Jefferson's Scholars Nominees

<p>i hated the jefferson app! totally rushed through the leadership essay on the last day that it was due... what region are you from?</p>

<p>Just to clear up some ambiguity here, if you are invited to National Selection Weekend you are assured admission to U.Va. along with the "Alumni Scholarship" (can't remember whether it's 1 or 2K annually).</p>

<p>i haven't gotten anything either since the nomination certificate and letter that came a few weeks ago...did you email come from your contact listed on the letter? I think different areas do the interview at different times but I do hope that if I did not make it to the interview stage that I would get a notification of that.</p>

<p>i re-read the letter and they said they will contact you in january... but it is the middle of december so i dont know...</p>

<p>Yep, the email came from the contact listed on the letter. My interview is scheduled for Jan. 3rd, which seems kind of early but oh well. I wonder how big a region is...</p>

<p>Oh and haligh, I'm from western New York. (Is that considered a region?) I wish they told us more about this process, like how big regions are, how many kids we're all up against, etc. And I too HATED that stupid application. I totally rushed through it, so you can imagine my shock when I received the email for the interview. I thought I had no chance in hell.</p>

<p>hmm western ny... i'm from westchester, which i think includes westchester, nyc and connecticut (?)... so maybe there's still hope :-/</p>

<p>How do you know what areas your region contains? I doubt you and I are in the same one, but I'd be interested in finding out how much of WNY is contained in my region.</p>

<p>New York Applicants/Nominees:</p>

<p>There are three New York City "regions":
- Long Island
- New York City
- Fairfield, CT/Westchester</p>

<p>Also note that each region is not necessarily limited to sending a single nominee to the finalist weekend, nor is each region required to send anyone at all. I can't be sure but I think the Westchester region frequently sends multiple finalists.</p>

<p>Hoosfun- Where are you getting this info from? I would love to know who's contained in my region.</p>

<p>Let's just say I'm "in the know" =)</p>

<p>You won't be able to find out who else is in your region, though you'll meet some of the other nominees in your region when you go for your interview. And if you haven't heard, don't lose hope just yet... sometimes the notification comes pretty late just for one reason or another.</p>

<p>Hmmm, very mysterious! :)</p>

<p>Any chance you might have info about the Western New York (Buffalo) region? (Meaning how big it is and what counties it contains?)</p>

<p>I did neglect to mention that Buffalo is an entirely separate region, my apologies! Here's the skinny on regions:
They're not determined by counties or cities or anything formal like that; the Foundaiton pretty much designates, probably based on geographical distance, each school which has a nomination to a particular region for this interview round (unless you're from Virginia, in which case the process is different since each school is entitled to a nomination). lauren - I have no idea how many nominations go to the Buffalo region but it's probably not that many since the Regional Selection Committee for Buffalo is relatively small.</p>

<p>Also, if your school does not have a nomination, then you're still in the running since the U.Va. admissions office recommends 5-10 "at-large" candidates from schools which do not have nominations. The good news: if you're chosen for this, you get a direct pass to national selection weekend. The bad news: again, they only choose a few.</p>

<p>I got a letter today and my first round interview is set up this Sunday. Anyone know anything about how this will go? I'm kind of nervous but excited, it'll be interesting =)</p>

<p>BTW, I didn't apply to UVA, I hope this isn't a factor.</p>

<p>i got one too :).. my interview is like three sundays from now. they told me that i'd be interviewed by a panel of four for about a half hour and that we'd talk mostly about leadership and citizenship.</p>

<p>manchu - Not applying to U.Va. will not be a factor... they won't even know. </p>

<p>Haligh basically has it for the format. Though if your'e at a regional interview your panel could have more. You'll discuss leadership and citizenship, but they'll ask some random questions too to get a better feeling about who you are. In making the selections, I'd say your interview performance factors into the decision at about 30-35% of the overall assessment, with the rest going to your application and recommendation.</p>

<p>I will also add that you should review what you wrote on your application because you will be asked about it. Plus, be aware of current events. Whatever you believe in, be sure to be able to back it up. Lastly, relax.</p>

<p>I imagine the hoosfun and some of the others on this list are likely jefferson scholars, but just in case if you have any specific questions for a current scholar, I may be able to help. I am an upperclass jeff, from out-of-state, who turned down 10 other schools and three other merit awards to attend UVa.</p>

<p>The process can seem a little like a labrynth, especially as many of the state interviews are going on now. The stats of the current class of Jeffs are misleadingly high:
Over half above 1470 on SATs
Nearly all in top 1-4 percent of their class
Roughly seventy percent holding some position in student government, etc.</p>

<p>I say misleadingly because the stats indicate very little of what will make you successful in the interviews. Mostly they are looking for self-confidence, a vision of leadership, and the most interesting people they can possible bring to Grounds. No stats could compensate for not having these three.</p>

<p>Any questions about the interview/selection process? What you actually get with the scholarship? What the program is like? Drop me a line. I am home for break and bored.</p>

<p>got nominated, received certificate, but did not get a letter yet for an interview yet...since some came this week guess there is still hope to get one</p>

<p>rockteer I PMed you. But feel free to post any info about the interview here too</p>

<p>Nagah,</p>

<p>I wouldn't worry. The certificates are done out of Alumni Hall at UVa, and it is completely separate from interview committee intivitations in the various regions. At worst, you'll find out a week before interviews, many of which are going on this month. It depends on you committee whether they will notify if you aren't being interviewed, but for now its just the waiting game.</p>