The Best DHS Project Ever

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
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<p>Unfortunately, I didn't get the Deans' Honor Scholarship. However, I can assure everyone here that I in fact had the best project. Very few people here shared what they did, so I thought I would post this to inspire future applicants.</p>

<p>Because I plan on majoring in business and can do web design, I decided to incorporate the two into a project. I took a pair of scissors and carefully cut out the 3x3" square box on the application. Then I used Photoshop to make a small red "For Sale" sign that I taped to the corner of the space where the box once was. </p>

<p>The sign also invited the reader to visit 3x3</a> Paper, which I also included on a CD-ROM. As a prospective business student, I decided to show them my sales skills and the site is a marketing ploy to convince them to buy the missing piece of paper for the price of a DHS.</p>

<p>The site has four cleverly written testimonials from satisfied customers, as well as a product features page and FAQ. It explains possible uses for the 3x3" sheet of paper, including dieting, a gift for someone, and <em>gasp</em> toilet paper.</p>

<p>The best part of the site in my opinion is the "Order Now" page, which actually does work. After filling in shipping information, the buyer has to select a payment method. Lo and behold, "Deans' Honor Scholarship" is the only method that works. In the event someone does place an order, a confirmation page is shown and an email with the entered information is sent to my inbox.</p>

<p>In addition, I also designed promotional postcards that I mailed to the admissions office after submitting my application. They also marketed the 3x3" piece of paper.</p>

<p>Congratulations to those who got the scholarship, but as I said, I doubt anyone's project was as creative as mine. And yes, I am bragging.</p>

<p>My stats are:
32 ACT
3.8 GPA at a top school in my state
Strong extracurriculars</p>

<p>So I guess having a creative project helps, but in the end Tulane wants a 33+ ACT. It's a shame individualism isn't valued more. </p>

<p>Anyway, people are always asking what kind of projects are submitted, so I thought I might as well post mine.</p>

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<p>Not sure what they were looking for-I submitted a DHS project and didn't get the award. Had a 1530 SAT, 6 APS with mostly 5s, top 5% of my HS, lots of ECs,Johns Hopkins CTY for four years, volunteer work etc... Hope Tulane wasn't your first choice - any idea where you'll be going if not Tulane? I think the project has to be unique and since it's a subjective evaluation, it's impoosible to try to figure out how the cut is made.If there were truly 10,00 projects with 100 or fewer awards- it's just luck to some degree.</p>

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<p>deb - You are right, within the smaller group of "last cut" before the final award, there is certainly an element of luck involved. For example, maybe one reviewer didn't like your project but it another had reviewed it they would have loved it. Or they had a cold that day. Or or or.... It is so hard to say. Also there are variables that we just cannot see on here as armchair commentators. I know some of the projects are very clever and all, but sometimes they are full of typos or other flaws. That will raise flags for sure. You are probably thinking "who would submit something without having it proofread or otherwise reviewed?" You would be amazed.</p>

<p>FYI, my DD's project was probably the most creative (LOL). OK, maybe equal to yours, Sleepy. She used the box as a square on the periodic table and created the element Tulanium, then wrote a newspaper article reporting on the discovery and naming of it. Was full of clever references to aspects of Tulane life and history. She got the DHS, so like I said, who knows. Her stats were extremely similar to Deb's, 800CR 730M = 1530, plus 800W. 4.4 GPA weighted, not sure unweighted but I would think about 3.85. About the same on AP's and EC's/volunteer and CTY (except 6 years and as a result, a few courses at a local university as early as 9th grade). School doesn't do class rank but is more like top 2%, but can't believe there is much difference there.</p>

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<p>Props, that is a hell of a project. I came to the same realization last friday and decided to commit to Michigan because of it. Once again, props, that is one of the greatest projects tha I have heard about.</p>

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<p>wow that's amazing. my project was rather cliche and i got the scholarship, but i had a 4.6 gpa and 34 act. </p>

<p>that project is SO COOL though!</p>