<p>DS missed the NMSF cut-off, but since he was right on last year’s mark, we were prepared for that and were already in the mode to proceed with Plan B, which is to try to get the 32 ACT or 1400 (CR+M) on SAT. He got a 31 and a 1390 last year so he has been prepping for improvement.</p>
<p>He will be applying for UFE, a natural for him since he has strong EC and voluntarism. We realize that it is highly competitive. I am still struggling to figure out the Academic Elite. Is it designed for high stats kids who are not NM, but UFE, or is it for the highest stat kids who are NM AND UFE? Anybody know anything about the kids who got it?</p>
<p>He does have National Hispanic Recogniton Program which no longer has guaranteed money at Bama, but should be worth something in the mix.</p>
<p>Sorry, to hear about the cutoff. Unfortunately the scores change, so you can never be a 100% sure till they announce them.</p>
<p>Plan B is great, definitely prep for the tests. Have him study and take as many practice tests as possible. Get a good night’s sleep the night before and eat a light but nourishing breakfast that morning. Now, I know some kids do not like to eat before a test but at least be well hydrated and take a small high protein snack (just in case). Glad to see that he will be taking both the SAT’s and the ACT’s. Have him take them as many times as he can.</p>
<p>I know that a lot of money is riding on these scores but it is important to relax when taking the tests. </p>
<p>UFE is highly competitive, there are several threads from last year that you can read for more info.</p>
<p>I’m sad to hear that your son didn’t make the NMSF cutoff. He should be able to get the test scores required for the Presidential Scholarship and being a NHRP scholar and child of an alum should help other UA program/scholarship applications.</p>
<p>The Academic Elite scholarship goes to those whom UFE feels most deserve the scholarships. Non-NMF students have a better chance as they can benefit from the housing scholarship that is part of the Academic Elite Scholarship while NMFs get this benefit regardless of UFE or Academic Elite.</p>
<p>You don’t have to be NMF to get an Academic Elite scholarship. I’m not sure how many of those who receive the scholarship are NMF, though. I almost wonder if they go more towards those who were not already NMF.</p>
<p>My D also barely missed the NMSF cutoff. She had a 32 and a 33 on the ACT, 4.0 (school adds 10 points to the final grade for AP classes but doesn’t weight in calculation of GPA, maximum GPA is 4.0, even if the average is over 100 due to the extra points from AP classes, also doesn’t rank), lots of community service, section leader in band, 1st chair flute in local youth orchestra, lots of church involvement.</p>
<p>She applied for but didn’t get accepted to either UFE or CBHP. She did, however, receive one of the Crimson Elite scholarships offered through the National Alumni Association. The Crimson Elite is roughly equivalent to the NMF package, and about 10-12 are given out each year. (Or at least for the few years for which I saw the data.)</p>
<p>So all is not lost! Your son could still have a chance at one of those Crimson packages. For two of the Crimsons, priority consideration is given to students from Madison County (and surrounding counties), AL. (My daughter won one of these.)</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure the Crimsons are awarded to those who did not receive NMF.</p>
<p>Frankly, I don’t think the Academic Elite are given to those who are also NMF…which is one reason why the scholarship needs to be either changed/renamed/etc…but that’s another subject. lol</p>
<p>I think the Crimson Scholarship is only awarded to ONE out-of-state student. </p>
<p>Also…a word about Academic Elite. UFE does NOT like prospective students/parents asking about this scholarship…at ALL. They don’t like it when it looks like that’s the reason a student is applying to UFE. The Elite scholarships are awarded in a quiet fashion after the students are selected.</p>
<p>Robot…he will be pumped for the ACT in a couple of weeks, hopefully not too much so. Yes, we have pretty well devoured the UFE threads and he looks forward to competing. </p>
<p>Seatide, I am hoping that my two degrees from Bama will help somehow, even if it is the $1000/year. I am really looking forward to seeing Tuscaloosa and the campus again as I have lived in South America, NYC and Arizona since I graduated and not had a chance to get back.</p>
<p>BamaMom, your daughter’s credentials are a sobering reminder of how unpredictable this whole college application/scholarship process can be!</p>
<p>Mom2, thanks, as always, for your support and insight. Yikes on the one out of state crimson scholarship! Appreciate the tip about the Academic Elite.</p>
<p>Planning on Econ or Poly Sci. He is a nationally ranked speech and debate kid, but is not particularly interested in majoring in Communications, but will look into those scholarships. He would love to do Moral Forum in UHC.</p>
<p>He had already signed up for the Sept ACT and SAT and will check the deadlines for the Oct/Nov dates. <sigh> Was hoping to get my dining room cleared of prep materials!</sigh></p>
<p>First off, your son is to be commended for his hard work and his achievements! He is a great kid, and not being NMSF makes him no less so.</p>
<p>We will be praying for him to boost his ACT scores.</p>
<p>FWIW, son’s best friend missed the NMSF cutoff, but he got a 32 on the one ACT he took. The only perk he gets less than my son is free housing and the study abroad money. He has full tuition and the engineering scholarship, and he lives in the honors dorms! That is nothing to sneeze at! </p>
<p>We’ll be keeping your son in our prayers. I know he can ace those tests! Looking forward to seeing y’all on campus soon!</p>
<p>Montegut and Lady Di, thanks for your warm wishes and prayers. As a speech and debate kid, who although fairly successful, is all too familiar with “losing”, he has moved on to the next challenge. Kids are so resilient. Now, this mom needs to let go of trying to figure out why the cut-off jumped 4 points! Working on it!</p>
<p>I can’t tell you how proud I am of my alma mater as I read these pages. To be honest, when we first began the college search process, I would not have thought Bama could be a good fit for him. Getting to “know” so many of you on these boards, I am convinced that he could really grow and thrive at the Capstone!</p>
<p>I think when you come back to the Capstone after all this time, you’re going to be blown-away by how pretty it is and all the awesome improvements.</p>
<p>The changes between 2006 and now have been amazing.</p>
<p>^^^ az … I know where you’re coming from. As parents of highly successful HS kids, I guess we all dream of that perfect scenario where our kids end up at Stanford, Rice, Ivy fill in the blank, or other similarly situated “highly regarded” school. But FIT and opportunity and a good education can be found at SO MANY institutions. We assumed small / medium private, and she ended up at UA for all the right reasons including the excellent scholarship package, which she (not us) saw as a way to guarantee graduating debt free (so pragmatic of her … but then again, I’m still paying off Law School and she’s heard me complain about that enough times.) But in the end she DID have plenty of options, but turned down Rice, Tulane, William and Mary and Vandy to come to UA. 2 of them would have been “retail” and the other 2 had nice packages as well, but she fell in love with UA. The process is different for each family, obviously, but perhaps more similar than we think. :-)</p>
<p>Agree with the “retail” designation. When my son and I were researching colleges, I told him that a college education is a product that you are purchasing. Since you (the student) are the purchaser, you have the right to investigate and “buy” the best product. You must compare all the options for the prices and make a wise purchase. Of course, you need to visit as many colleges as possible for this strategy to work. No one can purchase sight unseen, because the “fit” has to be correct as well as the “price”.</p>
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