Howard University Karsh STEM Scholars Program (KSSP)

It’s march now… do you think that students will still be notified if they were not selected ?

Does anyone know if students who were not selected notified are as well ?

@whyamisogood I am surprised that you have not heard anything back yet since it is 20 days before the start of Selection Weekend. If you haven’t heard anything by the end of this weekend, you may want to contact the Bison Stem Office. I do believe that they wait to see if any students have turned down the opportunity (or failed to RSVP) to attend selection weekend to make a few more offers to students. You should get an e-mail if you are selected or not selected as a Bison Stem Scholars Finalist. I have a feeling that the amount of students applying for the scholarship this year has grown (I think that a little over 300 kids applied last year) which may have slowed down the timeline on the website (End of Feburary was stated as the date of notification) Good luck to you.

ChangeTheGame, thanks for the note. We too will be looking for a note this weekend one way or the other.If no word by Sunday, will definitely contact the office on Monday.

I will be sure to do that! Thanks for the information. I’ve been checking my email a billion times a day it feels like.

I have confirmed with them last night (via Facebook direct message) that they have not finished sending the invitations AND that they will notify those that have not been chosen as well as those that were not choose.

@ChangeTheGame thank you for starting this thread. Very helpful info. Did your daughter have to sign an agreement for the program scholarship? What happens if a students changes their major?

@CollegeReadyKids My Daughter did have to sign an agreement (BISON STEM SCHOLARS AWARD RESPONSE AND AGREEMENT form). The form basically had a spot to either accept or decline the award (and why if you were not accepting the award). The Award Terms for cohort 2 included the amount and duration of the scholarship which was my favorite part (100% of Tuition, fees, room, board, food and $1,500 stipend for books. Begins June 2018 and ends May 2022 (limited to fall and spring semesters). It talked about rules regarding other HU and outside scholarships, a standard of conduct section which included having to major in an approved discipline of science, technology, engineering,and/or mathematics and maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average. Two semester GPAs below 3.30 may result in forfeiture or reduction of the scholarship award. The students are required to have a minimum of 15 credit hours per semester and must participate in the 6 week residential Summer Bridge program along with attending/participate in all Bison STEM Scholars Program sponsored programs/events/meetings/cultural arts/community service. All of the students are required to complete applications for summer research opportunities and graduate programs and are required to apply to at least 13 doctoral programs as seniors in their STEM discipline. Lastly, signing the form gave Howard Informational Release rights (using the students name, image, or photo in media and published format).

A student may change their major (some in my daughter’s class did so by the end of the summer program, but it must be in an approved STEM major.

ChangetheGame, I have a few questions…

We still have not received any word, but we have been meaning to take a visit to campus. We are going to take a chance on coming up there.

  1. What was the time frame of selection weekend (Day/Time-Day/Time)?
  2. What time were the students told to arrive?
  3. What did they have to do/wear?
  4. How much were the parents involved in selection weekend?
  5. Were the panel discussions panels of students/professors/both?
  6. What message was given to the parents?

Thanks

@trob71 They will send all of the finalists an email answering most of your questions, but I will answer the questions based off of what I was told and can remember (I didn’t actually go to Selection Weekend, but my wife and my Dad took my daughter to Howard and picked her up).

1.and 2. My family arrived to campus early (4:30pm) trying to get my daughter’s things to her host’s dorm room before the start of Selection Weekend on 3/23/18 at 6pm (Friday). Once the parents left at 8 to 8:30pm, they were not asked to return until Saturday at 6pm, but they were running behind with the last of the panel interviews and started the Closing meeting on Saturday at 6:45pm. That meeting did not last too long (I think they were done by 8pm).

  1. The students were allowed to be casual on Friday (My daughter had on a sweater and jeans) but they were to dress up on Saturday (Shirt and ties with slacks or suits for the young men and dresses and business professional attire for the young ladies).
  2. The parents are not involved much at all with Selection weekend. They will talk to the parents giving some timelines and answer some questions over the weekend, but the parents were mostly out of the loop (we did not really know the schedule on Saturday which was done on purpose).
  3. The panel interviews consisted of Current Bison Stem Scholars, Meyerhoff Scholars who were now PhDs and professionals, one of the main Deans at Howard, the former head of Meyerhoff Scholars program from what I can remember my daughter telling me.
  4. The parents were given a message of support (they want all of the finalists to come to Howard even if they were not selected). They talked about how they would come to a decision and how hard that decision would be due to the great candidates. They talked about timelines, and about the fact that some students may not initially get selected but get selected later as some students choose other options for their college education. The initial offers came on April 15, but some students ended up getting offered the scholarship after May 1.

I recommend going to the Bison Stem Scholars Program Facebook page and listening to the Program Director talk on a podcast from July 2nd 2018. He tell you exactly what they are looking for and the goals of the Bison Stem Scholars Program.

So I emailed Bison STEM Sunday and still no response. Any suggestions for a next move? I live all the way in Ohio. If I am selected my mom wanted to have time to call off work and make travel plans.

@whyamisogood I am not sure what else can be done. I know it is tough waiting, but you will hopefully hear something by the end of this week, as it gets tougher for people to make the trip to DC with such short notice.

@ChangeTheGame Alright I guess waiting is really the only option at this point. If I don’t hear anything by the end of this week then should I try reaching out to them another way?

@ChangeTheGame Thank you for the tip on listing to the podcast. My daughter and I both listened and it was very informative.

@whyamisogood You could try the Bison Stem Scholars Facebook messenger route or call the Bison Stem office if you hear nothing by the end of the week.

@veejay3 No problem at all and I am rooting for your daughter.

Good evening, does anyone have hotel recommendations near Howard?

@veejay3 I wish I did, but we had a lot of close family in the area so I have never had to get a hotel. You should be able to find a lot of great hotels (probably pretty expensive) in the area because Howard is only about 2 miles from the White House. If you are looking to save costs, I would recommend looking in Maryland or Virginia, but it would be much more convenient getting a hotel in the city because DC is not the easiest city to drive in.

My daughter received an email notification today. Sad to say she was not invited to the interview. I told her not to be too down, the competition was pretty strong. She has no need to be sad.

@Phillymom5 Sorry to hear this. Is your daughter still planning to attend Howard? What major is she interested in?

@Phillymom5 I am so sorry to hear that. I know your daughter will have many great options and could still get a great financial aid package from Howard.