@Georgemk I contacted the foundation about more information about when we should here something. I haven’t heard anything back yet. I probably won’t hear anything until Monday.
@Adorse26 because today is Friday, definitely you will hear from them next week. Please try to update me when you hear from them. I was hoping they will contact the schools this week but I guess that did not happened. Thanks for maintaining contact, that helps with the waiting anxiety.
@Georgemk I was hoping I would hear something by 5 since I emailed before 12 and they don’t close until 5. I’m not sure they would be contacting all schools since a lot are on spring break. Mine is on spring break this week which means no one is on campus since no faculty is on campus they wouldn’t no anything at my school.
I just called and the women that answered the phone called over to that department and they said late April! Ahh
@FutureNurse2018 really! this people want to kill us with waiting anxiety. I hope they don’t keep us that long.
@FutureNurse2018 and @Georgemk I can’t see it being April when their website says late March. I could see if it was a week or two difference, but for people who are counting on it it’s a really late since college deposit deadlines are around then.
@Adorse and @FutureNurse2018 my best guess is that, they are getting tired of people emailing and calling them on when they will release the results probably that is why they told FutureNurse that it will come late April.
Honestly, it may very well be that delayed due to a complete overhaul of the application process. Previously, you had to be nominated by your school, which meant there were a limited number of applications, as well as a two-part process (which let many people know early that they would not be awarded). Now, anyone could apply and there is no two-tiered process. I know my school had many, MANY applicants. Even if they aren’t strong applicants, they are still people to weed through. Because this is the first time they have opened it up to anyone, I seriously doubt their ability to handle all the extra workload unless they brought on a lot of new qualified staff.
I am also curious as to how many applications they received. I personally think they got way, waaaaay more than they anticipated.
@georgemk they can’t just give any time because it’s going to scare people. I think they just give conflicting answers when they are getting to release them because I saw from last year’s discussion someone called them asked when they would know something which they gave them a few week difference which ended up wrong sine it seemed like a few days later someone said they received it. @nekozuki, from what I learned at my school there is a a lot of judges and people are weeded out quickly depending on how they did on their essays. They want essays that have good grammar. I don’t think there is too much of a difference between who applied last year and this year because most of the requirements are still the same for the scholarship if you don’t meet them you are weeded out for that too. Last year they received 3,705. The judges are brought in from different colleges from what I was told. Not all of them are full-time staff for the foundation. They just come in to help judge the applications.
@FutureNurse2018 I think I spoke to that same woman, she said late April to me too and I said “oh okay, the site says late March though.” and she said “well then it’s late March, I just say late April since there’s always a delay, so if I say late April, it covers it.” Also, I emailed JKC a few days later on 3/11/15, and they told me late March.
Yes, but what I’m saying is that this year is totally new. They will receive many, many more applications, and nearly all will have proper grammar; they must narrow the pool of potential winners down bit by bit judging on an exhaustive list of criteria. The jkcf evaluators gave a workshop at the National Collegiate Honors Council this year, and grammar isn’t even on their radar, trust me (the phrasing, the content, the service learning, the leadership, the national awards, the research, the community accolades, future plans). It is so much more holistic, intensive, and forward-thinking than grammar, and I truly believe they have double, triple, quadruple the workload. This is going to be a learning process for them, as they have done a complete overhaul.
@nekozuki Yeah I agree with you. I think I talked to the same woman as @futurenurse2018 because I got the same response (see my above comment), and I also asked her how many applications there were this year and she said “I don’t really know… 1600 I think.” and once she said that I doubted the response about late April, because there is no way that they received far less applications when it’s open to everyone now.
@kyriephilbrook Yep, they will likely have closer to 10k IMO, given how heavily schools and major websites have been promoting it due to the rule change. @adorse26, you have to understand that even a “bad” application must be read, processed, and go through multiple hands before it is summarily rejected. Even if it only took ten minutes total for two different people to read it over completely and put it in the “hell no” pile, calculate the numbers: bad applications still clog it up and create a huge bottleneck. Don’t get me wrong, I want to know just as badly as you, I just think you are underestimating the amount of time and effort; when have you ever heard of a brand spanking new process requiring a buttload of paperwork and debate to go off smoothly without a hitch?
After meeting with the JKCF evaluators, I seriously doubt my chances. The winner from my school last year was a 4.0 double major who was homeless after being in prison for 12 years (since he was 14), did a lot of amazing things and was president of PTK as well as a graduate of an honors leadership program. Another applicant who was a semi-finalist and did not win was an orphan who was living on someone’s couch and also had a 4.0 in addition to numerous awards, leadership positions, and a long history of research. We’re looking at kids who present research nationally, win prestigious awards, are recognized by mayors/local government, kids who have invented things, kids who have published novels, kids who have come from truly extraordinary circumstances like refugees from war-torn countries, win highly competitive academic competitions regionally and nationally, hell…you shouldn’t feel bad if you don’t place. This is the toughest, most competitive undergrad scholarship in the country. This is the Harvard of awards. If you are so much as qualified to even apply for this scholarship, you’re a great student who will make it somewhere.
