<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>I was wondering if there was anyone who has knowledge about the Honors CURO Scholarship or the National Merit Scholarship, or if anyone who has received either of these scholarships at UGA is willing to share any experiences. </p>
<p>For one, how competitive is the CURO scholarship? Is it as competitive as the Foundation Fellowship? What goes into the decision? How much money is granted? </p>
<p>If anyone also has any positive experiences about UGA or the Honors program to share in general, then those would be greatly appreciated as well as UGA is one of my top college choices. </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>I really have no specific info about the CURO scholarship.
Regarding the NMF scholarship: NMF’s receive $500 each year (up to $2000/yr with demonstrated financial need) at UGA. You will still be considered for the NMF scholarship of $2500 even if you choose UGA (or any other school) as your first choice. If you should be selected for the one time NM scholarship then you can decline the UGA one if it would be less money for you. If there are other schools you are considering that provide significant money if they are listed as your first choice, go for it. There is plenty of time in the spring to change your choice to UGA if that’s where you eventually decide to attend. Not a princely sum, but every little bit of “free money” is nice. A nice point at UGA, all scholarships are applied to the student’s account and any money left after required tuition and fees is refunded to the student.
My D is a sophomore at UGA and is one happy little chica. She was admitted everywhere she applied and offered generous merit offers as well. Her choice of UGA surprised me a little but she is more convinced every day that it was the right choice for her. The support and opportunities offered through the Honors community seem quite strong and my D has found the Honors courses a more interesting path through her required science and math courses. And, she loves Athens and her Dawgs!</p>
<p>Thanks for all your useful knowledge! And all national merit finalists get $500 a year automatically from UGA right? How do you “demonstrate financial need” to get up to $2000 per year? Do you just have to fill out the FAFSA or is there a UGA-specific form to fill out?</p>
<p>You will just need to submit the NMS paperwork with UGA designated as your first choice by the deadline set by NMSC to receive the $500 annually. Some schools set individual/earlier deadlines, but this is not the case w/ UGA. Regarding an increase in the baseline $500/year based on demonstrated financial need, I believe it is based on FAFSA. This scholarship money does come from UGA so I suppose they use their financial aid formulas based on your FAFSA. To confirm and for other questions, call the nice folks in financial aid. Now is a good time as they tend to get busy at the start of term. The UGA website is quite useful but we never really saw the National Merit Scholarship clearly defined there but called the Office of Student Financial Aid (ph# was 706-542-6147 but you can find that on website ) and they gave us the details. As long as you designate UGA on your NMSC paperwork, it’s pretty much a no brainer from there. You’ll have to complete the NMSC’s renewal forms annually but, again, it’s pretty painless.
I believe there is a fairly detailed description of the CURO scholarship process in the Honors section of the UGA website. Interestingly, not all the CURO Scholars are involved in “hard science” research. Check out the areas of interest of current Scholars and you’ll see that the they run the gamut from film studies to molecular genetics to international conflict resolution. This certainly makes sense as killer research skills are valuable/required in every flavor of learning.
Good luck with your applications! And, as they say in Athens and everywhere else you find us UGA grads, go dawgs! Which, by the way, is an exhortation for the whole community, not just the athletes.</p>
<p>Thank you again!!!</p>