I have seen on the website in the FAQ section that Merit weekend dates are set but it only says that information to come in spring 2019. Anyone have any idea when those invitations will go out?
^ Soon! Merit Weekend(s) are in March, IIRC
Thank you. Just trying to plan since we are out of state and need to work around school and work commitments. 
Just got my invitation for merit weekend. Dates are March 8-9,22-23, and 29-30.
@bobross123 how did you get the invite?
My son signed up for the March 22-23 weekend last night. He was told on a group chat with other possible UK freshman that it was up online and that the physical invites would come beginning of Feb.
I received my invitation in the mail.
My son received his invitation (a postcard) last week. Online it says that students will register for classes that weekend. Does anyone know how they handle registration if students are currently enrolled in AP classes with credits that may transfer?
Is merit weekend for students who received merit scholarships? Have all of those been awarded yet?
I don’t remember the details about AP. I think you can go to the AP web site? and look up what UK will give as credits, or the student’s advisor will take the (future) AP credits into account.
Another UK parent advised us to have D take the CLEP test in Spanish, which we did have her take. Let’s see if I get this straight – so if your student takes the foreign language placement exam and say, places out of Spanish 101 & 102, that is not enough to get credit for Spanish 101 & 102. I believe you need the CLEP test in order to get credit.
Don’t take my word for it! This was three years ago, D handled most of it herself, and I’m fuzzy on the details. Ask UK!
I do remember D came home a little disappointed she did not get her first choice schedule and was put on a waiting list for Honors Bio. Don’t let the honors thing trip you up! The honors classes are not necessarily “better”, and there are plenty of opportunities for academically motivated students outside of the honors program.
Also, D had a change of heart over the summer and completely changed her major before school started in August! She was able to make the changes via emailing with her advisor. Easy. So, not locked in stone!
Our D came home with a UK student ID (without committing to the school yet!) and lots of swag. Have fun everyone! Go Big Blue!
I am having my son bring a copy of his high school class schedule so that he can work with the advisors. He is in an IB diploma program and all of his testing will come at the end of his senior year. Results are not posted until July. I also told him to pull a copy of UK policy for IB exams and classes as well as the requirements for his major. That way I figured he can go in with an idea of what he needs/wants. Hopefully that will take care of it- but if not then I have heard they are easy to work with to make adjustments to the schedule after the final IB or AP reports are received.
Yes. I have the same question.
My son registered during merit weekend three years ago. At that time he could get credit for the AP scores he had already taken, but not the ones he was currently taken. He registered for classes as though none of the current AP tests would count. Once the scores came out in July, he was able to modify his schedule for the AP classes he then had credit for…I would take your high school transcript with you and they can tell you what class to register for once the scores come out in July. He had no problem adjusting the schedule in July to the higher class.
Apparently I’m A little late to the party, but I just received my invitation in the mail yesterday. Can anybody explain to me exactly the advantages of going to this merit weekend instead of traditional summer orientation? I understand that priority class registration is probably the biggest advantage, but how much of an advantage is it really? I am majoring in Gatton’s Economics program if that makes a difference. It’s a long And expensive flight out there for me, and I’m only about 90% sure that I’m going to UK.
My son is sure and already committed to UK. The excitement of being invites to do the orientation early and register for classes early is a big appeal to him. He also likes that he will get to meet other students and feel more at home on the UK campus. I think it is pretty much the idea that they are doing something special for students with merit scholarships that really appeals to him. We are also flying in as we are not from KY and we are flying back out later on Saturday, so a quick turnaround but like I said my son is really looking forward to it which makes it well worth the time and money for us.
Our kid had a positive experience at Merit Weekend & that went a long way towards sealing the deal.
In addition, the warmer weather in KY in March was very welcome.
It was nice to register for classes, get the foreign language placement test out of the way, get the student ID, meet some other students and in general, feel a load of HS senior year pressure taken off her shoulders.
But other than the priority registration, all of this would be included in the somewhat cheaper ($35/night room instead of hotel and 100% chance I’m going to UK) Summer orientation, right? Seems like it’s mostly a psychological thing for y’all, and that’s not an issue for me; certainly not a multi hundred dollar issue. Do you guys have any insights on exactly how much of an advantage priority registration is? Like, is getting decent classes a big issue at UK?
I don’t know how difficult it is at UK to get the classes you want, so I am not sure that it is worth it if your student is not sure if UK is for them. However I can tell you that my son’s college tour and visit at UK is what sold him more than anything else- and then when they sent him his scholarship offer it just sealed the deal. I am not sure if I would have gotten my son to even apply to UK of he had not visited and he is very much looking forward to visiting again during merit weekend, especially since he has now committed and has been accepted into the International Village LLP.
Ok, thanks for your input.
I’m not sure how difficult it is to get the classes or schedule you want. Might depend on major, etc.
Even with priority registration at MW, our kid got waitlisted for an honors section in biology (?).
It was no big deal.
If you think about it, most of the freshman class will not be attending MW.
Go Big Blue!