Apparently I am a semifinalist for Georgia Tech’s Stamps/Gold Scholarship program. The program seems like a wonderful opportunity in every way imaginable and while I’m beyond excited and honored to have been nominated, I also want to make sure I know what I’m doing and don’t mess up what seems to me as one of the best opportunities out there for college applicants.
So I’m just wondering if anyone is familiar at all with the process, or would like to share their experience as a scholar/applicant.
Specifically with regards to the selection process, I’m wondering about the following things:
They require a supplemental resume. Is it okay if some/most of its content is a repeat of my original application? I don’t want to be redundant if they’ve already read my application, but on the other hand, a resume seems to demand work/volunteer/extracurricular experience, so it would be hard to escape repeating the college application.
Should I assume the people watching my pre-recorded interview have reviewed the original application and not repeat the experiences in my supplementals, or should I assume they have only the resume?
What types of questions do they typically ask in the interview? Are they primarily going to be about me and who I am, or do they ask a lot about things happening relevant to my major and everything like that? I know the exact questions vary but I just want to know what to expect.
Are first-semester senior grades taken into account for the scholarship? I’ve had straight A’s through school so far, and I’m hoping to end the semester with straight A’s again, but I don’t know for certain that I will. Grades are kind of a mess now with COVID anyway (half my school does things online and cheats and then we get no curve, but that’s just me whining), so I don’t know how much I’d be disadvantaged with 1-2 B’s that most semifinalists probably won’t have.
I have no idea where to go about these questions because I know everything is different this year. But if anyone has any insights, or has any experience in general with the process or the experience of being a GT scholar, I would really appreciate anything.
My D is an in state semifinalist. We received wonderful insight from @itsgettingreal21 whose D had Stamps offers from two schools. I am happy to share the information she provided with her permission or she may prefer to reply on her own.
My D has already had her asynchronous interview. She did not enjoy that format but you work with what you have. I will pass along your questions and get back to you with her feedback. Good luck!
Congratulations! I think it is reasonable to ask GT (whoever notified you of the semi-finalist invite) about what you can assume the reviewers will have already seen - like your resume, original application, etc.
This year is a different format with the pandemic but I have volunteered as an interviewer at GT in the past (since I’m an alum). We did not pre-view anything nor did we have a copy of the GT application. I think we got a copy of the resume but I don’t know where it came from. You were invited based on the strength of your app and your activities - nobody would expect you to all the sudden have new experiences or examples so I say by all means repeat information if it best answers the question or best represents what you would bring to the Stamps program. And the questions won’t just be about your resume - it’s time to get to know you a little better. I don’t remember the exact questions nor would I repeat them if I did but they weren’t that different from a typical job interview. The interviewers had some flexibility to which ones they ask. Be yourself and try to relax - you are great to even be invited so I am sure you have enough to reach inside and use in your responses. Good luck!
Could you please share some insight about the semifinalist virtual interview? what type of questions? does this interview give everyone sometime to think, then limited time to speak? Thanks
Have they announced the format of the interviews for this year? I’d heard they were going back to in person, but I don’t have that from an official source. Keep in mind my D interviewed in 2021 so covid protocols were in place.
At that time, it was an asynchronous format. I believe you’d see the question and have a minute to think before recording your response. There was only one “do over” allowed. Prior to that year, interviews were in person and therefore a bit more conversational. I hope they’ll return to something like that.
The biggest feedback I heard on the interview was not to replay your academic resume, but share something you are passionate about, and what you’ve done to maximize your impact in that area (which could be academic or completely unrelated). Everybody has a phenomenal resume, so it comes down to how they want to balance the class.
In hindsight, these are the things she wished she’d prepared better.
Think about typical interview questions: your accomplishments, your strengths and weaknesses, your leadership experience and what you would add to the campus
Read up on Stamps and the characteristics valued by the organization so you can highlight why you would be a great addition
Take some quick notes when each question is asked so you can refer to them when recording your answer.
Be well rested and take the 30 minutes before your interview to do something that puts you in a calm, steady frame of mind. (listen to music, etc)
Tremendous insight. My DD had a few different stories she could lean on for different sorts of situations (leaderships, challenging situations, etc. - normal interview stuff).
One thing that I think was helpful was doing a practice interview with someone she didn’t know particularly well. (In our case, my boss happily volunteered.) It was good experience in getting through the initial jitters, establishing rapport, etc., and being able to “tell her story”.