Thank you for the article! I hope to see many more articles and news about other scholars doing great things!
We received our decision tonight. Didnât make the cut. Sigh. DS is Very disappointed. Howard was his first choice because of Karsh. So we will move on. Congrats to those of you who made it! Huuuu!! Bison pride -always!!
The results came out yesterday evening and I want to say congratulations to all of the finalists selected and ask that the waitlisted students and those not selected to keep your heads up. You were all among the top incoming STEM Scholars at Howard University aka âThe Meccaâ, which means you are among the top incoming STEM Scholars in America. I know that each of you have great options to attend some of the finest institutions in higher education and you will all do amazing things.
My son was invited to become a member of KSSP Cohort 4. I am not sure if he will accept and join his sister, but our family is very thankful for having another great option.
1 Like
Very well said, ChangeTheGame. My son got in as well, and is heavily leaning towards accepting. Hopefully, we will see you in the summer.
My son has been accepted as well. We are so happy to have this opportunity to join this big family!! I have some questions about this program:
- This program is preparing students for PhD or MD/PhD. Does that mean that after four years in this program, students can go directly (without applying) to PhD or MD/PhD program in Howard or other schools?
- All the Cohort students live in the same dorm?
- Do they have good advisors/mentors/counselors to lead students for the next four years?
- Any suggestions/precautions to parents and students?
If you know any of these, please let me know. Thank you in advance!
Hey @yleeshia, congratulations to your son and family are in order and welcome to the KSSP thread. You would have been able to get your questions answered with a normal Selection Weekend so I will see if I can answer your questions.
One of the stipulations (you should see it once your son makes the decision to join KSSP and receives his scholarship contract) is that he must apply to 13 Graduate programs in his Senior Year. There is no guarantee with Howard or any other school of admission to PhD or MD/PhD programs.
My daughterâs cohort 2 lived in different dorms as freshman (young ladies and young men were separated) but I believe all of cohort 3 freshman lived in one dorm (Bethune Annex). As far as I know, all of the upperclassmen KSSP students stayed in the same dorm and were clustered close to one another.
KSSP is led by KSSP Director Ronald Smith and he and his team are vigilant in providing resources/enriching scholars with the best of Howardâs resources and guidance needed to make the trek towards getting a PhD or MD/PhD. Whether it is seminars with top researchers or access to research labs, Karsh STEM Scholars will have many unbelievable access to resources.
What I am seeing as the most important part in this equation are the amazing group of student scholars themselves . They end up mentoring each other and help navigate and support younger cohorts in this journey. They share their experiences, expertise, and knowledge gained whether it comes to signing up for classes, applying for internships, or shooting for National level awards and honors. It is hard for me to even articulate what is happening, but it is special to watch.
Hmmm, this a good question. Parents and students, I personally believe that summer bridge is the most important part of KSSPâs success so far (The entire Program is built on the habits taught, and the hardships and bonds built over summer bridge) so pay close attention how summer bridge is affected by the public health crisis touching our lives.
For incoming students, my advice is simple. Get ready to work. People will know you are and you will need to show why you are KSSP Scholars. Navigating Howard will cause you some heartburn at times, but you have more resources (especially older cohorts) than any incoming freshman at Howard. Use them.
I have one other piece of advice for parents. I listened to my daughter and supported her, but I have counseled her while letting her handle her own business. I have never talked to the KSSP Director in 2 years, and I have not called Howard despite some administrative issues. I can see what is going on in her portal (because I will always want to have access to see the finances), but I let her handle all issues and she has the support and guidance of the KSSP staff as well. Students learning how to navigate the administrative side of Howard and plan ahead to avoid certain pitfalls is a âsoft skillâ that, while irritating, has matured my daughter immensely.
1 Like
@ChangeTheGame Thank you so much for your speedy and detailed reply! We may have more questions coming up later once we received the scholarship contract. Thank you again! Hope to meet you in person in the near future at HU.
No problem @yleehsia. Sorry for the typos and grammatical errors in that last post, but that is what happens when I post after working out ? without recovery time.
My son will make his final decision in the next week or so and he has now declined his offer of admissions at all of the schools he was accepted at besides Morehouse and Howard at this point. Good luck to all students figuring out whatâs next.
@ChangeTheGame Sorry to bother you again. We have more questions now:
- We are Asian-Americans. I found out there is only an Asian girl in Cohort2. Do you think Asians can fit into this group? Does your daughter hear anything about this?
- Any good Bible study groups in Howard campus?
- What is the average class size in Howard?
- How many credit hours required for graduating from Howard?
- I saw a lot of students in this program have a minor or even double minors. Is it required to do so in this program?
Hope this is not too much to ask. Thank you in advance!
Hey again @yleeshia. I had to ask for my daughterâs help with some of these questions, so I think I have your answers.
