Rollins Scholars Weekend for future candidates

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rollins College
1

Hi everyone! When I was going to the Rollins scholars weekend, I was always unable to find information so I thought that this might help.

At rollins, the final invitees to the weekend are narrowed down within a few weeks. Initially, your admissions counselor (AO) will chose 400 applicants. Over the next few weeks these 400 applicants will be whittled down to about 80; these 80 people will receive the invitations in December(ish). The AO will select these 80 people mainly based on the essay. I say “Mainly” because people with 1200 SATS were at the weekend, but they wrote very compelling stories. These are essays that AOs will remember; for example, when I went to the weekend, my AO recognized my name and remembered my essay. At dinner, my amazing AO went around our dinner table and told us each what our essay topics were. So, essays are very important in order to be selected.

Here’s what happens on the weekend:
On the first day of the scholarship competition, you will arrive at 12pm and mingle at the lunch reception. At the reception, you will meet your fellow competition and current Alfond scholars. At 12:45, you will hear a speech and be excused from the reception. At 1:30, the 3 interviews will begin. They are listed here in no particular order:

Interview 1: Interview with a current professor.
Interview 2: Group interview with 3 other scholarship competitors and 4 current Alfond scholars. Think of it as a 4 v 4. One alfond scholar will ask a question and each potential alfond scholar will answer the question. This was (IMO) the most difficult part of the weekend.
Interview 3: Interview with a dean of admissions.
There is also a classroom experience that lasts for 50 minutes. 3 alfond scholars are in the room with you, taking notes on what you say. Don’t be afraid to speak up because that is exactly what Rollins is looking for.
Everyone who interviews is very nice, so don’t be nervous! Even the fellow competitors are kind! Also, all interviews end at 5:20pm.

After the competition is trivia, arguably the most competitive part of the night. It is incredibly fun and it supposedly doesn’t count towards scholarship consideration. There is also a hilarious improv show that is performed. Trust me, it is SUPER FUNNY!

You’ll ultimately end up settling in for the night at 9pm, but time flies by! In the morning, you all will check out at 8am, have breakfast, go on a school tour, and say goodbye to your new friends.

Good luck to everyone attending scholars weekend in future years :smiley:

PS: everyone gets an extra 5000 a year for attending the weekend, even if you don’t make the Alfond scholarship. 15 Alfond scholarships will be given.

3 Likes
2

thank you for this info

3

Hey do you remember some of the questions you were asked during the interviews?
And were you selected as an Alfond Scholar?

4

Yes, I was wondering that too. You mentioned the hardest part being the scholars asking questions (the 4 on 4.) Just wondering what kinds of questions were asked. Also, what kind of trivia game was it? I know it doesn’t “count” but curious if it was kind of random like Jeopardy or questions about the school, etc. Thanks for all this info. My son is a junior from Buffalo, NY and loved his visit to Rollins. We would need decent merit to make it work and he is well aware of the Alfond Scholarship opportunity and really wants to stand out. Would you mind sharing your stats and/or why you think you were selected to attend this weekend? You mentioned a great essay but I’m sure you have an impressive resume overall! Thanks again!

1 Like
5

Hi there AmylIzzy. Have you received your letter of invitation to Scholars Weekend already?

6

My son is only a junior so he has not applied yet. He visited this past summer and loved it. Has everything he wants: rigor, small school, research opportunities (wants to study psychology) nice study abroad options and the gorgeous campus was a bonus! So he immediately took notes on this scholars program (knowing the price tag is not in our range) and is hoping to get an invitation next year. When do they usually send out invitations? Do they offer Early Action? I assume application needs to be in early, regardless, to be considered.

7

He will Love Rollins! I hold a psychology degree from there, and the research opportunities I had as an undergraduate helped me get into a highly selective Ph.D. graduate program (I was one of 3 total students admitted).

Rollins does not offer early action per se (it only offers ED), but I do know students who applied as early as late summer who heard back from Rollins within about 8-10 weeks after they applied. I would have your son reach out to the Rollins admissions staff and ask for a special early application. (My daughter was offered an early application bc I am an alum, and I know a high school senior, whose older brother was admitted but ultimately did not attend, who was also offered this early process. Colleges love to hear from students who are highly interested and likely to attend.

The deadline to be considered for special scholarships at Rollins is Nov. 15, but yes, even earlier helps demonstrate interest and might increase consideration for Alfond scholars.

My daughter applied by Nov 15th and was offered a Dean’s scholarship, but we have not year heard about scholars’ weekend. I understand that invitations typically go out between Dec 11-15th.

good luck!!

1 Like
8

That’s great info! We are from Buffalo but my sister lives in the College Park area so we just decided to check out Rollins when we visited her and he loved it. Hope your daughter gets an invite and rocks the scholars weekend! What are the typical stats for that or is it mainly based on essay and activities? Are in-state students more likely to get these awards? My son has a 4.0 GPA with advanced and AP classes and just took his first SAT with a 1450. He plans to retake to push it up a little higher (personally I think it’s fine as is.) He may qualify for National Hispanic Scholar recognition (as per PSAT score.) He has over 100 hours of volunteer work, is a level 10 gymnast and does honors band (percussion.) Has a few band & gymnastics leadership roles and works part-time. He reads psychology & philosophy books all the time and listens to podcasts of that sort. But has an active social life with his gymnastics friends so wouldn’t say fully nerdy. Lol. His end goal is PhD in clinical psych so needs to keep undergrad costs down. Think he’d have a shot at being invited to the scholars weekend? One can hope! Best of luck to your daughter!

9

Hey has your daughter heard from Rollins about the scholar’s weekend?

10

All invitations have been sent out, I’m pretty sure. I got mine on December 15th.

11

Are you an international applicant?

12

No. From the US.

13

Okay! Congratulations. See you in February!

1 Like
14

Congrats on being invited to scholars weekend! Please revisit after your weekend to let us know how it goes. Best of luck to you and blueeee : )

1 Like
15

Thank youuu!

16

Were the international students invited AT Rollins too?

17

Son accepted today with Dean’s Scholarship. Woo hoo!

1 Like
18

Was he selected for the Alfond finalist program?

19

My son received his acceptance to Rollins on 11/29/22 with $32K merit. He’s very excited. Any chance he might be invited to Alfond’s scholarship weekend with 1450 SAT/4.0 unweighted GPA, honor band, lots of community service, level 10 gymnast, & National Hispanic Merit Scholar recognition? He’s probably on the low stats end of those invited but he is hoping he might get an invitation. I think invitations are sent around 12/22. Good luck to everyone!

20

I don’t think so. Invitations come with the decision iirc