Hi everyone! I’ve been nominated by my school to compete for this scholarship and would like to create a forum for nominees to discuss the process. Any tips/stats from past nominees would be very much appreciated, as would any advice. Thanks!
hey! current jeff here. let me know if you have any questions!
Hi @hogwarts2019! I’m a nominee as well. No one from my school has ever won it (I go to a small but high-achieving public school) and my counselor doesn’t seem familiar with what the alumni board is really looking for, so I’ve been searching for a thread like this. @screenname0012, do you know if the Jefferson Scholar people have access to our applications to UVA (if we applied EA)? I know the two are separate processes but one of my teachers mentioned that this may still be the situation, and that if so, I should write completely different essays.
@theleenbean they have no access, it says on the jefferson website that we can freely reuse any essays for apps
@stvika ah thank you so much! I don’t know how I missed that but I see it now
@theleenbean yeah no problem! fellow nominee hoping for the best 
@screenname0012 do you happen to know if all nominees get a first interview? and if we get to the interview portion, does that start to matter more than the written application?
i believe that all nominees get an interview, but this could vary from region to region. I also believe that the interview plays an important role for selection, but I can’t tell you if it matters more than the written application. The regional committees select the finalists to attend the selection weekend, and they all have different criteria, so some may put more emphasis on the interview than others. That being said, I believe that my interview helped me a lot, since my written application was kind of done last minute…
Have you gotten anything official from The Jefferson Foundation telling you that you have been nominated or do you only know what your school has told you?
Does anyone know if there is a way to determine who is on the regional committee? My son is nominated by his high school and submitted his application the other day. I’m curious about the background of prior scholars. He’s got a great, genuine record of citizenship and leadership-related activities, and a great transcript, but super-scored he has an SAT of 2200. I’m curious how much of the competition boils down to “academic excellence” relating to SATs? I’m sure there will be nominees with higher scores. Any thoughts or feedback would be welcome. Also, tips for these kids during the interview process?
I think that there is a way to determine who is on the regional committee online, maybe through the Jeff scholars website. Also, each scholar is different, with a wide range of passions across the board. Don’t worry about his SAT score, as mine was around 2210. They value consistent commitment in your activities a lot more than what test score you got in one sitting
My daughter was nominated by her school last year. She was called for a first interview and then called back for a second interview. She was cut after that- did not make it to the weekend. She was valedictorian, 2250/34/750,760 on subject tests. Many leadership roles including raising over $30,000 for a community organization, etc. The interviews were pretty laid back and focused on her extra curricular activities, what she would bring to the campus, etc. She was interviewed by 3 people at one time for both interviews. The candidates who were interviewed were all very impressive. Good luck!!
Hi everyone! Thank you for the responses. I hope that every nominee receives an interview; I had heard that they cut people even before the interviews. I’ve submitted my app and am waiting to hear more. Does anyone know what range of stats most jeff scholars have? Good luck and thanks!
My D is up for it this year and received a confirmation email two days after submitting her application online on December 1st. Her acknowledgement letter was also posted to her account on the Jefferson Scholarship nomination portal and that at least gave her the name of the chairman of her regional committee. No idea who else is on the regional committee and she has not been contacted for any interviews yet.
Hey everyone, this info booklet has the regional committees from last year near the end: http://www.jeffersonscholars.org/sites/default/files/resources/JSF.2015.AnnualReport.pdf
In terms of the scholarship, please don’t worry about stats too much. Every scholar truly is different. For your interviews, just focus on who you are and what you absolutely love. They’ll care about that a lot more than your SAT score. That being said, the average SAT for scholars is very high. I don’t recall the exact number, but I believe it is somewhere around 2250-2300 - can someone check this?
got my confirmation letter today! what’s the next step?
Hey guys, I got my confirmation email a couple days ago. I’m really really excited about interviews, I hope it works out
Just got the email about my interview. I’m pretty nervous… Anyone know what to expect?
What state are you from? Hoping to hear about interviews soon! @hogwarts2019
@JTlover12 I’m from TN. And good luck to you! I think everyone gets an interview, but I’ve heard conflicting reports. Not sure how much the interview affects their decision.
I don’t think that everyone gets an interview. So congrats! Hoping to hear soon. @hogwarts2019