<p>^hey, momreads.
I’ve added you to my contacts. You can send a PM now. I’d love to hear what you have to say! :)</p>
<p>I am disappointed to hear that NMFs may possibly never be selected for Academic Elite, though. I hadn’t heard that when asking all our questions on campus. That $8500 stipend is QUITE attractive!</p>
<p>I don’t think there is a “rule” about that and I don’t know if an NMF has never received the elite…we just don’t know of any that have. I think that there’s just this idea that NMFs already get free housing, so those with only free tuition are more considered for the elite. </p>
<p>After all, there probably are a number of Presidential scholars who have stats that are higher than the NMFs (especially those from states with high cut-offs)…so, it would make some sense that Bama might want to give them the big scholarship.</p>
<p>Not sure about the flaky UFE member comment regarding a non-NMF student</p>
<p>As a junior in high school someone does not do well on the NMF test and they should not have the opportunity for the elite scholarships? Not sure I agree…its one test…that is it. UFE is about more than test scores…they want the complete package, at least that is what I thought and that is what our student-host on our visit told us.</p>
<p>If a student misses the cutoff by a little but still has SAT and/or ACTs in the 99th percentile they should not qualify? </p>
<p>Not sure about the working harder comment either? </p>
<p>Looks to me the scholarships are a way to attract exceptional students who did not make the NMF cutoff. Example…oldest son was not an NMF…but in honors program and presidential scholar at Auburn. He has had plenty of NMFs in his classes and many have told him he is one of the smarter people they know and can’t believe he was not an NMF.
Great grades so far in college, involved on campus etc.</p>
<p>Should the scholarship be adjusted…idk? Are there donors who help support the program that have had some say it what will be provided?</p>
<p>^I understand what you’re saying, m2ck. I took it just that way – not that there’s a hard and fast rule against NMFs getting AE, but that it doesn’t tend to happen.</p>
<p>If it’s true that THAT’s the thinking behind their plans – find a way to award money to desirable admits who didn’t otherwise “earn” the scholarship money via other means, then it’s a shame that they would choose such an overarching, <em>elite</em>, academically-centered name. Academic Elite. Hmmm.</p>
<p>If the NMFs who have stats to match in all the other categories are not given the same consideration for UFE and Academic Elite, just because they’ve already earned big scholarship money as an NMF, then I can see why there would be some growing resentment amongst the various honors groups.</p>
<p>Just changing the NAME of the scholarship program would help, it seems. If, in fact, the Academic Elites’ stats are not, as a rule, on par with the non-Academic Elites, then perhaps the AE’s status should be, idk, Chancellor’s Scholars? or Provost’s Scholars? Something that didn’t imply so much academic superiority. 
</p>
<p>^elatho, just because kids are NMF doesn’t mean they aren’t also “the complete package.” I mean, I think the perception described on these threads is that kids who are NMF AND have great SAT’s and ACT’s and GPA’s and class ranks and ECs, etc, are not given equal consideration for UFE and AE as kids who didn’t otherwise qualify for large scholarships. I don’t know if it’s TRUE … but it IS true that more than a few people have that perception.</p>
<p>Of course Bama wants to attract as many desirable candidates as they can! And there are tons of desirable candidates who make for an amazing freshman class who are NOT top scholars, or who ARE tippy-top scholars but have no ECs, or who are gifted with a servant’s heart and live to help others, or who have breathtaking ECs, etc, etc. And I totally understand why a campus would want to attract those kids and use large financial packages to do so. Maybe the simple fix is to call those scholarships something else … </p>
<p>… IF the perception is true that these AE’s are not, in actuality, the campus’s most academically elite. </p>
<p>That’s what I take from what was being said here.</p>
<p>I’m a nobody. I don’t even have a kid at Bama! 
