Hi Everyone, I have been following this forum from a bit and been trying to stay patient, but understand a lot of the anxiety that is going on. This is a big thing! I have tried to put it in the back of my mind but there are times that I do get curious. This morning I called, and sadly the CSR that helped me didn’t seem too pleased with answering any questions. I get that they are getting a lot of calls, but they should try to understand as well and this is part of their role. She was a bit rude to me when I asked her to check on my application in specific as the last CSR had done. And her response was, “well I told you that ALL the applications are in review.” I am very polite and formal person, and I don’t think I deserved a response like this, regardless if I am the 100th person that calls with the same question. The last representative that I spoke to a couple weeks ago stated that they were under review and that there were 150 left and that we should have a response before Mother’s Day (which is this upcoming weekend). And now this representative went back to a few weeks? I am a bit lost, but a word of advise that I give all of you is, if this is meant to be for you, you will be chosen. It’s easier to just continue on your path as if you are not selected, and that way if you end up getting the scholarship it is more of a surprise. We shouldn’t be living with this stress and pressure day by day. Its not healthy for us. I hope everyone had successful finals and good luck with your next step in your education. Remember that your education is what YOU make out of it, not necessarily where you go to get it. 
@Etorres16 Unfortunately, experience with the support center differs widely depending upon who you speak with.
I called again this morning, as well. The CSR informed me that the foundation is still undergoing final review, though did not have any description on what that meant, but that I was listed as a finalist and should have someone reaching out to me shortly. She let me know, once more, that sometime in the next couple of weeks we should hear back. I asked if May 20th (randomly selected - it does not mean it will actually take that long) would be a safe date and she said it should be.
Given all of that, I would say that your advice is sound. There is nothing any of us can do at this point - I am going to proceed with the assumption that they are still cutting people out, so that I should not make any assumptions about the meaning of the latest email. I am going to continue communicating with my schools and seeking out financial aid and other scholarship opportunities in an attempt to make it possible. I am going to attempt to finish the semester successfully. I am going to cuddle with my cat.
For me, not knowing is worse than knowing bad news. I truly do believe that we will all be OK.
@aritransfer16 I totally agree. I am a non traditional student that has worked EXTREMELY hard in the last 2.5 years to get to where I am now. I was selected to be the 2016 Distinguished Graduate for my college along with a few other great recognition. I am extremely grateful for all the blessing that have come my way. Instead of tooting my own horn, I am going to use this to help others see that this path is a realistic one. I am a HS drop out and was a teen mom and dedicated my life to my kids and giving them the best I could. So walking for the very first time in my life and being able to address my class is an honor and will always be one of the greatest times of my life. However, after all this hard work, I need some rest and time off to spend with my kids and family before I move on to my next voyage in life. So I don’t want to let this tension and stress take away from me clearing my mind and soaking all that has happened for me in the last month or so. So I will leave it all in God’s hands and let him decide what he wants next for me. Meanwhile, although it will be in the back of my head 24 hours, I will enjoy my summer with my kids and family and work on relieving my head from any academics for a little and let my brain rest.
Any one who has had the opportunity to even qualify to apply to the JKC scholarship is a scholar in my eyes. We all have a story to tell. Just some of us are not as shy or willing to tell as others. And this is something I have seen after returning to school. Making that first step, continuing your education, and reaching the end is not an easy task or something that just has spare time to do, so that alone is a great accomplishment. So to me we are ALL scholars!
@aritransfer16 @LostUber Have you received any acknowledgment of the email receipt after you have sent your reply to the latest email for transcript and accepted schools?
@sat4498 Yes, but my response was really long and annoying and included a question.
I sent an updated e-mail to the lady who requested the transcripts to let her know of my recent acceptance and got an auto-response:
She will be attending an “organization-wide meeting Monday May 2nd through Tuesday May 3rd and will have limited access to e-mail. [She] will respond to all emails promptly on May 4th.”
Soooo… lets play Blue’s Clues. What could the JKCF being doing with a list of semifinalists, transcripts, financial forms, schooling choices, and an organization-wide meeting that lasts two days…?
Hmm. Maybe we need more clues, but I surmise that THE END IS NEAR MY FRIENDS!
@LostUber I actually doubt that an organization-wide meeting would be the decision making one for our applications. JKCF does quite a bit, and only a (relatively) small number of people work with us. Why would they need their grants, educational tech., and communications staff to look over our applications? I could be wrong - I hope not - but I will say is that because of this I would not expect to hear anything before the 4th.
@LostUber @aritransfer16 I never received an acknowledgment email 
I am bit confused.
But today morning I also received the same automatic reply as @LostUber posted here.
i hope all of your ears don’t stick out in your graduation caps or hide your hairlines. some heads are better for them.
