<p>speak_easy, so ur school will contact GMS once u get ur laptop?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that’s how it works. Check with your school & GMS to make sure that they will honor your laptop purchase.</p>
<p>can you only apply for gates as a senior?
do you have to have financial need? do you send in the fafsa or something for them to confirm?</p>
<p>You have to qualify for the Pell grant (EFC below 4042).</p>
<p>You cannot already be in college.</p>
<p>Speak easy, the way my D’s school is doing it is that they are giving her an institutional loan to purchase one through them, and then the FA office can make the allowed once a year adjustment in the spring and they will submit that bill for the laptop at that time and they will be paid.</p>
<p>if we’re trying to enter a college in fall 09 then when do we start filling out forms for the gates or start filling out forms for anything</p>
<p>bluewaterwind, maybe october or november…just keep checking the website…the app won’t be due until Dec. 31st of your senior year (the paper app)…</p>
<p>for me school…they told me to purchase one already…then I sent in the receipt…along with the info due on may 22th…then they just add it to my cost of tuition or something like that…or cost of adjustment…</p>
<p>rice told me that they’ll wait for the $ to come in. basically, i don’t have to pay for the laptop first and then send in the receipts. my FA advisor said that it was pointless for me to already buy one b/c getting my money back will be a LONG process. lol! ummm…but yeah. i’m gonna wait and get my laptop later…</p>
<p>AND I’M GETTING A WHITE MACBOOK!! lol!</p>
<p>QUESTION:</p>
<p>is this scholarship only for really low income students? My parents make 64,000 a year, so I don’t know if I should apply or not.</p>
<p>ahhhh…its May 22nd. Gates called my last week to tell my that they haven’t received my things. I emailed my financial aid officer, and she hasn’t replied. I swear she Hates her job.!!! :)</p>
<p>you’llsee…
i’d probly wouldn’t
it’ll be 8 tedious essays all for nothing</p>
<p>on the other hand, you always can try
this scholarship is worth every word that you type on Word</p>
<p>The GMS scholarship requires that scholars be and remain Pell Grant (a federal grant) eligible. Pell Grant eligibility is determined by the EFC (expected family contribution) as calculated by the info on your FAFSA. This year’s Pell Grant cut off was around 4000 dollars, a bit more but I don’t recall the exact value.</p>
<p>I don’t know what that translates as in terms of an annual income, but I would suggest using a couple EFC calculators that are available online to approximate what your EFC would be. They aren’t 100% accurate because they aren’t very specific, but it’ll give you an approximate idea. If you’re considerably over, then it probably wouldn’t make sense to spend time on a scholarship you’re ineligible for, but if you’re safely under, then go for it.</p>
<p>If you happen to be right around the EFC cut-off and you really aren’t sure if you’ll count or not, I guess you could always wait until the next FAFSA form is released on 1/1/09…fill it out ASAP, and if you get the EFC green light, then complete your GMS online application before the online deadline of mid-January. I wouldn’t recommend this unless you really feel that you might just miss the cut off for Pell Grants. Don’t forget that you need a Nominator and a Recommender, so it’s not an easy scholarship to do on a time crunch.</p>
<p>one more question, anyone know if there is a minimum GPA we have to maintain?</p>
<p>@ Hamman</p>
<p>I believe that the minimum GPA is a 3.3. Not sure.</p>
<p>and the Pell Grant cut-off is $50,000</p>
<p>at least i think so.</p>
<p>thank you for the info,my little sister is A Senior in High School and wants to go to Berkeley or Stanford and need a stellar essay to apply for the Gates Scholarships any other ideas to get this scholarship</p>
<p>Can you PM me some tips on applying for scholarships? I was born in Africa(and I am Asian) I have a 4.0 GPA and great leadership, but I still feel unconfident about getting these scholarships, because I don’t know which ones are worth applying… Can someone help?</p>
<p>so anyone feel like venting about a scholarship application that is 6-8 times longer than a college one?</p>
<p>I do: it sucks!
hope i get it!</p>
<p>good luck to everyone!</p>
<p>and remember: send it in early!</p>
<p>YOU WILL BE SCREWED OVER IF YOU DO NOT!!!</p>
<p>Did any of you that became scholars attend an award ceremony? what can u tell me about it.</p>
<p>i have never heard of an award ceremony for gates scholars. it would be hard (and expensive) to get 1000 people in once place together to simply pat each other on the back.</p>
<p>please correct me if i’m wrong.</p>