<p>When do we find out if we made semi-finalists for the Presidential Scholarship?</p>
<p>i think they are notifying people as they go through the applications. i got a phone call last week and a letter the next day saying that i was a semifinalist.</p>
<p>Could you post your stats please?</p>
<p>Also, everyone who submitted their application before October 31st will recieve a letter before the 15th of December stating wether they are or are not semifinalists; according to the GT website.</p>
<p>Just got chosen as semifinalist today with 4.60 high school GPA and around a 4.33 recalculated GT GPA, 34 ACT composite with a 35 english and 36 math, and good ECs.</p>
<p>i had a 35 ACT, 4.0 uw GPA, and class rank 3/375</p>
<p>Just got phone call saying I was a semifinalist... kinda awkward conversation but it's all good lol.</p>
<p>Got a letter yesterday saying I didn't make the cut.</p>
<p>ACT Math: 33
ACT Verbal: 34
ACT Comp: 31</p>
<p>SAT Math: 700
SAT Verbal: 740
SAT Comp: 2150/1440</p>
<p>Four sports, captain in two of them. Yearbook, student council, two jobs. Only one AP class because of my small school, but a 3.9 GPA or so.</p>
<p>I got a phone call but still haven't got a letter.</p>
<p>SAT: 2300/1550
3.9~~ unweighted GPA, rank: 3/5~~
5 ECs, all AP classes</p>
<p>I threatened the admissions official into letting me qualify. He betta recognize.</p>
<p>Just kidding. :) Like magma, got a phone call but not a letter. </p>
<p>1460/2140 SAT, 4.0 UW GPA, Okay ECs, and a personal statement that I was very proud of.</p>
<p>Ga Tech showed up on our caller ID this afternoon, but no one was home and our answering machine isn't working - guess I should get a new one. My son hasn't heard anything from them yet and is hoping this missed call was good news. I suppose they won't call back until Monday, which will make for a long weekend.</p>
<p>Good luck everyone.</p>
<p>Hey, I was wondering, does anyone understand the main criterion considered in choosing semifinalists? Does it appear that the SAT I Math score is very important and given mroe weight? My stats are comparable (4.0 GPA, 2270, 750 Math II, 780 French, 750 Physics) and my essays, which generally related to the arts (interest in performance, videoediting, and surrealist art) were deemed to be very strong w/ personable tone so I don't feel that I came across as robotic. I have community service/ hold several positions of leadership though I switched schools junior year and this has somewhat affected my eligibility for certain positions. My SAT I score was admittedly very lopsided though (800 V, 720 M) and I lack independent lab experience/research.</p>
<p>I'm not particularly concerned in the case of GT because GT is made very affordable through the hope, but as I've applied to several other scholarship programs and am currently working on other apps for admission, I would like to know if there is anything particularly glaring that could be bolstered (I've retaken the SAT's though obviously some things are what they are)?</p>
<p>stuckinthemuck:</p>
<p>You sound solid to me. Most schools will see a 720 on the math section and know it is not perfect, but it is damn good. I think many schools equate scores from 750-800 and equate scores from 700-740, so you will be first tier verbal and second tier math, which is really very good. If you are applying to really heavy high-end tech schools like caltech and planning to major in something heavily math related (physics/engineering), you could use an increase in the math SATI score, but other than that--you're solid.</p>
<p>This program is very difficult to get into. I am a freshman at GTech and did not make the semi-final list with a 2150, a 3.83 uw gpa and 23 hours AP with all 5's. I also won a Best Buy, Target, FMA and two other national scholarships. So I was competative and I can do the work as I just finished my first semester with a 4.0</p>
<p>The validictorian at my HS, also accepted at MIT, did get a presidential scholarship. She had ~2350 on the SAT, 4.0uw and about the same number of AP courses. She had fewer volunteer activities than me and did not work but she had a lot of music related activities that she excelled in, i.e. state level recognition.</p>
<p>She chose Gtech over MIT due to cost. </p>
<p>She is typical of the folks I know in the program. ~1550 on the old SAT and very well rounded, science, english, arts, music and language. Me I couldn't carry a tune if I tried. </p>
