<p>Congrats to your D on that stellar GPA, Zinc! And so glad you won’t have to worry about picking up a 2nd gig : ) </p>
<p>Dindune -Since DS is already at the U, I’m thinking your DD should have an advantage - your family is a known quantity which has to help!</p>
<p>UPDATE - I called down to the U this morning just to try to get a better feel for the scholarship weekend invite timing, etc, since I’m still pretty concerned about booking a flight before they go sky high. I explained the situation with our cruise timing conflict, being out of the country for the last two weekends, and Cristi Busto was definitely trying her best to help but I wasn’t able to get a good sense of where D stood regarding the different weekends… She asked about D’s stats and I did kind of get the feeling that in our case, a Singer only invite was more likely than Stamps/Singer…and Stamps is the only weekend we can make. With the latest increase in the U’s ranking, perhaps only the 36s are up for Stamps invites this year…But Cristi also mentioned that they would work with us due to our timing conflict with the cruise.</p>
<p>So I guess I’m even more confused than ever now! Cristi was really trying to help me figure out what to do re making airline reservations (since pretty much everything but Southwest is non-refundable nowadays, as far as I know, and Southwest flies into FLL only, leaving us to figure out that whole GoShuttle thing or that “tri-wizard train trip” that Zinc mentioned (Harry Potter reference, Zinc?) and she did say that she knows it is going to be short notice for booking flights so when the snail mail acceptances to the university were sent at the end of the month, she said she is going to immediately send email invites to the scholarship weekends at exactly the same time, in order to allow people as much time as possible to make travel arrangements, so that’s good news! She even checked the email address we had on file and asked if it was best to send to that one (D’s) or if she should use mine instead, which was super sweet! I know D will be checking the website regularly for updates for the last week of the month, so I didn’t ask Cristi to change the email preferences. D is so anal that she checks her grades online at school to see if her gym teacher has input the latest pickleball quiz score : ) so I’m not worried about her forgetting to check the U’s website 8-10 times a day that week! </p>
<p>Unfortunately, Cristi didn’t recognize D’s name or remember having corresponded with her this past fall, but I’m sure she talks and emails back and forth with a million kids each application season. I know D had emailed and heard back from Cristi about our inability to get down there for a visit this past fall, and D’s disappointment that she hadn’t had a chance to see the campus in person yet and I was here when she called down there once too. She also attended a local presentation the U sponsored here in the fall, and was sure to sign in. I’m hoping that was enough to display her strong interest (it’s going to be one or the other of the U of Ms, either the freezing cold wasteland currently displayed live on the Minnesota quad’s webcam or the gorgeous tropical paradise with the palm trees swaying right now on the webcam at Miami’s university station!) but now I’m not sure if it was to show interest… And I know you have talked about your feelings about the importance of making a connection, Zinc, so now I’m worried about that…</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your info IllinoisMom. In my experience with Cristi, she is lovely and has to be evasive and noncommittal, as the decisions are not hers alone. She is great and as helpful as she can be. I believe with your D’s stats that she will be invited to one of the weekends. I’m not sure what each weekend represents. What dates are what weekends? Also, what is needed for Stamps vs. Singer? I thought I had read that Stamps was about grades and volunteerism? Am I wrong on that? When is the Stamps weekend?
We do know a boy that got the Singer and had his interview on the phone because he had a conflict, so I do think they will understand if you can’t make it. Your D’s stats are fantastic. Easy for me to say that you have no worries, but I believe that.</p>
<p>DinDune- Yes, that’s the perfect way to describe Cristi’s responses to me - lovely, evasive and noncommittal! Super sweet, but vague by necessity, since a committee is involved in the decisions. </p>
<p>When it comes to the different weekends, there’s more info on the Singer/Stamps thread here:</p>
<p>On that thread after you had posted the dates you had been told a few months back, there were some very helpful posts by Zinc, rankinr and marinebio444 re the way the weekends were set up in the last round. Last year it appears that the first weekend was for Stamps/Singer candidates, the second for Singer EA only, and the third for Singer RD? Today, Cristi did not volunteer the dates associated with the specific weekends but I did get the impression from her that the first weekend was only for Stamps/Singer candidates, as it was last year, and that invited students unable to attend that weekend would not be able to compete for the Stamps. I believe I do remember reading a post made here on CC in the last round by a student who received the Singer without attending the interview, which sparked some sharp responses from those who had been told that attendance at all weekend activities was required. Perhaps that was the boy you know?</p>
<p>Anyway, regarding who gets which awards, I don’t know that the U specifically states which criteria they are using to make the decisions, but the student I corresponded with here on CC in the fall who had been awarded the Stamps last year was an incredibly upbeat young girl who was phenomenally committed to community service as well as being a stand out academic superstar!</p>
<p>I’m just a slug over here! And I wouldn’t give up my alcohol even for you ILMom93 xo. Call me!</p>
<p>Seriously though, I’ve almost written off Miami already, we only have a 32 and she doesn’t think she’ll be getting and $$ offers so I loom with interest but not expectation.</p>
<p>I do thank all those o this page who so graciously share their time and experiences!</p>
<p>sujormik- Ahh, but Miami superscores and your D has a superscore of 33! Plus her long term commitment to community service sounds like exactly what they are looking for : )</p>
<p>Please don’t write off Miami; I’m hoping we’ll all be down there in March the same weekend so the girls can hang out together : ) We can only afford airfare for two (or none - depending on how much it goes up before those invites come out, but I’m crossing my fingers on that) so if you’re leaving your DH at home too, how much fun would that be? </p>
<p>Touring the most beautiful campus you can imagine (maybe rankinr is still leading tours, and we could request him? I think he said he did in the past) and based on last year’s schedule (I found it online) we’d get to meet DONNA SHALALA (don’t want to stir up any political stuff here when it comes to healthcare policy, but this woman’s a God around these parts, parts meaning our house, since our next door neighbors have giant NOBAMA stickers on their cars : ( </p>
<p>Anyway, pretty warm here for January, not really soup weather; want to try that sushi place this time?</p>
<p>sujormik, I would not give up yet. A 32 is still a great score. My daughter had a 33 and still received lots of $ offers. Her SAT was the minimum for the scholarships but she still got University + the singer invite. I think you should wait and see.</p>
xo. Call me!</p>