<p>I am a junior looking into UNC and was wondering about the difference between the two scholarships. Do they attract the same students? Is one more prestigious than the other? Just curious if anyone could offer me any insight into the two programs. Thanks!</p>
<p>The Morehead is far more prestigious, in North Carolina at least. In most places, people who don’t know about colleges are unlikely to have heard of either. (The Rhodes and Fulbright are in a completely different league, prestige-wise, though of course they are graduate scholarships).</p>
<p>The Robertson has the Duke connection.</p>
<p>I think (I could be wrong) the Morehead has more foreigners. The Morehead tends to attract foreigners at mid-range private schools (ie, not the very best but also not little places nobody’s heard of either). I don’t know about the Robertson.</p>
<p>As far as prestige goes, I think the Morehead is more prestigious just because it’s been around longer than the Robertson. It is also more prestigious in NC because most NC high schools nominate a student for the Morehead. I think the Morehead also attracts more OOS and International students than the Robertson because there are almost twice as many Moreheads (~66) than there are Robertsons (~36) in each incoming class. That said, you can’t go wrong with either scholarship.</p>
<p>The Morehead seems to have a stronger emphasis on students from North Carolina.</p>
<p>Morehead: Out of an incoming class of 64, 30 are from NC and 10 are international
Robertson: Out of an incoming class of 31, 5 are from NC and 8 are international.</p>
<p>There are a lot of past threads on these scholarships - I would encourage you to use the search function and read through them.</p>
<p>I know a lot about these scholarships. I was just wondering which was more prestigious. I know you can only apply to one. Which types of qualifications do the Moreheads have vs. the Robertson?</p>
<p>the Morehead places a large emphasis on athletics</p>
<p>First off, you cannot apply for the Morehead. You must be nominated by your school. Each year, some applications are culled from the general application pool and are considered by the Morehead-Cain selection committees. Technically you can apply for both, just not at UNC. If you are nominated for the Morehead at UNC, you can then apply for the Robertson at Duke. Our understanding is that the Morehead does not put a large emphasis on athletics, but it does have four categories, one of which is physical vigor. That doesn’t mean you need to be the star quarterback. If you read their website it details this information. It also has the list of this year’s scholars, and a little about each one of them - whichwill give you an idea of the types of students they are looking for. I think both programs are very selective, and worrying about prestige is probably a first indicator that one may not be a good fit for the Morehead. Reading the past threads and the website will you give a lot of this information.</p>
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<p>This strikes me as passive aggressive nonsense – why on Earth wouldn’t one take prestige into account? It isn’t the only thing, to be sure, but if a major aim of a college education is to help you get a job or whatever, you can’t deny that prestige is a big part of that.</p>
<p>For many people, choosing the Morehead will involve a slight loss of prestige: if you choose the Morehead over HYP or MIT, then you are presumably doing it for financial or ‘experience’ reasons. That is mature and laudable. But that’s not to say that caring at all about prestige means you aren’t worthy, which is absurd crap.</p>
<p>What I was trying to nicely say is that if prestige is your main concern - which seemed to be what this poster was asking about … that the Morehead committees are pretty good about screening out candidates that have that as such a high priority. The poster can worry about prestige, as you can, and you may find that if that is your number one concern - you may not make it through the process. And - the first step in the Morehead is getting your school’s nomination, if you even attend a nominating school. So, what I was trying to politely say - is that if prestige is the main reason the poster is interested in the MC- it may not be a good fit. I stand by that post … it’s not passive aggressive, it’s my opinion. I didn’t say that caring at all about prestige means you are not worthy - those were not my words, those are your words. There was no string or mention of HYP, or MIT. Please do not put spin my post into your words, and crass tone.</p>
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<p>No, but you did say that it might be a sign that you are not worthy:</p>
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<p>For crying out loud - I’m not going to engage in a ridiculous battle of words with you on this board. Again, I did not say “not worthy”, I said not a “good fit.” I stick by that. Applicants whose main concern is prestige, will probably not make it through the kind of process that MC has to screen applicants. Period. Feel free to get the last word and continue to be annoying. I hope you are having a lovely day.</p>
<p>Okay. Thank you both. So i feel like all this is about the Morehead. I don’t know why, but as i researched, I seemed to like the Robertson better. Any info on that? Why do you count this as less prestigious? I’m just curious.</p>
<p>Hasn’t the Morehead just been around a lot longer? That might have a lot to do with it.</p>
<p>The Morehead has also built up a fairly impressive alumni base (though I’m not convinced that it’s as great as people say) … has the Robertson had time to do that?</p>
<p>That might have something to do with it. But the honest answer is … sorry I just don’t know!</p>
<p>I think both scholarships are equally amazing. They are impossibly hard to get, and they both provide amazing opportunities. I personally chose to apply for the Morehead because I was honored with a nomination from my school, but in hindsight I would rather have applied for the Robertson because the qualifications fit me better. The first thing you should worry about is actually getting nominated for the Morehead, as that is quite difficult in and of itself. Secondly, study up on the specific qualifications for both programs and pick the one that best fits you. When you are doing the applications, try to be yourself. I know this sounds trivial, but I did my application with the mindset of “What would the selection board be most impressed with?” and it was probably my downfall. Overall, you can’t go wrong with either award, and I wish you the best of luck. (P.S. When somebody is giving you this much money to attend an awesome school, prestige shouldn’t cross your mind at all.)</p>
<p><a href=“P.S.%20When%20somebody%20is%20giving%20you%20this%20much%20money%20to%20attend%20an%20awesome%20school,%20prestige%20shouldn’t%20cross%20your%20mind%20at%20all.”>quote</a>
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<p>Still not convinced of this. What if someone was offered a tonne of money to attend UNC Greensboro? A great school, though less prestigious than UNC Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>Would you still say that prestige shouldn’t cross their mind at all?</p>
<p>I was just curious about the two programs. Of course I know both are extremely amazing. I know someone who received the Robertson and was just curious about the differences between the two. I didn’t want to offend anyone with my word choice of “prestigious.”</p>
<p>@keepittoyourself
I was referring to the two scholarships of discussion.</p>
<p>Right but you seemed to be appealing to some general principle.</p>
<p>I think that, for a kid smart and qualified enough to be considered for such a scholarship, there’s no reason not to consider prestige. Prestige is an important factor in how well someone will do in life.</p>
<p>The Morehead/Robertson programs are a slightly weird combo: very prestigious scholarships at a moderately prestigious school. A full evaluation of the situation should take this into account, I think.</p>
<p>Some might debate that UNC is “moderately prestigious” … but having said that, I think the real point is that very few will get the chance to take or not take prestige into account, as most will not receive an offer for either scholarship. So asking which is more prestigious to determine which to apply for is premature. As tarheel151 suggested, investigate the programs and apply to the one that is the best fit for you. If you are fortunate enough to receive your school’s nomination, it may be difficult to turn that down and then apply to UNC and fill out the Robertson app and hope it is considered. Being a nominee gives you a leg up on many, many applicants. They are both amazing programs.</p>