Singletary Scholarship

<p>Can anyone tell me what makes up a Singletary Scholar? I want to see if I have a chance. Any posts about Singletary would be nice. I saw that there is no thread specifically devoted to it.</p>

<p>I just received one of this year’s Singletary Scholarships, so I can try to help. For reference, I had a 32 ACT/3.9 GPA. The two application essays and the interview are the most influential factors in the decision, since Singletary Scholars aren’t just top academic students, but are also ambassadors for the University. They are heavily involved in recruiting, so they’re looking for someone poised, personable, etc. (Not that I’m proclaiming myself to be perfect at any of this, I’m still in shock that I got it!) </p>

<p>Yeah I just received the Singletary Scholarship this year. My stats are almost identical to ckellen. 32 ACT, 3.97 GPA, Almost all Honors and AP Classes. One thing I think helped me though is that I go to one of the local schools in Lexington. They’re really big on recruiting local kids. I hope everything goes well.</p>

<p>Congratulations to both of you. May I ask if either of you were NMF and if you were accepted into the Honors Program? I am wondering if the students who were eligible to receive the Patterson scholarship were not considered / interviewed on an equal proportion, as they were already getting such a fabulous scholarship offer from UK.</p>

<p>@NaperMom - 2012 Singletary class totaled 51. 38 were KY residents. Of the 51, 5 were NMF, but note also that singletaries are also all in honors by design. 2012 Patterson totaled 66 and 40 were KY residents.</p>

<p>What is the difference between the awards?They seem very similar. It looks like NMFs might get an extra $500/yr for Singletary? Are there other benefits?</p>

<p>@celesteroberts - financially no difference when you add $2K college sponsored NMF award for Patterson recipients. Singletary is otherwise competitive whereas Patterson is auto for NMF, therefore considered the higher level award and automatic honors program.</p>

<p>OhDad3, thanks. So the only tangible benefit is not having to worry about honors acceptance? From your earlier post looks like not many NMFs receive SIngletary. Where do you find your numbers? You don’t happen to know what % NMF applicants are accepted to honors, do you? I see honors had 400 spots for 2400 applicants overall according to a FAQ response. But they must admit more than that since not everyone attends. </p>

<p>@celesteroberts - my posts were based on the following:</p>

<p><a href=“Record Number of Singletary Scholars Expected in Fall | UKNow”>http://uknow.uky.edu/content/greatest-young-minds-campus&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.uky.edu/financialaid/content/academic-scholarships-freshmen”>http://www.uky.edu/financialaid/content/academic-scholarships-freshmen&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.uky.edu/Scholars/”>http://www.uky.edu/Scholars/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The first of these says, “Students who are awarded the Singletary Scholarship are also automatically enrolled in the Honors Program at UK.” Regardless of the order stated, I’m really not sure which comes first; i.e., if honors acceptance is one of many hurdles for Singletary applicants to first complete just like the interview, etc. The 2nd and 3rd posters to this thread would have that timeline in-hand and could verify the process fully.</p>

<p>At merit weekend it was announced that well over 3,000 (maybe 3,400?) applications to honors were received for Fall '14 and that something over 400 were awarded. Unlike at some other schools (Cinci, Alabama) where honors comes automatically (or nearly so) with the NMF type awards, it is not a guarantee at UK where it remains highly competitive. {Read the “Honors College Nonsense” thread.} My son applied to 9 schools and used common app wherever he could. Unfortunately, on UK’s supplement for “Competitive Scholarships and Honors”, it appears there were two separate blocks to check (one for each) and in the fog of doing everything, he apparently only checked the first. So even though he wrote the essays, it appeared to admissions he was only seeking the scholarships and not honors, so he didn’t even get referred for the honors competition. His fault and a useful lesson in paying attention to details and accepting consequences. He is in the separate engineering honors program (SEAM) in any case and one can’t really meet the requirements of both easily anyway. Engineering says they expect UK to streamline and merge the different honors programs in the coming year to keep up better with their recent growth and popularity in attracting ever more qualified applicants…</p>

<p>The second of the above states, “The Patterson Scholarship is in addition to the UK National Merit College-Sponsored Scholarship of $2,000, which is awarded through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.” I too noticed the $500 difference in stipend but given that the Patterson excludes UK’s $2000 one time NMF award, I think that paid out over 4 years that is the difference. Again, Singletary recipients have had to compete for their awards and are obviously “measured-up” in both objective and subjective ways that sets them apart for what the university most wants of scholars who will represent UK. My son’s Patterson award was obviously based mostly on a test score and the little extra that NMSC looks at to advance from NMSF to NMF. Very grateful for the good fortune in my house! </p>

<p>The third of the above gives numbers and resident demographics for both scholarships over the years and through 2012. I could not find data on Fall 2013 entering classes though I’m sure it is available somewhere. I also would not know how to determine the NMF-among-honors ratio.</p>

<p>^thanks. That’s a lot of info. Appreciate it.</p>

<p>Just to respond to some of the previous questions, I was not a National Merit Finalist nor eligible for any of the Diversity Awards. I received admission to the Honors Program before being notified about Singletary. As mentioned above, Patterson and Singletary Scholarships are essentially equal in monetary value. Only thing specific I’ve found is that there are some HON 100 classes that are exclusive to Singletary Scholars and are mandatory. Congrats to all the other students and families on receiving any and all of these awards!</p>

Hey.did you mean to say in your post that a student who lists u.of k. As first choice at PSAT test and succeed s to level of nmf is an automatic full ride scholarship (patterson? )

You don’t have to list UK as first choice when you take the PSAT. This is taken from UK’s website, “National Merit®, Achievement® or Hispanic® Finalists who designate UK as their college choice with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation by mid-April are eligible for the Patterson Scholarship.”

@2015pop my son was accepted ED and notified of honors acceptance as well. He did not apply for Singletary but as a national merit finalist is he “in the running” for full ride presidential award or is it guaranteed?

Also…patterson is not full ride is it? Isn’t it presidential that u.k. offers as full ride (besides singletary)

NMF equals Patterson scholarship

@Ohdad3 I see in your previous post that the Patterson award is “automatically awarded to NMF”…does this cover full tuition plus room and board…and do students who meet criteria mentioned to qualify for this award find out when NMF notification comes out in February or in March ?

[University of Kentucky website](Fall 2023 Freshmen | UK Student Financial Aid and Scholarships) has good information on the scholarships available. Patterson is automatic for National Merit/Achievement/Hispanic Finalists. It covers tuition and fees, room and board, $1,000 stipend, all renewable for four years. In addition, a $2,000 award for summer study abroad is given, $2,000 from National Merit is awarded ($250 / semester), and an iPad is given to winners.

Singletary scholarships are competitive, and award a $1,500/year stipend (which is in addition to the National Merit award if the student is a NMF) instead of $1,000, plus all the other benefits of the Patterson.

NMF are guaranteed a Patterson which is a full ride. Singletary is invite only.

The Patterson is close to full ride. I am not aware of the specifics of room or board. As in, does the scholarship cover the lowest room option and least expensive meal plan. Plus, there will inevitably be extra cost due to personal expenses and travel. There are other tidbits in the award to look at as well.
The Presidential, however, just covers tuition.

Just google “UKy Automatic Scholarships for Incoming Freshmen”
and it will all be there.