But I think I perceive an “image problem” of sorts for the Academic Elite status. We definitely got weird vibes about it on campus whenever we asked about it. Now I’m kind of getting an idea as to why. That’s too bad.</p>
<p>But, as I said – I’m a nobody and have no idea whether those perceptions are accurate, or whether those perceptions are widespread. They may be the perceptions of a few. It will be interesting to learn more as we go through the process! Wish us luck? :o</p>
<p>Ethalo…</p>
<p>Not sure which post you are responding to. </p>
<p>I didn’t say that non-NMFs shouldn’t be able to get the Elite. I said that I don’t think any NMFs have gotten the Elite. I COMPLETELY understand that some non-NMFs have stats higher than NMF students, and that some non-NMFs come from states with high NMSF cutoffs. So, I understand the desire to give a big scholarship, that includes housing, to those students. </p>
<p>However, since it includes a big stipend, NMFs should not be rather excluded. But, again, I think they should reapportion the scholarship into a greater number of scholarships that are for a set amount only, and give them to students with the Presidential scholarship. A UFE student with an ACT 31 or less could be given more money to full tuition.</p>
<p>However, the stipend should go…it’s demoralizing to those who are also hard-working in UFE…It’s wrong to essentially be paying some for their efforts while expecting the rest to work for free - especially when the award is given before the school knows who the real leaders are going to be in UFE. </p>
<p>We did notice, while asking, that the Academic Elite thing seems to be quite hush-hush. We got the feeling that people did not want to talk about it. We weren’t sure if they didn’t really know about it, if they weren’t exactly sure of the facts, or if they were kind of told NOT to talk about it. We had a funny sense about that while on campus. But at the time, we kept thinking, “Surely this isn’t a “secret.” Why would a category that’s clearly mentioned on the handout they gave us be a secret?” So we asked away!</p>
<p>This is true that the Honors College and UFE treat the Elite scholarship as some kind of secret. They think if someone is asking about it, then that student only cares about the scholarship and doesn’t care about UFE.</p>
<p>Comment:</p>
<p>My understanding is the elite scholarships are awarded to UFEs. We have not talked to a lot of folks about it but who we talked to did not know of an AE recipient who was not an UFE. By definition the UFEs are selected on more than just grades in fact the website says:</p>
<p>“The UFE selection committee will consider a candidate’s record of academic, extracurricular, service, and leadership achievements more heavily than grades and test scores.”</p>
<p>Perhaps dropping the first word and just naming them “Elite” Scholarships would be less confusing.</p>
<p>These are also considered academic elite scholarships so perhaps the name is more general in its use, these also pay less each year.</p>
<p>Crimson Scholarships, administered by the National Alumni Association, are also academic elite awards. To be considered for Crimson Scholarships, an applicant must be a first-time freshman,</p>
<p>Yes…you have to be in UFE to be considered for the Academic Elite scholarship.</p>
<p>I get the feeling that whomever is underwriting these AE scholarships agreed to what they contain. However, I can’t imagine that if they were approached with the idea of changing the awards a bit (getting rid of the stipend) so as to offer to more students, then morale about the scholarship would be better.</p>
<p>The Crimson doesn’t have the same morale problem since it can be given to any student and often most have no idea who got them. However, in UFE, everyone knows that about 8 of their “class” have been given the generous award with the generous stipend.</p>
<p>SimpleLife,</p>
<p>To qualify for Fellows you need a GPA of 3.8 and a 1400 on the SAT. “In the UFE selection process, the candidate’s academic, extracurricular, service, and leadership achievements will weigh more heavily than grades and test scores.” Whereas for CBH, “The 2009 entering class had an average 32 ACT and 4.0 GPA” and will probably be even higher for class of 2010. It really depends on how service-oriented your child is if you want to pursue Fellows. Not everyone is geared to that level of involvement. Which is not to say that CBH will not require a lot of extra work, but CBH counts for both your minor AND your language (computer science=foreign language credit) graduation requirements!</p>
<p>Just changing the NAME of the scholarship program would help, it seems. If, in fact, the Academic Elites’ stats are not, as a rule, on par with the non-Academic Elites, then perhaps the AE’s status should be, idk, Chancellor’s Scholars? or Provost’s Scholars? Something that didn’t imply so much academic superiority.</p>
<p>I agree.</p>
<p>The average stats of the CBHers is a bit higher than the Fellows…so there shouldn’t be any perceived academic superiority.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>To qualify for Fellows you need a GPA of 3.8 and a 1400 on the SAT. *</p>
<p>Not necessarily. I think those are the qualifications for an auto invite to apply. However, if your test score is above an ACT 28, then you can get your GC to nominate you for an invite.</p>
<p>This is why I love CC and the Bama forum particularly. I was feeling very inadequate in not understanding the Academic Elite vis a vis the other scholarships. How comforting to find out that there are legitimate reasons for my confusion other than my lack of ability to comprehend.</p>
<p>Is the 3.8 for UFE W or UW?</p>
<p>Since Bama uses whatever the highest GPA on your transcript is…if your transcript shows a weighted GPA of 3.8, then that’s fine.</p>