I have been browsing the University of Florida college confidential discussion page for some time. Many in the past have described the in-state presidential scholarships as a “myth” or a scholarship for “minorities.” Knowing how rare it is to receive a merit-based scholarship from UF, this was completely out of my mind…until I received an email stating that I had been one of the few selected for a UF Presidential Gold Scholarship. This scholarship awards $8,000 a year for 4 years making a total of a $32,000 award starting the 2018-2019 school year when I will be attending Fall 2018 as a freshman. I am not a high income student nor am I low income. I am simply a middle class white student from Florida. I would like to explain why I believe that I have received this scholarship for any who are curious about this practically unheard of scholarship.
I know that there are thousands of applicants who are extremely well deserving-- high SATs, high GPAs, extremely hardworking. Valedictorians from all over Florida apply to UF hoping for a merit-based scholarship that I know each one of them deserve. This year, the competition to even be admitted to UF has gotten insane. With a 36% acceptance rate, there are even more applicants with the same amount of spaces as always. Approximately 14,866 applicants were admitted this year. As of the official 2017 annual report for last year’s class, only 31 students out of probably around the same amount of admitted applicants last year were awarded a Presidential Gold Scholarship from UF.
I am a superior student grade-wise. I have a 4.0 unweighted and have taken 16 AP classes and countless dual enrollment classes. I definitely have the grades and a high SAT score. However, while this is great, I really feel like what tipped me over the edge to receiving this scholarship was my essay. I poured my heart into my essay, telling an extremely compelling story that was unique to me. It wasn’t another failing at some kind of sports essay or simply explaining volunteer work completed during that year or writing about my favorite experience on a trip. My essay was definitely VERY individualized, and I told my story-- my personal hardship-- and how that has given way to some of my most valuable characteristics. Of course I made the essay very creative and poured my heart and soul into it. I have lived in Florida my entire life and am not a refugee from another country. I am blessed to say that I do not live in a trailer home and am middle class so my life is a lot more comfortable than others. I just wanted to let all of you know why I believe I have received this scholarship and that it isn’t just for minorities. I shared my story and showed UF who I am as a person.
I did have some very unique extracurriculars that people who applied to UF most likely did not have. But I would just like to say that these scholarships are not all just stats based and that listing my exact stats would be pretty pointless due to this fact. There are so many well-deserving students, especially in the class of 2022, that if UF could give an unlimited amount of scholarships, should get. I would like to stress to each one of you that ultimately I really do believe it is your personal story that matters the most. There are thousands of applicants, and UF needs to have something that is individual to you that distinguishes you from all of the other admitted students. The amount of Presidential Gold Scholarships that UF gave out last year for 2017-2018, again, was 31 total. It may have gone down even more this year due to the increasing number of competitive applicants. Hypothetically, if there were 31 chosen this year out of 14,866 admitted students, this would be approximately 0.2% of students chosen for this scholarship. I really do stress the importance of making yourself stand out as a person because stats, grades, and standard extracurriculars are fantastic but won’t tip you over the edge to receiving this scholarship.
While I am not a professional and do not work in the UF Scholarship department, I just thought I would share what I really think they look for especially since I have barely seen any threads talking about this. Hope this helps!
I hope that you received the scholarship because of your grades and test scores, not your essay. I wonder how long it will be before adcoms move away from the essay. No one knows who really writes them.
Unfortunately, I’m sure there are students who have not really written their essay themselves. As for me, I spent months and months of long, hard work to write mine myself. There are thousands of applicants with superior grades and academic performance just like mine. If they simply based my receiving of this scholarship on my grades and test scores, then what would make me different from other students who had similar grades and test scores? I worked extremely hard in high school and took the most rigorous load I possibly could take. However, I am positive there are other students out there who worked hard as well. There needs to be a factor that pushes people over the edge in this extremely selective process. I really feel like this is where my unique extracurriculars and essay came in. I really feel like colleges can tell if parents write the essays or if kids write it themselves and pour their voice into it. There is most likely a threshold students need to pass SAT score-wise and grades-wise. But after that threshold is passed, there needs to be a determining factor to narrow it down (At least what I believe) because there are so many qualified applicants. @anihc
Congratulations! But do not think that your application is the “gold standard” of winning this scholarship. I’m sure that everyone who applied believes that his or her application is worthy. Everyone has a story, whether it’s about a hardship or a volunteer experience. I’m sure that the others that won the scholarship range from low to middle to high class, from other ethnic groups, from standard ECs, as you call them to outstanding ones. So, what was the determining factor in their case that resulted in their being awarded the scholarship?
@dygibbs Thank you! And that is a true, valid point of view. There are thousands of students extremely worthy. Was just trying to provide a bit of insight in what I felt like the factor was for me and that I know every person has a unique story to tell but that they should spend a lot of time telling it and showing who they are as a person, but it could be different. I suppose nobody really knows completely.
@FutureGator55 I take away from your post that the rare UF scholarship can be awarded to those who don’t fit what people assume. To me, you were offering your insight that if you check all the other boxes (maximum rigor, highest levels of SAT and GPAs), the essay may be ultra critical to gain scholarship attention. I appreciate you trying to help others and congratulations to you!
@Parman37 Yes! That was exactly what I was going for. I’m really hoping the post does help others who are striving for this scholarship. I know many people on College Confidential haven’t posted much about it, and if they had, it was limited information. Hoping that this was a bit more detailed for future gators who will be applying so that it could help them! Thank you so much again!
My daughter also received the Presidential Gold Scholarship from UF. Unlike you, I don’t believe she poured her heart into her essay. Like you, she also took 16 AP classes, had a near perfect GPA, and near perfect SAT score. She also had unusual extra-curricular activities. Specifically, she volunteered in university research labs while in high school. The nice thing about this scholarship is that this scholarship money is in addition to Bright Futures and Florida Prepaid. All in all, it definitely makes all the hard work in high school worth it!
Congratulations. Your post says alot about you, and I agree with you on the essay. If your essay was anything like your post, it is very well written and extremely insightful. You deserve it.
