@tallkekepink95 they ended the multiple stage review process a few years ago, so this is it. last year (if you recall from the forums), people reported receiving emails that they had been named a finalist, but were not selected. evidently, there are tiers but we don’t know what the selection process really is.
unless you request a copy of your application, you will not be have the opportunity to see your submission again.
@LTejeda so you intend to apply next cycle? try to remember that intellects aren’t rare in the academic community. stay humble. be peculiar and be smart. when i flew into dulles, i met some of the strangest people, like brooding novelists and excitable chemists and heavy metal guitarists. a lot of people had published research. all of them equal parts brilliant and excessively apologetic and self-effacing.
on the application, you want to schmooze a little, of course. but you want to stay unpretentious and honest and ambitious - but not vehemently. there’s subtlety in knowing when promoting your achievements becomes self-aggrandizing. there are a lot of scholarships that simply want high achievers and this scholarship is designed to be a little more intentional about what type of high achiever they’re looking for exactly.
remember that there’s going to be a bio section and a few short answer questions so consider what education has contributed to your life. these are people that very strongly value education and higher learning, and you’ll want to be in alignment with those values.
most scholars would agree that without the scholarship, their educations would be severely stunted due to scarcities and deficits in their own lives. the foundation staff pride themselves immensely on discovering unique students whose determination is constrained by their fortunes or material/emotional concerns. it’s okay to reveal that you have struggled to afford an education and that, despite your difficulties, have maintained excellence.
finally, there are some factors you can’t control or have limited control over, like your wealth or state/region, or what you intend to study. i can tell you that the east coast is generally over-represented and the midwest is under-represented.
your life circumstances are key here. also a few side notes: it’s okay if you take online classes; the foundation doesn’t weigh these differently. you don’t need a 4.0 to be competitive. hopefully you have good relationships with your professors; their recommendations are very important.
sorry this was soooo long.