JKCF award or no, each of you have enriched our nation’s higher education. you’re all new graduates or eligible graduates.
knowing you’ve all worked your asses off, i am sure you’ll put your considerable temerity toward new pursuits like planning your friend’s future bridal/bachelor parties and promoting social justice.
i love this scholarship because people like you, with class struggles and community college backgrounds, need to be future mentors, trainers, teachers, governors.
your stories are very important.
so let me say a few other things:
- go to whole foods for the samples, but do not buy anything. this is very important.
- speculating is an extertaining way to pass the time (i do it before major video game releases) but these wild theories are all false. there are no hints in the exchange of emails or an individual's school selection. no one has been chosen yet. :(
i don’t know what’s taking JKCF so long. but it may have something to do with an alien artifact that one of our scholars recently discovered in the hoggar mountains. some people report feeling strange in its presence. i told them to get rid of it but…
- go watch "lemonade" or the jungle book to pass the time.
- ted cruz?
- you will all be notified soon…
TL;DR: i am amazed by your chutzpah and encourage you to temporarily distract yourself from JKCF and be aware that you are (or will be) graduating shortly, oh my god. graduating.GRAD U ATING.
that’s a big word in bananagrams!
let that achievement be the lamplight that draws you to it like a curious night fly.
at the same time, try not to get too swept up in the speculation. selections are still being made, and you will all hear the outcome very shortly.
(remember the whole foods thing.)
Where did other semi-finalists get into?
@optimisticky Thank you for the advice. I think I am finally finding ways to distract myself.
Out of curiosity, do you know for sure that they are saying nobody has been selected yet - ie, that they went back on saying they had?
maybe there’s a kubler-ross model we can adapt for scholarship anticipation. and yes, nobody has been selected. or at least, nobody knows if anyone has been selected. i would really like to learn more about the selection process but it’s a really, really ultra max security type secret.
Just out of curiosity, you can only apply for the Jack Kent Cooke undergrad transfer scholarship once, correct?
Correct, only once.
@nekozuki thanks for the quick reply.
I’ve enjoyed my break from the forum. I actually took up gymnastics while I have been away! Trying to stay active and productive and off of my devices that I can use to try to be sneaky with checking the status of all of this.
I have made peace with thinking that those of us who didn’t get the follow-up emails are out and here’s why:
- If you download the "Received Document List" spreadsheet that was updated to 85 on their website, the file was created on 3/15/16, exactly a day or two before the first email was sent out (you can see it in the file info).
- The first email mentioned "next phase"
- Everyone who called when those emails were sent out, were told "no email = not being considered," over and over again until people started complaining of feeling hurt and then they stopped telling people anything.
- Theyd want to know this info from the scholars. Maybe last year some of them didn't get into schools or whatever. Who knows, but why not ask it from the kids they're interested in. The tax info requested, they knew might not have changed at all, they just wanted a refresher or the same document re-uploaded, why not simply ask for it.
At this point I am just enjoying discovering how humans hold on to hope regardless of the odds, but at some point, emotionally its important to do what’s best for oneself. I have been obsessing and worrying incessantly, not healthy. We do this with people, places and things when we hold on to things that aren’t great for us, but we just can’t let go. Maybe i am going to deep, but to me it all seems very relevant.
My only complaint is that when they narrowed down the field the second time to 150 they should have sent a second round of rejection emails, just to let some people off of the hook. At this point is too late of course.
I am just trying to focus on the part of myself that’s still worrying about this, I think it will help me in all of my relationships just to live in acceptance and give up hope when all of the signs point to an answer and I am clearly deluding myself. It’s painful, but life moves on. It sounds grim but it really isn’t, it’s liberating!
Good luck to ya’ll, ill be in touch, I am taking in this forum in doses, and trying not to check, but I appreciate those who share your stories, it reveals a lot about whats going on out there with students and gives me hope our society is headed in the right direction
Peace!
*and i am in a computer lab class, so I couldn’t stay away from devices - so here i am.
In regard to not receiving school/financial requests- last year late in the deliberations, some students were also prompted for that information. Many people who did not receive this request still won (myself included). I too was initially in panic mode when JKCF didn’t email me about additional info, and it was ultimately unfounded.
The process changes year by year. Don’t try to Scooby Doo this mystery. Reps give out wrong information constantly because they rotate in 3rd-party/temp people to field calls from prospective scholars. There are a million different reasons why these things happen, and it can only ever be conjecture at this point.
@nekozuki hey I didn’t know last year they did this. Thought they changed it up this year, maybe I haven’t been paying attention. Sorry !
Enter: Scholarship-seeking zombie “Uhhh… need… scho-lar… ship… 8-X … bookmark… FORUM UHHHH!!”
@nekozuki I was under the impression that JKCF
Didn’t send out an email request for grades last year. Can you please confirm that, there was a request for grades last year and even though you didn’t get that request you recived the scholarship?
P.s. Thank you for taking your time to be part of this discussions. who ever one of us that becomes a scholar hopefully will be on this forum next year to help ease the stress for new applicants.