<p>@fallenchemist @4beardolls @cooper1025 - Checking in to see if there’s any new info re the S/S weekend invite situation. @18yrcollegemin and @eastcoast13 - did either of you ever receive a return phone call and/or email? I believe you were both waiting to hear back after calling and/or emailing admissions about the situation. Also @biocellar 's son was told an explanatory email would go out last Friday to all invitees from Ms.Hernandez, has anyone received it? Or was the response @cooper1025 posted above the explanatory email she referenced? Crossing my fingers that the situation has been resolved…</p>
<p>I sent two emails last week and have not got a reply to either. Hopefully they’re working this out…</p>
<p>We got basically the same email as @cooper1025, but I did receive a phone call from Ms. Fernandez yesterday. She said they are working on some final details and will make an announcement soon. No real hint at what that may entail. </p>
<p>Are parents expected to go to the Signer Stamps weekend with their kids?</p>
<p>@18yrcollegemin - well it sounds as if things are finally starting to move. Hopefully the announcement will be good news and everyone will clear the wait list. Crossing my fingers for all of you! </p>
<p>@flstudent2014 - most students did come with one or both parents but it is not required. Parents are included in pretty much everything until lunchtime on Saturday just prior to the interviews. At that point they send the kids off with their mentor groups (I think that was what they were called) for lunch and then they head off to their interviews.The parents attend a very informative session with a question and answer period while the students are in their interviews.That’s how it was in past years in any case. </p>
<p>I think one piece of the selection process might be changing up a bit from previous years for those notified they are Stamps finalists after the weekend interviews. In past years there was a Skype interview with Mr. Stamps and I don’t know if that is part of the process this year. It doesn’t mention it here : <a href=“Undergraduate Admission | University of Miami”>Undergraduate Admission | University of Miami;
<p>Received an email. Looks as if UM is trying to right a wrong. Hopefully everyone else received an email as well.</p>
<p>My S did not receive an email. It must have gone only to those who were not able to RSVP. What does the email say?</p>
<p>@eastcoast13 - ditto. would love to hear some good news coming out of this situation!</p>
<p>My son is one of the students who RSVP’d, but according to UM was too late. Danielle Fernandez sent him an email stating that if an opening does not evolve for the Stamps/Singer Weekend he will be interviewed via Skype or phone in March. My son is very strong when it comes to being interviewed, and even though I would rather him be there in person I am fine with this as a “middle of the road” compromise. We will still consider going to UM for a weekend if UM definitely decides to have other weekends, although this has not been discussed in the email.</p>
<p>@eastcoast13 - thanks for the update. I’m glad you are ok with the proposed compromise. I do feel they should simply invite the number of students who can be accommodated in the future rather than make it a race to hit reply to an email invite, especially without any prior explanation of the rules of the game. The Skype option is one that @rundancelove mentioned she’d heard might be an option the other day. </p>
<p>@fallenchemist @4beardolls @cooper1025 @18yrcollegemin - did your students receive the same email and what are your thoughts on the Skype offer?</p>
<p>Are parents expected to go to the Signer Stamps weekend with their kids?</p>
<p>@FLstudent2014 - Did you see my response to this question yesterday ^ ?</p>
<p>How big of an impact do the interviews have on scholarship decisions? I’ve heard from some people who think that the awards are largely predetermined but have been told by others that the interviews are the sole determiner, any thoughts?</p>
<p>DS’ impression was the interview played an important part in the awarding of the scholarships. He felt the Stamps’ candidates were preselected and the interview confirmed whether they moved on to the next round. </p>
<p>I don’t believe I saw a student without a parent at the Stamps weekend. The students started to leave for their interviews right after lunch and some parents tried to go along. They were told they couldn’t go with their kids.</p>
<p>It seems apparent the Stamps candidates (initial round) are preselected by definition. It is in their letter that they are Stamps candidates. So I don’t think that is a feeling, it is a fact. I agree that the interviews then play an important role in who proceeds on to the next (second) round. The students that are initially invited are all at the top level of stats and other strong factors that are considered, so the only way to separate them out through the winnowing process is to do the interviews, at least as Miami does it. Some other schools such as Tulane use a creative project contest to narrow down the initial candidates, then there is a final interview for the relatively few that remain. But if Miami had already predetermined who was going on to the next round and the interviews were just for “show”, why bother to invite the non-selected students down? Miami gets no benefit from inviting people that have been predetermined as being out of the competition, in fact it would be a negative since it creates disappointment when a student doesn’t make it to the second round. Why would they needlessly put a bad taste in the mouths of the most academically gifted students they would very much like to have attend the school. It would make zero sense, as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>@illinoismom93 Sorry. For some reason, it posted again the next day. Not sure why. Thanks for the response. I wanted to know because I’m pretty sure I will be going alone and wanted to know if I would be the only one.</p>
<p>@FLstudent2014 - are you local and driving down for the competition?</p>
<p>fallenchemist: that was his impression which he got from his interview. I think they have a number of students in mind for the Stamps and during the interview process, they select the final 10 (or whatever number they decide upon) for the final interview. The rest of the students are still vying for the Singer and it is still a full tuition scholarship. I believe most of the students attending would have been happy with the Singer and we went with no expectations of getting the Stamps or Singer. DS was happy with his Singer :)</p>
<p>Yes, they definitely have a fixed number in mind they have to narrow it down to for the final round. You are right, though, I might have overstated it some when I said it would leave a bad taste in their mouth to not be selected as a finalist for a Stamps, since the Singer is indeed still on the table. Still, it doesn’t change my mind that they wouldn’t invite people for that first weekend if they had already decided that they had no chance for the Stamps. They would simply tell them to come to one of the two Singer weekends. There is just no benefit to Miami to play such a game, at least as far as I can see.</p>
<p>^They are also using the weekends to show off Miami. I know we would not have gone to visit without the Stamps/Singer invitation since the scholarship they did award upon acceptance would not have made it a financially viable choice. They do a great job of wooing the students once you get there! Everyone was aware during the weekend that the Stamps was a LONG SHOT but the Singer was a possibility. They also dangled the Foote Fellow designation which tantalize all the attendees. </p>
<p>The other two Singer weekends are usually booked solid too! I think they over-invite for those weekends too.</p>