<p>I was nominated by my school for the scholarship, I was wondering if everyone had to write that same stupid essay topic, or if each school did it differently?</p>
<p>I believe each state handles administration of this scholarship differently. In Indiana, any student in the state with a SAT over 1300 can apply. The application is very simple two page form with no essay required.</p>
<p>golfer87 it may be wise for you to call your state to get the rules. As the IBMer said each state handles it differently. In Texas it is congressional distict, SAT score, GPA, and class rank based.</p>
<p>Hi golfer87, I was also nominated in New Jersey. The other nominees and I had to fill out a fairly simple application and activity list, plus an SAT-style fill-in-the-bubble information sheet. We also needed a teacher rec. and a transcript, I believe. Today, we were given an hour to write an essay based on a writing prompt. I don't want to say what the prompt was in case someone who has yet to write the essay happens to see this, but I assume that we all had to write on the same topic.</p>
<p>I hope that they take the essay, the activities, etc. into consideration, but I've heard that selection for this scholarship is primarily based on SAT scores and GPA. Good luck!</p>
<p>Any idea when we will start hearing about the Byrd scholarship?</p>
<p>Again it varies by state. According to old CC thread, some states notified in early June while others were as late as early August. So you will have to check with your state for the specific timing of selection notification.</p>
<p>Florida does it differently. I was nominated by my school here in South Florida, and the application was such a tedious undertaking. Not only did they make me sign my name on the nomination form, but they also made me write the date.</p>