I got a letter in the mail saying I would get an invitation to the Alumni Distinguished Scholarship competition soon. Does anyone know what the competition is like or how many people participate? Or the stats of those who receive the scholarship? Any discussion would be great!
My son received his invitation in the postal mail yesterday. I’ve read that the three-hour test is mostly multiple choice with two essays, covering anything one might have come across in one’s studies, and then some. I believe they said they invite something like 1400 students to participate. Stats are irrelevant, as selection of scholarship winners is based on results of the test and a later interview.
Past participants seemed to be universally glad to have taken part, regardless of whether they were ultimately awarded the big scholarships. They said that the weekend was fun and gave them a good sense of what MSU had to offer.
Best of luck to you and all ADS invitees!
I went to the ADS weekend in the mid-80s and even back then, it cemented my decision to go to MSU. There were bright kids who were “normal” and friendly, and they did a good job of selling the programs, campus, honors college, and the big college experience. I didn’t earn one of the big scholarships, but it was still a great experience.
This post is a little old, so I’ve learned some more about the competition and scholarships they offer. I also received an invitation to the ADS competition in the mail yesterday, which was very helpful and detailed. Here’s some more information I’ve gathered about scholarships and the competition weekend, although not related to the Alumni Distinguished Scholarship itself:
The Alumni Distinguished Scholars are chosen completely based on the test, but Michigan State University also chooses University Distinguished Scholars based on high school programs, scores, achievements, and interviews with finalists (although that scholarship is not offered near as often nor near as advertised). I also got an email from my college saying that their scholarship competition weekend – which requires another application – runs concurrently with the ADS competition weekend, so the decision-making process for full, or almost full, scholarships seems more complex than what’s on the surface.
Best of luck to you as well!
@SterlingWolf When is the competition weekend?
I believe the sign-up process is over. The two dates you could choose from were January 25-26 and February 1-2.
We went this last weekend. They went “all out” to recruit these ADS nominees. They stressed research and opportunity for research with professors. The test itself comprised 150 questions ranging from art to physics. It was slotted for 3 hours but most kids finished in 2ish hours. We came in pretty sure she didn’t have a chance for the full scholarship; just wanted to see the campus. They have already offered my DD loads of $ plus professorship assistance and $5k toward study aboard.
My daughter took it last year. She went in with the feeling that she had nothing to lose. While she did not get the “ADS” scholarship, she did get the Distinguished Freshman Scholarship ( full tuition). The way the Honors College works there was the best of all the universities she was considering. She has the most flexibility there. We are OOS, so the $$ was the clincher. Good luck to your kids!
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Curious if anyone got the letter or call the last few days? Unfortunately, my daughter received a letter yesterday that she would not be moving on to the next round 
Lisn123 my son received the same letter last week.
Bummer teamuniversity - I think it was a much stronger competition this year. My son actually won the full ADS 4 years ago and his sister has pretty much the same stats and she didn’t even get a call for the interview this time. We were sort of surprised and slightly bummed out.
I spoke with the Honors College and they said that notifications would happen by the end of this week, so if no letter yet, there may still be hope!
@threeplustwo Did they say whether notifications would be sent by mail or email? It’s been a few days and I haven’t heard of or seen anyone post here about receiving an ADS/Distinguished Freshman Scholarship. Have any of you guys (or has anybody you know) received a final scholarship decision from MSU for the ADS competition?
I interviewed via Skype for the ADS scholarship last Monday, and I’m currently awaiting the results.
It seems like the scholarships are posted in the Financial Aid section of the portal. The Distinguished Freshman one is listed in my portal.
It seems I received the Distinguished Freshman Scholarship as well.
Maybe I’ll see you there, lol.
Kind of late, but I received the Alumni Distinguished Scholarship!
I’m supremely late but I got mine in late Feb! Either Princeton or MSU rn…
Can someone tell me where they keep everyone? Do they put us in dorms or Kellogg center?