<p>GMS called me a few days before I submitted my app to remind me of the 1/11/08 deadline. This was before the extension. I hadn't forgotten, I just was putting on the final touches.</p>
<p>So far, they're the only scholarship program that has called me, but it was nice.</p>
<p>Did your nominator/recommender send in their part earlier?</p>
<p>Wow. I didn't get a call, but I got like, 5 emails to remind me about the deadline and then another one about the extension.</p>
<p>^^ yea i got a bunch of emails</p>
<p>i didnt get any notification..whats up with that..did anyone else not get notification</p>
<p>hmmm so not everyone got the call...wonder why.</p>
<p>i didnt even get an email..does that mean they dont want me lol</p>
<p>nah...it probably has something to do with their email delivery system. As long as you sent your application in, chill. You will know in March :).</p>
<p>yup.. hopefully its a good know...</p>
<p>Where are all you guys applying?
c/o 2008/2012 :)</p>
<p>Okay so I do a TON of volunteer work at my school and it's a leadership I've taken on. Can I list what I do as unpaid volunteer work and a leadership role? It seems like this would make sense, but I don't want them to think I am trying to double dip...</p>
<p>Is it okay to actually write about a difficult subject for #2? I haven't been able to think up any others...</p>
<p>ugh so i just realized i did the community service party totally wrong; am i totally done for??? also i dont think illl be meeting that fafsa requirment. do they completely rule you out if your not needy?</p>
<p>One question, how are they supposed to check your EFC to see if you are qualify for the Pell Grant? Are you supposed to submit your FAFSA to them? If so, when?</p>
<p>do they read EVERY essay?</p>
<p>YES THANK YOU GOD.</p>
<p>Submitted, just now. Whewwwwwwwwww. Thats a BIG burden off my chest.</p>
<p>Good Luck to all of you!</p>
<p>And I would think they read every essay...they are probably the most important criterion for judgement...</p>
<p>From GMS website, JohnN:</p>
<p>Note: Please do not submit your FAFSA with your GMS application. If you are selected as a finalist, GMS will request your FAFSA information at that time.</p>
<p>...and just to mention something funny:</p>
<p>I had to submit the Gates Millennium Scholarship, funded by Bill Gates, using Mozilla Firefox as Internet Explorer refused to work for some reason.</p>
<p>Ah, "fate it seems, is not without a sense of irony.:</p>
<p>Wow, a lot of questions! Alright, I'll give it a shot.</p>
<p>1) I was wondering if the GMS covers Med School? I saw on another thread that it doesn't, but isn't that a 'Science', which GMS said it would cover for grad school. Thanks!</p>
<p>--Med school is not a "science" per se. You'll be a practitioners rather than a researcher, which is what the Gates want. You can a PhD in infectious diseases but not an MD in treating it. So scholarship ONLY for science program that ends up giving you a PhD or Master.</p>
<p>2) When i was half done with my application (my nominator and recommender had already sent her stuff in earlier), someone from GMS actually CALLED my house and asked me why I hadn’t submitted the application yet as my recommender and nominator had done it already. I was shocked, as I've never seen scholarships CALLING applicants to remind them to finish up. Is it standard procedure?</p>
<p>--Actually it's quite normal. They tried to call as many people as they can to give the process some human touch. Most get emails. One person I know who applied two years ago got a call from Melinda Gates herself reminding the individual to send in the stuff. That person didn't win the scholarship unfortunately. No one I know of has got a call from Bill yet. I know I would be lobbying for myself if Bill called me though. So although getting phone call is nice, it doesn't mean anything.</p>
<p>3) Is it okay to actually write about a difficult subject for #2? I haven't been able to think up any others...?</p>
<p>-- I don't quite understand this question. A subject can be academics or non-academics. I wrote about some physical problem that prevented me from playing the piano, or at least gave me a really hard time.</p>
<p>4) ugh so i just realized i did the community service party totally wrong; (A) am i totally done for??? (B) also i dont think illl be meeting that fafsa requirment. do they completely rule you out if your not needy?</p>
<p>--(A) No, you're not totally done for. As long as you did your basic--telling them what you did for ECs--then they will be able to read it just fine. If you feel like you really, really screw up. Write them a letter with a resume attached to it and send them to the appropriate GMSP committee that will be reading your stuff. Remember to have your social security number somewhere on the resume or the letter, they go by that to identify you.
--(B)To get the scholarship you must qualify for Pell grant. To qualify for Pell Grant, your EFC must be about $3500. Of course that number is about two years old, it might have changed and might have increased (inflation anyone?).</p>
<p>5) One question, how are they supposed to check your EFC to see if you are qualify for the Pell Grant? Are you supposed to submit your FAFSA to them? If so, when?</p>
<p>--Yes, but not right now. Once you're in the second round, they will require you to send your transcript, college admission letter, your financial aid letter, and your SAR (Student Aid Report) which you must get from FAFSA and it details your EFC.</p>
<p>6) do they read EVERY essay?</p>
<p>--They suppose to read every essay. But that up to individual reader. So, who knows?</p>
<p>reddune: i see everyone has been getting phone calls and emails but i havent received any..is that normal..do you know if that means anything?</p>