<p>^^^ The GMS is for any students who are going to be first year college students. For example, you could either be a high-school senior or a GED holder who hasn't started college yet.</p>
<p>flower, im in the same boat</p>
<p>the outcome isn't so important anymore, i just want to know what happened!</p>
<p>I think a school profile would be similar to "the secondary school report" that your high school sends out with your rec letter to colleges.</p>
<p>I've never seen my school's profile, but I imagine it's just details about: school size, number of honors/AP/IB courses offered, GPA scale, stats about graduation percentage, and just anything else that gives background information that would help GMS get a better idea of you as a student.</p>
<p>For example (a purely made-up example), if your transcript only shows 5 AP courses that might seem unimpressive, until your school profile explains that your school only offers those 5 AP courses. </p>
<p>Just ask your GC what they put on the secondary school reports for colleges.</p>
<p>I also just received my letter and forms through the mail today (I am from Arizona).</p>
<p>One question: should we use the envelope they provide us or use our own? </p>
<p>There are so many papers to send in, I don't want to scrunch everything in the little envelope.</p>
<p>Congrats to everyone who has made it this far! :]</p>
<p>My school profile has the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>The school's mission</li>
<li>Information on the community (which also includes racial statistics about the students)</li>
<li>Brief history </li>
<li>Features of the curriculum </li>
<li>Graduation requirements (and statistics on number of graduates getting different types of diplomas -- its a NYS thing)</li>
<li>The grading system (passing grade, how honors are broken down)</li>
<li>Rank in Class (how it is calculated)</li>
<li>Stats on last graduating class (# of graduates, # enrolled in college)</li>
<li>List of colleges/universities recent graduated attended</li>
</ul>
<p>JohnN,</p>
<p>I believe you also have the option to fax the info. That's the route I went and I think you should too. It just gets to them quicker than standard mail.</p>
<p>I want to fax but the thing is, I do not have a fax machine (well one that is working anyways).</p>
<p>Maybe you can get your GC to let you use your school's fax?</p>
<p>Dinkswizzle I agree with you I just want to know what happened too!!! I hope all of us that haven't received anything (including me) get something soon...because this is very nerveracking I can't think about anything else but this.</p>
<p>I think that this notification process is stupid. Everyone should be notified at the same time, and stop this nervewracking that they put on already stressed out students</p>
<p>I think so too!</p>
<p>I've been lurking around in this thread for a while... Still have not received any word from GMS! Every time I check my email and see that I have unread mail sitting in my inbox, I get my hopes up, thinking that it's related to the scholarship. But alas, no email as of yet.</p>
<p>Are the people who haven't been selected notified later than everyone else? Giving up hope over here...</p>
<p>Sorry I wasn't been able to get back to some of you sooner, but here are my answers to some specific questions:</p>
<p>RevDem -- "Unmet Need"
When GMS refers to your "unmet need," what they mean is the result of subtracting your EFC, your institution/federal aid, and your outside resources (scholarships) from the Cost of Attendance (COA) at your school. To give you an example, if the COA at your university is $40,000 for 2008-2009 and you have $28,000 in resources (consisting of your EFC, a few scholarships/grants from your university, and a handful of outside scholarships), then your unmet need is $12,000. Assuming this were your financial aid situation for 2008-2009, that's the amount that GMS would cover for the 2008-2009 school year. So to answer your question, the unmet need would depend on the school. I hope this helps clarify your question.</p>
<p>Sasinib -- GMS guaranteed?
Unfortunately, no. Being a finalist for the GMS does not guarantee that you will be selected as one of the 1,000 Gates Scholars. You should definitely be proud of your accomplishment, but not every finalist will be selected. I know several people who were GMS finalists but ultimately were not selected as Gates Scholars, so I wouldn't assume anything.</p>
<p>memberoftheverwc -- How long till you hear back from GMS?
I remember when I applied that Gates Scholars began hearing back at completely random times (some right away; some weeks later), so there wasn't an exact system for how long you had to wait to hear back. The majority of the group though seemed to have to wait between 3 and 4 weeks. </p>
<p>Also, you touched on the frustrating part of the GMS process that has been a problem for as long as I've known about GMS. The notification process isn't the most efficient, but it used to be even worse a couple years ago (students weren't notified until sometime in May even though college decisions had to be made by May 1; I'm sure you can imagine how problematic that is). All in all though, the process of notifying thousands of students at the same time is a daunting task and is actually a lot harder than it sounds, but I can certainly understand the frustration.</p>
<p>sodium -- Criteria for GMS finalist selection
The general answer to this question is that the GMS is awarded for academic achievement, community service, and leadership potential. But here are my thoughts on what they look for in Gates Scholars. From my understanding, they tend to seek students who demonstrate high intellectual ability not only to achieve academically but also to think critically about issues. These students tend to be socially conscious, willing to act towards betterment of others, and who exhibit the potential to be change agents in their communities. That's why the essays are the most critical part in telling your story. </p>
<p>To relate this to the process some of you are going through now though (the second phase), I do not exactly know for sure how they select Gates Scholars based on the required documents. My guesses are as good as anyone else's, but my thought is that it's a way to verify your academic ability (transcript and GPA matched against your school's profile), your financial need, and perhaps also for geographical, demographical representation. I could be wrong though. I'm working to find out for sure from the folks I know at the GMS.</p>
<p>I hope these answers help clarify some of the questions asked. If you have any other specific questions, I can respond more quickly and effectively if you send me an email (not PM). Now I'll finish this long post (sorry!) by addressing sodium's question about my profile when I applied for the GMS.</p>
<p>I did not have a 4.0; I had a 3.87. My EFC was not quite 0; it was mid-2,000. And although I'm not the most studious student, I did try to take as many AP classes as possible. My high school offered 7 at the time; I graduated having taken 6.</p>
<p>My GMS application, though, focused a lot on the leadership aspect. I placed a heavy emphasis on leadership in school, not through ASB or student government, but through different clubs I had an interest in. During my junior year, I started a Model UN club that became the core of my high school leadership and eventually led to a spot on the board of my city's World Affairs Council (which made it an easier essay to write because it was more personal and unique to me). I also volunteered regularly at the hospital. </p>
<p>I think what made me stand out, though, was my personal story of persevering through some difficult life adversities. It helped them understand me beyond just the application components, the grades, and the achievements, but really showed them who I was as a human being. I think some combination of these things helped me become a Gates Scholar. In any case, I hope this gives you a better sense of the GMS process.</p>
<p>Thanks Proud.</p>
<p>These things sure can be complicated. I am afraid now because I only have 2 APs on my record (my school only offers three). But I do have a lot of leadership on record and a lot of community service. My EFC is also 0, so I'm sure that helps too. </p>
<p>I'm so worried and can't wait to hear if I will be a Scholar or not!</p>
<p>If you're school only offers 3 APs, you can't be blamed for not taking more. I wouldn't worry about that.</p>
<p>Yeah, this is true. I am self-studying AP USH and AP US Govt and I told them that in one of my essays so I guess that helps.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, Proud.
I sent in my Finalist materials today, so now I am just praying and hoping.</p>
<p>Proud, do you know if the Gates judges and staffs take a Spring Break?</p>
<p>ok so who got a call from GMS...or am i the only one?!?</p>
<p>You got a call from GMS? What did they say?</p>