<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I just wanted to start this thread for those who are interested in applying for the Gates Millennium Scholarship. </p>
<p>Any advice, regrets, encouragement, thoughts, etc are welcome, as senior year is about to get crazy. </p>
<p>I wish everyone the best of luck, because we all have the same end goal: college.</p>
<p>@optimist there is a CC member here, @GA2012MOM. She can share lots of her dd’s experience on this thread. </p>
<p>My own DD was a Gates finalist but didn’t make it. A student from our town who did win is living with Sickle Cell and had 4 siblings die from it. I say all that to say, there is always someone who will have a more interesting story. It’s very tough to get these scholarships. So please! Apply to schools that meet full need if you can. DD really didn’t need any of the national scholarships that she applied for and subsequently didn’t win. She is receiving wonderful FA from the college that she is matriculating to. No loans whatsoever. Be wise with your list & keep an open mind in this process. You don’t realize how much you will grow in the next 6 months. And even next spring. The school that DD was adamant about not applying to??? She applied and fell in love with the school throughout her whole admissions/acceptance process/revisit process!!! </p>
<p>I am still in shock! </p>
<p>Also consider QB, Jackie Robinson & Ron Brown.They are all wonderful programs if you can get them. </p>
What do you think is the reason she did not win? What was her EFC and pell grant?
From what I’ve read they don’t care about your EFC or Pell Grant amount, as long as you’re eligible for one. Finalists are already ranked based on the entire app, and after they’ve taken out the people who don’t meet the scholarship criteria (i.g. not Pell Grant eligible) they take the top 250 people from each ethnicity. At least, this is what I’ve read…really worried cuz I wrote all my essays the night before they were due… :-S
I’m in a similar situation. My financial aid award has no loans and is all grants. It covers everything except $2100 from summer earnings. Ironically, Gates won’t cover this. So winning this scholarship will make no material difference.
2014-2015 Finalists >>> http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/gates-millennium-scholarship/1766115-gates-millennium-scholarship-finalists.html
I am a recipient of the 2015 GMS scholarship and I’m so grateful! I wrote the essays the night before they were do but it was definitely worth it
Lol, glad to know I’m not the only one! Hopefully I have the same good fortune as you 
congrats!
What states are you from and are African american, Hispanic, Asian or native american