@nekozuki thanks for the information, that is very helpful. Can you give us some more update on what you got from the evaluators please, that is very helpful. What exactly are they looking for?
@Adorse26 this is tougher than I thought. The applicants this year will be way higher than 3705
@nekozuki You’re right, I definitely don’t feel confident about winning now.
I have a 3.9 GPA, have done lots of volunteering at soup kitchens, am a PTK member, was a member of the Human Services club, interned for a year at a drug rehabilitation center in a low income area, won full tuition/books at my community college in exchange for a community service project on campus where I work in conjunction with the staff to carry out Title IX, and worked as a reading tutor for children who have fallen behind in school due to low reading levels. I did all of this while homeless, couchsurfing, and I was in a dangerous relationship for 4 years up until a year ago, which took considerable effort to escape from. I thought it sounded like a had good chances but… I am not the head of any clubs, I haven’t invented anything or written any books, or any of the other things you listed 
@kyriephilbrook On the contrary, homelessness makes you a very good candidate.
No one person will have everything I mentioned on the list, I just wanted to give people an idea of the caliber of some of the applicants. It takes a truly extraordinary person to win a JKCF scholarship. When every applicant has great grades, PTK/Honors accolades, and volunteer/community service, it comes down to the extraordinary circumstances. For example: working two jobs to scrape by is one thing, homelessness, food stamps, taking a two hour bus ride to school is another. Volunteering at a battered women’s shelter is one thing, starting a foundation to give scholarships to domestic abuse survivors is another. Having all A’s in science is one thing, a twelve month published research project you’ve published and presented/been awarded at NCHC and Regional/state conferences is another thing. A lot of people scrape the surface on multiple things instead of being devoted to one cause in an deep, meaningful way.
Honestly, being at a school that has a lot of winners is the biggest advantage, because you have a team behind you that works over a long period of time to craft your application to the desired standard. It’s a group effort. The evaluators come from specific colleges, and their schools have the most people awarded because they have a unique understanding of the process. When one of the JKCF evaluators gave me a six page paper on how to write my biography, I was like, oh crap, my school did not prepare me at all.
There is no trick or gimmick to what they look for, but what people do often miss is how your recommender’s answers need to coordinate with your own. They can’t just write gushing reviews; their words need to mirror, highlight, and complement yours. If being a doctor is your passion, their answers should reflect it, and they should include specific examples of the achievements and qualities they’ve witnessed you display in relation to it. THAT is why the same schools win over and over, because they have a dedicated group making sure kids coordinate all these things.
@nekozuki, I’m not saying it isn’t a difficult process. I’m telling you what my professor told me because she has worked with some of the judges who come from different schools. They pick different judges to look at different categories of the application. If they think it fits what a scholar should be or close to what a scholar should be, they send it to someone else to look at next category. I think this is a easier process because judges will only have to focus on one part of the application not the whole thing. I also don’t believe it can be too many more people because you still have minimum eligibility requirements. It was open to everyone last year and each year they get a about three hundred more people applying according to the information I was given. Also unless your Phi Theta Kappa, it’s not really advertised anywhere. My school wrote a small article about on a website no one reads. Also if your calling it a brand new process, it was brand new last year and they let the scholars know when they said they would let them. I know this because I know someone who won last year.
I think you’re confused. Last year it was a two-tier process. And due to the changes, it has been advertised all over. Google the scholarship and see how many colleges and major websites advertised it nationally. Originally, they only had to focus on the applicant’s essays/responses. If you were a semi-finalist, then the rest of the application opened up and they went over recommender’s and their answers. So, it was a much faster process because back then, they only had to view partial before denying, whereas now they must view entire applications of ALL candidates.
As I said before, this isn’t hearsay. While I do know people who were both semi-finalists and finalists, I learned all this last November when I spent an hour with a current evaluator who laid it out for me in great detail.
*edit: I see what you meant by splitting up judges. However, what I’m saying is I think you grossly underestimate the thousands of new people who apply. If every school has 5 extra students apply, that alone is an insane amount of extra work. Last year, my school nominated 2 people. This year, dozens applied. You do the math.
@nekozuki and @kyriephilbrook This are interesting facts because I know past winners who were neither homeless, inventors nor leaders in any club, yet they won. Any way I think some of us are lost in this because from the details you are giving some of us are just off, unless divine intervention. Nobody in my college knows about this scholarship, I am the first to ever apply from that college. I did not get any help from a professor or any scholarship expect. I never get to even see my recommendation letters. But I think I do have a story.
I emigrated from Africa in 2013. My dad had 7 wives with 32 children, and I am the youngest and the first to attend college. My dad pass away when I was about 5 years. I started working at age 7 to pay for my high school because is not free in Africa. In Africa, I did a lot of volunteer work, established HIV/AIDS clubs, became the president of a student club, organized health campaigns. Currently I have a 4…0 gpa, member of ptk, always on the dean list at the end of every semester. Give presentations to boys and girls clubs about my country. Volunteer with community clinic. I’ve never won any award here in the US. But with the information you are giving, I have no hope for anything like winning.
Thanks for preparing some us not to be shock after hearing the results and realizing that we did not win.