I can tell you that from my daughterâs perspective, Asian-Americans can definitely fit into a Karsh cohort and at Howard. Before my daughter went to Howard, she was surrounded by friend group that was very diverse (I have watched my daughterâs friends speak so many languages over the years) and a lot of the students in the cohort and Howard come from different backgrounds (SES and experiences) although most are ethnically African Americans. But I have sent you a direct message that will hopefully allow your son to gather even more specific information to your question.
There are definitely Bible groups on Howardâs campus and my daughter says that members of older cohorts can help steer your son towards them.
Howardâs class sizes are pretty manageable as the largest classes have about 100-150 students, but most class sizes range between 15-30 students once you get past some of those early general Ed/beginning science lectures. My daughterâs largest class this semester had between 40 and 50 students and her other classes were below 30 students.
.
Pretty much ever STEM major that I have viewed at Howard shows 120 credit hours needed for graduation.
All students in the College of Arts and Sciences (called COAS by students) are required to have a minor, but they are very easy to get. For example, every Biology majorâs course requirements automatically guarantees getting a minor in Chemistry. My daughter is a Chemistry major and she needed just 1 class more than whatâs required to get a Math minor.
Students in the College of Engineering (COE) are not required to have minors, but most are 1 or 2 classes away from a minor in math. Chemical Engineering majors will take enough Chemistry to automatically get a minor, so getting a minor isnât a big deal if you choose an easy path tied to requirements in your major.
But the Karsh STEM Scholars are picking other minors too. Psychology is a pretty popular minor for students interested in Neuroscience for Grad School.
I hope this helps and I am here if you have any other questions.
@ChangeTheGame Again, I want to thank you for answering my questions continually. These answers really help us. Canât wait to see my son becomes one of the Cohort!!
Good afternoon everyone. Did you all see that the young woman leading the Coronavirus vaccine trail was a Meyerhoff Scholar? That will be one of our children one day!!!
@ChangeTheGame In a previous post, you mentioned administrative issues at Howard. Do you think that administrative issues are handled more quickly and efficiently for KSSP scholars? In addition, if a student wants to get an upgraded meal plan and/or dorm room, do you think the KSSP scholarship will cover that upgrade or will the student have to pay the difference between an upgraded meal and/or dorm and a basic meal and/or dorm plan?
Thank you for the thorough information you have provided in this chat thread!
Hey @sarysabi, congratulations seem like they are in order if you are asking those questions and welcome to the KSSP thread. Now, let me see if I can answer your questions.
Yes, I do believe that being a KSSP Scholar has helped my daughter get issues resolved more quickly and efficiently and I believe that KSSP Scholars probably have less issues overall than the average Howard student.
The KSSP Scholarship will pay for any meal plan up to the largest meal plan option offered. As for the dorms, all of the upperclassmen stayed in what I would guess is currently Howardâs most expensive undergraduate dorm.
This dorm has some expensive dorm room choices, however, and I have not heard of any KSSP students staying in the most pricey offerings, so my guess is that they do not pay for the priciest upgrades, but my daughterâs standard room (single) as a sophomore was big enough for a futon and all of her things and was very nice.
I do not know much about the dorm that the freshman in K-3 stayed in but it has been an upperclassman dorm in the past. The one thing I am sure of is that they are keeping the Scholars of a cohort living close together.
@ChangeTheGame Thank you for answering my questions in such a thorough manner! My daughter was accepted and we are going to accept the offer. She is extremely excited.
@sarysabi Congratulations again to your daughter and your family. I have been pleased overall with the program and my daughterâs own growth at Howard and hope your daughter sees many of those same benefitsâŠ
We have paid my sonâs enrollment fee at Howard and he has accepted the offer to become a part of K-4, so our kids will go on this journey together. I am very excited for my son and excited that I only have to go to one school to drop off both of my kids (#GoAwayRona).
@ChangeTheGame Wow amazing!!! Did you receive the scholarship agreement/contract? Our family is planning to pay the enrollment fee once we review the agreement.
@ChangeTheGame, your posts have been very helpful! Thanks for the information. My son was accepted to KSSP Cohort 4 as well. He enrolled this week and we paid the admiasion fee. Have not seen the contract yet.
Congrats to all finalists and those accepted. My son will also be in K4. We have yet to see the contract.
We have not received the KSSP contract yet, so I understand why you are waiting. My son has decided that he is going to Howard and he was lucky enough to also be offered the Presidential Scholarship (also a full ride) and we have reviewed that contract (It is pretty tough, but doable). If his KSSP contract happened to be much different from my daughterâs KSSP contract, my son could still take the Presidential. But I feel pretty confident that the K-4 contract will be similar to my daughterâs Cohort 2 contract.
Congratulations @Chawkins and @Dmoneydad on your kids being selected and accepting to become a part of K-4. Every year, the stakes have been raised as more top students hear about the program. I believe that being chosen as a finalist is a great honor, and being invited to become a Karsh STEM Scholar is an amazing achievement.
1 Like