<p>Since there were 140 students who attended this weekend, how do they narrow it down to 7-10 Stamps finalists? Is there a criteria?</p>
<p>For the Singers awards, I believe it was Dr. Green who had mentioned they were looking for “thinkers”. All the students are smart but they are looking for that something extra. </p>
<p>I have no idea what the criteria is for the Stamps finalist. There was a young lady at the dinner who received the Stamps Scholarship – she was very well-spoken and seemed to be in so many activities. I would assume they are looking for a leader who speaks very well (a good representative for the school).</p>
<p>Also during the parent session, it was mentioned the Singer is a tuition only scholarship so if you receive an outside scholarship that is tuition only – you will lose the other scholarship (you will not be able to use it for room/board/books/fees etc).</p>
<p>That young lady was likely Dumbo11’s daughter; an incredible girl with a very bright future! She was our tour guide last year as a member of the P100 - just one of the many groups she’s actively involved in. She’s a real asset to the public face of the _. </p>
<p>I did sneak into the parent FAQ session yesterday after heading onto campus to meet up with the mom of one of IllD93’s friends who is from the south florida area… It was very interesting! I heard twice that decisions should be expected “in about two weeks” and that Cristi Busto would be sending the notifications. </p>
<p>For the last two years email notifications from Cristi Busto’s address (IllD93’s was written and signed by Dr. Gillis but was sent from Cristi’s email address) went out on Monday afternoon nine days following the competition around 4:20 pm eastern. This year’s group might want to start a thread like we had last year:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-miami-florida/1300391-singer-stamps-weekend-decisions-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-miami-florida/1300391-singer-stamps-weekend-decisions-thread.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks so much for the feedback. I am just trying to figure out how thepanel narrows it down to 7-10 candidates for Stamps. Since so many of the candidates have outstanding extra-curricular activities, leadership positions, community service, etc. do you think that test scores and gpa are used as a way to differentiate between the Singer and the Stamps recipients?</p>
<p>The interviews are probably the most important factor. GPA and test scores, at least at this point, are probably the least taken into consideration. The interview uses a scoring system, and the candidates with the top scores are probably the top-runners for the Singer and Stamps. At least that’s how I envision it, I don’t know for sure though…</p>
<p>I don’t know…it just seems like a lot of candidates who are being interviewed by different panels. If all the candidates were being interviewed by the same panel, I would agree with the importance of the interview and the score received. I definitely think that the interview isa way for the panel to gauge the candidate’s ability to communicate effectively. However, I have to believer there is a way to decipher between a candidate who is being interviewed for a Singers Scholarship and a candidate who is being interviewed for a Stamps Scholarship. Does anybody know some stats of prior Stamps recipients? ACT? SAT? GPA? Perhaps former Stamps recipients or their parents can share some thoughts about this?</p>
<p>Just thought I would add my two cents. We flew into Ft Lauderdale because we could best utilize frequent flyer miles and get well-timed direct flights. The traffic in South Florida is brutal. It took about 4x as long as I expected on Friday afternoon to drive from our Coconut Grove hotel to the campus. If we were doing it over I would have flown into Miami and used the recommended hotels and the shuttles.</p>
<p>As to the value of the interviews. D thought hers went very well, but she felt it was basically just a verification of the student being who they claimed to be and that it has pretty much been decided beforehand who is going to receive the offers. If you think of it, the design of the weekend is to get a good number top students to get a first hand look at the school. This strategy makes good sense for Miami rather than awarding full tuition to students who have not even visited. D loved the place and her interest is now much stronger.</p>
<p>That is definitely an interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing. Personally, I do feel that stats play a role in determining between the Singer and the Stamps recipients. I really don’t know how else the university would decide. Again, all of these students are top-notch, so there has to be some measurable criteria to distinguish between the two. Good luck to all who are waiting, and good luck to all those attending the next two weekends!</p>
<p>^^given that some students have a formal interview and others have had social discussions focusing on restaurants, sports teams, weather (yes, this has happened), I would imagine the interview is necessary, but not a huge factor in the final decisions…just my take after hearing from students about the total random nature of interview topics and styles…</p>
<p>Wow. That is a very good point–not everybody had the same interview experience. That’s why the “rating” system on the interview would really not mean very much. If it was the same panel asking the same questions, then I think it would mean a lot more.</p>
<p>Readytoretire: I guess I can understand the university wanting kids to come down and be wowed by their campus but if the winners were already predetermined it would suck big time for kids/parents who spent the money to travel down there. If that was the case, they should just offer the full tuition scholarships to the kids they want (like Pitt) and then host an admitted weekend for those kids. </p>
