<p>My daughter is extremely excited today. She received her acceptance letter from Furman University and an invitation to interview for the Hollingsworth Scholarship. She has been accepted to USC-columbia and to Clemson but I haven't seen her smile as big as she did today.</p>
<p>As one might imagine, we have discussed colleges quite a bit over the last year. I have tried to keep her from getting her hopes up too high about Furman due to cost. However, if she were able to get this scholarship, it puts it in the realm of possibilities for her.</p>
<p>Does anyone know how many students are invited for the Hollingsworth Scholarship this year? I believe I saw on a post that ~90 were invited last year? I did read the information on the Furman Engage web site, however, any other information on this scholarship would also be much appreciated.</p>
<p>There are 20 many 25 schollys given. Since about 200 kids are accepted from SC and a few of them go for the Hollingsworth these are pretty good odds.
My daughter was in the first group awarded the Hollingsworth and it was the most exciting thing that ever happened to us. My wife got a call a few days before from a school guidance counselor and she told us when the furman rep would be in town to personally give my D the news. I told my wife that it was probably a prank and not to believe it until we saw it. The day came and sure enough a man arrived from FU with the official news. We called my D out of class (she didnt have a clue) and well, you can imagine how the rest went. It was one of the most amazing days in our lives.</p>
<p>Good luck to you and I hope you have a similar experience. By the way here's something to consider. Your daughter will get the palmetto scholly with other awards from FU the tuition you will have to pay will be about the same as Clemson. CU doesnt award that much. You can get loans from the South carolina student loan corp. And with summer jobs or work study (like being an RA or working at the library) its not as far out of reach as u think</p>
<p>Hollingsworth Interviews are this Friday! My youngest daughter (age 13) and I drove out to Furman campus and had lunch by the lake. They already have the welcome sign for Hollingsworth finalist on display at the Yount's Center.</p>
<p>Any last minute advice or recommendations for my D would be much appreciated. She is excited but getting nervous because Furman is her #1 choice and she knows this scholarship could make it possible financially.</p>
<p>How were interviews?? I was there yesterday from 12:30 to 4 (with an escape to downtown for lunch in there!). I may have passed you! Wasn't the weather perfect?</p>
<p>Yes, it was a beautiful day. My D was in the first group of interviews which worked out well. She thinks she did well but is very anxious with the wait to find out the results.</p>
<p>It is a tough wait! I think the Fedex came on Thursday last year (although we are in MI ... might be sooner for SC folks). Best wishes!!</p>
<p>expatengr, did you go to the luncheon where one of the previous students gave a speech?</p>
<p>Yes, we did. She did a very good job. Was this one of your daughters?</p>
<p>You got it! Here's an interview tip which may be too late for you but for future years. Previous Hollinsworth recipients help conduct the interviews. You'd be surprised at how much weight they carry in the decision making process. So the tip is to not underestimate these students; respond to the question seriously. Once you get to the interview you can throw your academic credentials away - you've qualified and belong there. What matters then is what work ethic, maturity traits, personality and leadership skills you bring to the table.</p>
<p>Sad day today. My D did not get the Hollingsworth. Looks like she will not be a paladin next year (perhaps a tiger or a gamecock). We go to scholars day in Columbia this Saturday. Perhaps that will raise her spirits.</p>
<p>I feel your pain ... D was a Lay finalist last year & didn't get it. It was tough, because we really had our hopes up that she would get a great scholarship. When it didn't happen, it was hard to handle. She did get an academic scholarship, but it wasn't even close to what we had hoped she'd get. </p>
<p>Hopefully, your D can take some solace in knowing that she was among the very top candidates. Best of luck in your other scholarship possibilities.</p>
<p>The final decision for us came down to several schools that came out with a similar bottom line. D did end up at Furman.</p>
<p>expatengr, So sorry to hear the sad news. Agree with kelsmom. Just to be invited means FU thought very highly of your D. For what it is worth, yesterday, we got the annual "costs are going up" letter from FU. Total COA is now over $43K! Ouch! Our D is a jr and we are coming up the 26th of this month for "Spring for Furman" day and will also drop in on Wofford. We don't want our D to get her hopes too high on attending Furman with the COA as high as it is. Everyone (Privates and Publics) are raising their COAs each year.</p>
<p>Hi, Lukester:) Have a good visit up at Furman. I am already getting nostalgic about missing those types of visiting days.</p>