<p>Our letter said the absolute final deadline is April 8th, so you still have time. I think it’s just a courtesy notice.</p>
<p>^ Thanks scuba9026. 
I now have another question. I uploaded my last file last night and I called the GMS line this morning and the message stated 5/5 documents received and a letter has been sent out as of March 27, 2013 (Today). What does it mean?</p>
<p>Letter reference is pertaining to the finalist letter not scholar notification. They’ve received everything as of today to move to the next level (5/5).</p>
<p>^ Thanks again scuba.</p>
<p>Hey everyone. Congrats on being named a finalist. My name is Steve Ramos and I’m a Hispanic, first generation male from Ohio. I was also bestowed the title of a gates millennium finalist. I’ve been accepted into UCLA and plan to attend… But am scared, I don’t meet the pell grant eligibility. Without this scholarship, I won’t be able to attend my dream school. Let’s hope for the best.</p>
<p>Ahhhhhh, I can’t wait to find out the results.</p>
<p>Why would they be sending out another letter telling us we’re finalists though?</p>
<p>@ cactus16 what number did you call? Im trying to call and check as well.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that of the 2000 finalists, they already have ‘ranked’ each one on some type of ‘score’ (maybe a combination of essays, leadership, etc…), and even before we got our finalist letter, we had a score… and that the way the 1000 winners are chosen is they look at all the finalist documentation received (the 5 things you have to submit) and for those finalists that qualify on all five, they start going down the list based on the initial ranking / scoring that was done early on. My guess is that of the 2000 finalists,some don;t qualify, but for the ones that do, the 1000 with the highest scores are chosen. Is this correct? I know I’ve seen this referred to in several places but other times I hear that ‘no one really knows’ how they choose them. Anyone know? Any current Gates scholars know more about this?</p>
<p>How does the method mentioned above work when decisions are made seperately?</p>
<p>ixSnow - When you say 'decisions are made separately" do you mean by ethnic group? As in, UNCF makes their decisions, HSF makes their decisions etc?</p>
<p>Yea, throughout the ethnicity branches of GMS.</p>
<p>After posting your last document, does a number appear at the beginning of each hyperlink to each document? If so, what is that number? Could it be an indication of this “score” or am I just freaking out?</p>
<p>I hope it does not indicate a “score,” because the number on mine is 46,910</p>
<p>@ boywithpan</p>
<p>The number is 1-866-884-7007.</p>
<p>Just press in the numbers when it prompts you. (ex. You are a nominee so press 1, etc.)</p>
<p>Also, I received a letter in the mail on Saturday telling me to finish sending in my required documents so that is what I think the “As of March 27, 2013 a letter has been sent out concerning your status.” message that I received on the phone means.</p>
<p>Hope this helps out.</p>
<p>^
Sorry guys, I posted the wrong #. :(</p>
<p>Here is the actual number 1-877-690-4677.</p>
<p>Cactus16: If you submitted 5/5 documents, what other documents are outstanding? What documents does the letter state you need to still submit?</p>
<p>The number on mine is 48,763.00. I thought it was the cost of the school I had submitted. lol. Maybe it is the number in line that you initially submitted your application. They said 54,000 applications were received, right?</p>
<p>hey guys i was just wondering i didn’t ask my counselor to speak on my behalf but when i went in for the GPA signature she took down my registration id etc…is she allowed to share my record without my consent? and do you guys think even if she didn’t like me so much that she would try to sabotage my chances of getting GMS?</p>
<p>@ TouchStone1</p>
<p>I submitted my SAR, that is why it said 5/5, but not in it’s entirety since I accidentally left out the last 2 pages and explanatory notes, I think that is why I received a followup letter reminding me to finish submitting my documents.</p>