<p>If only I had to worry about full rides and the extent of their coverage. :)</p>
<p>Only two more quarters to pay for. Maybe by spring the dogs will no longer be required to share their kibble with us. They've been pretty jealous seeing other family members dip into their supply...</p>
<p>Cur, maybe those kids were not so exploited. I seem to recall discussions about how few schools actually meet all aid, how some gap and such.</p>
<p>Sorry my full ride question took over your thread, curm. Good luck to your very cool kid.</p>
<p>Are you kidding, sax? LOL . As you might have guessed , I enjoy this kind of thing. Thanks for asking.</p>
<p>nmd, I would hope. I do however remember USC, Pomona, Harvard being mentioned as some of the potential destinations. Maybe I'll google who won and where they went. ;)</p>
<p>Yeah, your the only reason I keep hanging out around here. You always ask the questions I want to know about.</p>
<p>Winner</a> of ABC TV's 'The Scholar' to Attend Pomona College</p>
<p>Pomona. The winner went to private high school but that could have been on scholarship , too ....so really, not much hint on the SES of the winner.
Harvard, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were also listed as destinations. </p>
<p>Thanks, sax. I do my best to keep it "lively". ;)</p>
<p>That didn't take long.</p>
<p>
<p>“Now I can go to the college of my dreams” the Tarzana teen said, breathlessly, as relatives hugged her and confetti caught in her hair.</p>
<p>The Jewish, biracial Hanna, who at age 18 already has produced charity rock concerts, was one of 10 brainy and financially needy high school seniors competing for cash on “The Scholar.” ....</p>
<p>The education-oriented Broad Foundation funded the top prize in part because “‘The Scholar’ shows how education can change families’ and people’s lives for the better,” Eli Broad said.</p>
<p>Hanna was reluctant to apply, fearing she’d be typecast as “the rich, spoiled Valley girl” because she was attending a North Hollywood private high school, Campbell Hall, albeit on full scholarship.
I hope Eli knew about the policy. ;)</p>
<p>Coming out of the woodwork here to clarify.....</p>
<p>one of my kids is a Goldwater Scholar. No interview is required. No need is required. You must be nominated by your school, must write the essays and submit recommendations. It is difficult to get but carries a lot of weight on grad school apps, etc. so is worth applying for even if the student thinks he/she will not be able to get any money from it.</p>
<p>Goldwater does pay directly to the student but only after the student submits info on qualified expenses which has been signed off on by the university. Goldwater will pay for books, room and board so even those with full ride scholarships may still be able to get some money from the award.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>p.s. For my kid, the award was clearly merit based--he had no need as defined in financial aid terms and couldn't push any economic, ethic or similar buttons either.</p>
<p>Congrats momof3! and thanks for the posts. What do you (or he) think pushed his app to the front? And how much help was his school? Was he a soph or a junior when he was nominated?</p>
<p>"Congrats momof3! and thanks for the posts. What do you (or he) think pushed his app to the front?"</p>
<p>His research experience and the recommendations of his professors.</p>
<p>" And how much help was his school?"</p>
<p>Hmmm...I'm not really sure. There is a specific person in charge of recruiting and grooming the applicants for national scholarships. I know he made a few suggestions about possible minor revisions to the draft of the application my kid wrote. I don't know how much he was involved in stroking the recommendations. I think this person will work with a student who has good credentials but doesn't know how to write an application that reflects them. (Which is a skill that can be taught--it doesn't come naturally to everyone.)</p>
<p>" Was he a soph or a junior when he was nominated?"</p>
<p>He was a sophomore when he was first nominated into the internal process. He didn't follow through, much to the displeasure of his parents and his advisor. He was nominated internally again as a junior, this time followed through the internal process, and was chosen as one of his college's nominees and ultimately was granted an award.</p>
<p>(He is at research university that has an established procedure for faculty to iniate the process.)</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>p.s. I agree with--</p>
<p>"At the same time, the benefits of winning are far more than financial. One chem prof told me he "could not imagine a grad program turning down a Goldwater". He had several winners from his lab, BTW.</p>
<p>So we can discuss at length how payment is calculated, fin aid offsets, reporting, enforcement and such. But:</p>
<p>Winning is nice. Money is even better. But winning without money is still nice."</p>
<p>and also--</p>
<p>"I don't think you know until you fill out the form at the specific school and the FA folks do their part."</p>
<p>Here's a ranking of the number of Goldwater Scholarships (among others) awarded to students at U.S. colleges and universities over the last twenty years: <a href="http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/WEB/News/NewsReleases/scholarstop10of5.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/WEB/News/NewsReleases/scholarstop10of5.pdf</a><br>
Not surprisingly, the biggest producers are elite private universities, although K-State's performance is an interesting exception given the level of the competition.</p>
<p>So I find out over Thanksgiving break that S is in the running at his college for the Goldwater again this year as a junior. Sounds like he learned from last year's process what he should do to improve his chances this year. Here's hoping it works!</p>
<p>TM,</p>
<p>Good luck to your son. Being a Goldwater winner can be a real boost to one's undergrad resume, and really help grad school admissions in the sciences. And it does not look bad on a postgrad fellowship or scholarship application either!</p>
<p>My daughter was a two-year Goldwater scholar. Her major was chemistry. She said that she spent quite a bit of time on the application and felt that her research (during the summers and school year), along with presenting that research at various conferences, were major factors. </p>
<p>If you want more details, PM me.</p>
<p>Update - S just found out today, 12/30 that he is still in the running for the Goldwater at his school. He has until end of Jan to complete the app. He was rather annoyed that it took this long to notify him, but at least he still has a week of break left to work on his essay. </p>
<p>The $7500 would be great, so am hoping he truly did learn from last's years experience what he needs "say" to move on as an official nominee from his school.</p>
<p>Anyone else's kids still in the running?</p>
<p>Nope. Mine is too old, and on to bigger winnings. :)</p>
<p>Best of luck to your son. One thing my D found important was to listen to the faculty's suggestions. Their final recs are not done until the final package goes in, and they note how cooperative the kid is for the final re-writes. I should also note that to have a competitive application, the school should offer some suggestions for improvements on the essays. If they don't, your son might want to push and ask.</p>
<p>from my alma mater, a few years ago; news bulletin about 3 Junior scholarship winners, and 1 honorable mention:</p>
<p>Yep. D is still plugging along. With "plug" being the root word here. As in "that there horse is a plug". She is putting the "pro" in "procrastinate". Started fast and has slowed to some geological rate of motion. It appears that playing (she says volunteering) at the pound has become far more important than revising her app. Hmm. Pleasing your over bearing anal retentive dad or playing with and acting as sales agent for homeless dogs and cats? How do you ever choose? These kids and their warped priorities. Sheesh. Don't they ever see the big picture? (JK. She's doing fine.;))</p>