, but I what exactly is pell grant?</p>
<p>you do the fafsa then the you report comes back with the EFC number. based on your number it'll determine if you qualify for pell grant</p>
<p>oh boo, I just did it today. Turns out I don't quality (and my EFC was a lot more than my parents thought). I don't really think scholarships like Gates should be based so much on financial status. I mean, they just excluded basically all of the ppl in the middle class who need these scholarships just as badly and who are just as qualified merit wise. that's just my little rant.</p>
<p>How can people with more money need money just as badly as people who have less money?</p>
<p>Oh yeah, they don't.</p>
<p>the site isn't even working...i dunno whats up...it keeps saying service unavailable</p>
<p>GAH! IT'S NOT WORKING!</p>
<p>And my nominator hasn't registered yet. Bleh.</p>
<p>Has anyone contacted the foundation to see what's going on and what they're expecting to happen with things?</p>
<p>They have changed the deadline to the 14th.</p>
<p>^^I guess there were too many people trying to sign in on the website and it broke down.</p>
<p>Ah thank you! I just called, too!</p>
<p>lol. I think it's sort of ironic that the Gates scholarship website crashed...</p>
<p>Oh sweet! 3 extra days!</p>
<p>i know, im so glad. i didnt even finish my app yet, has anyone completed their app? and does that deadline apply to the recommender and nominator too</p>
<p>Yes, on the website it says something like to be considered you need to do blah blah blah blah and turn in all three forms (i.e. nomination, recommendation, nominee) on time.</p>
<p>So is it due on the 14th at 11:59 PM?</p>