<p>Also the program is 50% women and is used as a recruiting tool so it is less competative for out-of-state. In state is next to impossible to get in if you are a male. </p>
<p>The person who ranked second in my HS scored the same as the validictorian on the SAT or maybe a little higher had only a slightly lower GPA, was offered track $ to got to tech and was co-enrolled at tech his junior and senior years at our HS and he did not get an invite. He did make semi but no further. We are in-state however and he is male. Interestingly he was not offered the honors program either.</p>
<p>So bottom line is this is a very hard program to get into. good luck. Tech is a tough school but you really learn. I look at what I learned in my first semester and compare to my friends at Michigan, Cornell, Vandy, UGA, Hopkins, Emory, etc and my classes were a lot more rigorious. My social life was a little less interesting but that is the trade off. You have to study if you want to excell, esp at tech.</p>
<p>Tech does have an honors program and I did not get an invite to that initially. I could get in now but tech is hard enough that most of us consider all classes to be honor classes.</p>
<p>I like my choice of GaTech. Its free for me with the HOPE and the outside scholarships I listed above and the coop program is the best in the nation. </p>
<p>So even if you don;t make the finalist list still consider coming esp if you are female. ~70/30 m/f ratio is pretty good even if GA State with all of their female students is right next store.</p>
<p>Not trying to be negative here....just adding perspective.</p>
<p>Were any of you that got the scholarship legacies or ga residents. I have been told that the scholarship is only given to those people. I would love to know if that is true.</p>
<p>About half the people are from out-of-state. Don’t know about legacies.</p>
<p>It was a long time ago, but back in my day there weren’t too many legacies. More in-state than out-of-state (but then again, there were more in-state applicants in general for GT).</p>
<p>See my post from 01-04-2007 05:04 PM</p>
<p>I am now a senior and my understanding of the Presidental Scholarship is the same. Gtech uses this as a recruiting tool and so women and out of state applicants have an easier row to hoe. Legacy does not matter and being male and from GA makes it an even harder reach. They want a diverse group. Even number of men and women and in-stte and out-state. you are a cadre and they want that cadre to build on the strength of its members.</p>
<p>My take is it also helps if you also have a music background of some type but there are very few of these awards and in fact very little merit money in general at tech. There is a good amount of need based money.</p>
<p>I have a 4.0 and have gotten only one $1500 Tech award and it was from my department. I do not qualify for need based only merit.</p>
<p>But, there is the coop program which is great. I have had 3 coop assisnments. They last an entire semester and I intern this next summer with another company. Even with 4 semesters of work I will still graduate in Dec…just 4.5 years from when I started. </p>
<p>I already have job offers and I have not only paid for school from my coop money but I have a very nice cushion in the bank. </p>
<p>Here is how that happened. The Hope paid for all of my tuition and some of my books and that left about 6500 a year for food and board (in-state) and with a few additional outside awards that really narrowed that gap. Then 12 to 15K a semester as a coop and I am doing pretty good. I have friends at UGA who are graduating with no jobs and 20K debt.</p>
<p>So while the Pres Scholarship is nice, there are some real perks, you can get in and out of Tech without it if you are willing to work.</p>
<p>I am not as smart as many of the kids at tech but I work hard…lots of kids never had to work at school so they blow up when they get here and a good number flunk out. </p>
<p>Bottom line is if you do the work you will graduate and you will have a job. You have to do the work. That means a minimum of 20 hours of studying outside of class every week</p>
<p>So don’t sweat the scholarship. Just come, work hard, and you will be fine. Tech is not an easy school or the most fun but… I think when I’m 22 and making 80K and my friends from UGA are unemployed and have college loans we will see who is having fun.</p>
<p>Good luck hope you get the award. The woman from my HS who got a Pres Scholarship got to study in Japan her second year. Nice perk.</p>