@planner03 They said I would be notified of my application status by the end of May so I assume I’m still in the running. They would have obviously sent me something about no longer being eligible if that was the case.
@arob1129 No harm in looking at it that way- I hope you get contacted. I was just responding to your question about whether you are currently a semifinalist and the answer is no. I was also offering a realistic perspective because the email is very deceptive and offers false hope. Everyone that applied got that email, just like in past years so everyone(4000 applicants) is technically still in the running. There is a semifinalist here that was called prior to the email, and all of the semifinalists that reported in in past years received their notifications prior to the mass email. But you’re right, it’s not over until it’s over, and they very well could still be making calls. Good luck.
@arob1129 and @planner03 I just wanted to let you know that there is still hope! A few days ago I received a phone call (a week after receiving the same email) that I am a semi-finalist and that I will have an interview scheduled. And so, you could still be a potential semi-finalist even if you have not heard yet:)
@planner03 @AlexHarper @arob1129 +others inquiring about whether or not the email means anything
I would like to echo off what @WMBound2019 just said! I was contacted yesterday (missed the phone call and received an email) and notified that I was a semi-finalist. I have an interview scheduled for next week! On a side note, interviews are supposed to conclude on the 17th.
(California; I will be attending UCLA in the fall).
Has anyone heard from North Carolina?
@AlexHarper Other than the generic email, no I have not heard anything concerning semifinalists for our region. (I’m in North Carolina also) I suppose our region advisory committee is still figuring things out.
I, personally, think that they are still “figuring things out” as @nmackpaddywhack suggested because I just received another email from the JRF asking about where I plan to attend college. I could be wrong though.
I am from New York and was just notified that I’m a semifinalist.
Wow! Congrats!
Also, could every one leave a brief recap of their interview experience (what was generally asked, etc)? I noticed that in all the previous threads no one really came back to give a heads-up about “what to expect” on the interview. I know every experience is different but I figure it couldn’t hurt… I have an interview on the 16th so I’ll be sure to come back on to let everyone know how it went.
Has anyone from South Carolina been notified?
@Sweetiepie97 I don’t believe that anyone from our region has been notified yet…
ok cool. Someone posted earlier that the interviews conclude on May 17th. I hope that they’ll let us know of our status by then @nmackpaddywhack
Has anyone got notified from Arkansas?
Anyone from southern California get the call yet??
@michaelyitayew19 Yes! I go for my interview today. The call was a little over a week ago though…
@nmackpaddywhack It’s in one of the PDFs (Tip or FAQ) that JRF shares and I’m pretty sure I noticed that the concluding date for interviews was noted as May 17th.
Alright. I’m not so tired anymore and I’ve had time to come off the initial high of the interview! I had my interview at UCLA and to the best of my knowledge UCLA is a bit unique from the regular regional…I am not sure how similar their interview styles are but I’d still like to relate my experience.
I was greeted by a bunch of current scholars who kept me (and my parents) company while I waited for them to call me. They were all packed into a smaller conference room and I came to find out that they were initially supposed to be in a bigger room! This worked in my favor as everyone was extremely welcoming and it felt more like an open dialogue then it did an interview. Any nervousness I had dissipated within a couple of minutes of speaking to the panel.
[QUOTE=""]
Topics Covered:
[/QUOTE]
A. Basically me as a person. I ended up sort of controlling the tempo of the interview so this is mainly where the conversation stayed? There were a lot of interesting points to my application so I understand why the topic stayed here.
B. Jackie Robinson. The question posed to me was “What do you know about (Uncle) Jackie Robinson?” (Uncle because his niece was present). The question is not literally asking you to rattle off of facts so I would suggest that during your research of JR you find something profound to say about what he’s done and how it inspires you/how it relates to you/ what can be learned/etc. Basically, take the question and run with it. Don’t just list off facts. It WON’T work in your favor. Do some type of analysis and deeper thought.
C. Apparently, other scholars were asked about current events so… Make sure you’re abreast of what’s going on in the world (again, I talked a bit. I’m not sure I would suggest that though). Also, I hope everyone here reads… and reads outside of what AP Lit gives you to read.
D. Have questions at the end. I asked a few questions about the scholarship and learned some interesting things! Make sure you KNOW what the scholarship offers… It’s not just money. Get reasonably excited.
I had a really great (first interview)! I hope I’m given the honor of receiving the scholarship. If you have any other questions feel free to hit me up! I’ll be monitoring this board for another two weeks. UCLA semi-finalists award scholars earlier than the 15th so I’ll be posting with a status update a week or two from now and then I’ll probably canter off for the summer!
In that case, I suppose it is safe to assume that I was not selected. Best wishes to those who were selected for interviews!! Big thanks to other posters for keeping us up-to-date and sharing various info…
Does anyone know if all regions have heard back yet? Do we get an email notifying us if we haven’t been selected? @Jalaquan , heard anything yet?
I called them and I was told that they are still notifying semifinalist