<p>The traffic is horrible!!! It took us about 40 or so minutes to get from Miami airport to the Holiday Inn. Also, if you are taking the bus from the Holiday Inn, they were picking on the street that turns onto S. Dixie (not the parking lot). The rep. will be in the lobby about 15 minutes or so before the specified time to gather the parents/students.</p>
<p>Thanks to those that said nice words about the speakers on Friday night. And yes, Ilmom, my D was the Stamps recipient who spoke on Friday. Regarding how they pick the Stamps candidates, I can tell you 100% it is definitely NOT predetermined. I honestly don’t know much about it, and I can ask my D more (not today, as she has a midterm tomorrow that is worth 45% of her grade). Someone asked stats of previous Stamps winners. I can tell you my D had a 35 ACT (did not take the SAT), I don’t remember her GPA, but she was ranked 3 in a class of about 300, and her GPA was high. She took a strong courseload (many AP’s), but I think what set her apart was community service. She was very, very involved and showed true passion in one activity. Without boring you with all of the details, it involved heavy fundraising and volunteering at their office, along with much leadership. Honestly, I think most of the kids at the SS weekend have great stats. I thought the interview might be very important, as I know my D thought her interview went great back then. Ilmom can chime in, as her D won Stamps last year, and she might have more insight. Good luck to all of you!</p>
<p>MTNest: Maybe I phrased it poorly. I wouldn’t quite go as far as saying 100%predetermined, but I would say Miami has a pretty good idea of who they are going to offer prior to the weekend. What the interview does do is it brings a bunch of top students to the school and really shows it off. If D did not visit and she did not get the Singer, we probably would have dismissed Miami outright as she has a number of other very good offers. Now even if she does no better than the big scholarship they have already awarded we will still consider Miami.</p>
<p>By the way, we will be doing Pitt on the 22. And it is easily driveable with much less traffic.</p>
<p>Readytoretire: We know Pitt very well. Older DS went to Pitt and they have already offered a full-tuition scholarship to younger DS. The traffic is definitely not as bad as Miami but at times, it can be very bad. Watch out for the buses headed the wrong way on Fifth ave.</p>
<p>Spoke to DS about this, he thought if the interviewer really “liked” the student then they would score the student very high on the score sheet. (similar to adcoms sticking up for a student they believe in). He didn’t feel like they had made decisions already but heck, who knows how they really go about it. We visited and now know what the school is like. DS can be happy in any of the schools he has applied to :)</p>
<p>Thanks for posting those stats, Dumbo 11. I would love to hear from Ilmom as well since her daughter was also a Stamps Scholarship recipient. As far as requirements for the Singer Scholarship go…it does say a 34 ACT…and you mentioned your daughter had a 35…and tons of other wonderful things as well. I am just wondering if students with stats above the required “Singer threshhold” might be the ones who are considered for Stamps…assuming they have the rigorous course load, ec’s, community service, etc. It just does not make sense that all 140 students interviewed yesterday are considered potential Stamps recipients.</p>
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I had a very good rapport with the faculty member who interviewed me (I’m currently involved in research with him) and he said he’d “strongly recommend me” for the Singer scholarship, but I didn’t get it. There’s only so much they can do, I think- it seems to be largely dependent on stats, and my SAT scores were slightly below the 1500 that they (I think) like to see for Singer/Stamps recipients, so I’m sure that was an important factor.</p>
<p>I dug up my old post from Dec 2011 with Illd93’s stats (couldn’t have done this from memory!)</p>
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<p>For those who have used the Miami airport regularly, how long does it take to get through security during the day? At 5:45 AM on Sunday morning, it took over half an hour to get through security – is this unusual? I was thinking at that time of the morning, there would not be a long wait – I was wrong.</p>
<p>That sounds unusual. I don’t remember any delays at security last year when we flew down and back for S/S weekend, spring break two weeks later, August move-in, or Family Weekend in late September. </p>
<p>I did, however, read about problems around the holidays and took the advice of Diversmom to have IllD93 get a Trusted Traveler GOES Card. $20 per year for the next 5 years is a small price to pay not to have to worry about a missed flight due to crazy-busy airports when everyone’s scrambling to get home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. </p>
<p>Zinc’s D missed a flight last year during the holiday rush - we definitely wanted to avoid that situation. IllD93 declined to return home for Thanksgiving (having too much fun at the []_[] - will only leave if forced to!) so she didn’t get a chance to try it until winter break when it worked perfectly as advertised - a dedicated security line with only one person ahead of her - shoes stay on, laptop stays in, etc. It’s not at all airports and not all airlines participate yet but it’s expanding all the time and works everywhere she’s headed : )</p>
<p>Just wanted to thank illinoismom93 for posting those stats. Once again, the ACT is above the 34 requirement for Singer and of course there are the AP’s, ec’s, community service, etc. as well. I guess it would just make sense that if Stamps is a notch above Singer, then the test scores would need to be as well. Again, wishing everybody who already attended the weekend and those who will be attending lots of good luck! Whether it’s the Singer or the Stamps, it is an amazing opportunity to take advantage of what seems to be a great education.</p>