<p>Okay so has anyone from Illinois gotten a letter yet, more specifically Chicago?</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve pretty much given hope. It’s Friday and I still haven’t received anything! It sucks too though because my number two choice school, (I doubt that I’ll get into my number one choice school) expects me to take out 8,000 in federal loans plus another 9,000 in private loans! I guess I can’t go there either. I’m highly upset because I put so much effort into those essays. I even cried while I was writing one of them because I put so much emotion into it. I guess I just wasn’t what they were looking for. Congratulations to all finalist and I hope you receive your Scholar Notification Status in the coming weeks! For those of us who weren’t selected, let’s try to move on and find alternative outlets to fund our college education. I’ll be damned if I’m drowned in debt by the time I graduate.</p>
<p>:'( good luck dubblyu, good luck to us all.</p>
<p>so just wondering, has anyone gotten a letter saying you are a finalist without receiving an email?</p>
<p>maybe theres a tad bit of hope.</p>
<p>Is not having a lot of volunteering hours a big detriment to your application? I got into all the schools I applied to with only around 100 hours, maybe less (at the time of the application). I do it consistently just for about 3 hours a week and I started at the end of sophomore year because my mother was a little overproctective and wanted me to get my academics on track. I couldnt do it over the summer because I had multiple programs every summer since freshman year. Does anyone know of anyone else who got it with little volunteering hours? I do have a lot to offer I just feel that volunteering should be voluntary and not something I need to do.</p>
<p>Yes this totally sucks! I dont even know what college I am going to now because I dont have any money to go…completely stressed! Im surprised they didnt select me as a finalist though because I put months and hard work into it…wow well I need to find something quick before deadlines on applications to these colleges end</p>
<p>To all the finalists, how long were your essays?
I didn’t think my essays were bad but a lot of them were short.
Like mostly 3500-4500 characters. One of them was actually 2500!
I was worried cuz they gave us spaces for 7800 characters and i couldn’t make my essays that long.
That’s why i was so surprised when i made it! </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone who hasn’t heard anything yet. Don’t lose hope!</p>
<p>i want to see my rejection letter in mail, now!</p>
<p>Be hopeful. It’s not over yet. =)</p>
<p>I actually wrote to Gates scholars asking them for help. Two looked over for of my essays and gave me good advice. You know what they all said? To write with your heart. They said there isn’t a specific amount to write. As long as you have told everything that was needed. Mm, so I wrote with heart in all of my essays. That’s why I think I’m pretty content with this all. Sigh, so I say. So, I don’t think there was a specific length needed. Just as much as was needed for you. That is why doing the online app was so much better than the paper app.</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me exactly what this scholarship offers? If i have a couple of other scholarships, will I still be able to use the Gates?</p>
<p>me too! I wish they could just tell me it’s over, instead of me patiently waiting for the letter/email to be sent! I got into UMASS Amherst and Northeastern–NEU only gave me $20, 000 soo most likely I’m SCREWED! I kinda like NEU, I just gotta wait to hear from the 10 other schools I applied to. thank the Lord for the fee waivers I got for everything…or else my parents would be broke by now. = /</p>
<p>Well… I’m hispanic, got the finalist letter yesterday
I’m from georgia. and i really thought i wasn’t gonna get this far. i still doubt ill be a scholar</p>
<p>i faxed the documents via office depot…how are u guys sending ur docS?</p>
<p>by the way… my acceptance letter to my school says my intended major is something else from what i wrote about… will that be a problem? b/c the major i wrote about is what i really do plan on doing i just havnt changed it with the school yet until i fully enroll</p>
<p>also… are we supposed to call to notify if they’ve received our documents???
Do you guys know if they’re available by phone on weekends!?
I’m getting quite impatient…and completely ignoring my current schoolwork.</p>
<p>Do you guys think that being a finalist helps at all for college admission? I’m thinking of calling all my schools about it. I mean, being a finalist does not mean that you are guaranteed money, but it does mean that you are in good standing for money(which means less burden on the university). Also, being a finalist is also an honor, indicating that you stand out among thousands for your community service and academics. So technically, wouldn’t the status of finalist be a considerable award?</p>
<p>I’m a finalist and I received all the extra papers I need to fax in. Does anyone know if submitting your papers earlier is better or does it not even matter?</p>
<p>I believe if you have all the necessary documents, why wait?</p>
<p>Hey Jfbycc,
so you’re a finalist and you got your letter in the mail.
Did you receive an email first?</p>
<p>Yes… I received an Email first on March 10th… but i honestly didn’t even have GMS on my mind at all. like i thot i wasn’t even going to get considered so i wasn’t checking up on my email so i got the letter yesterday (13th)… and then i checked my email and apparently i had received it on the 10th… but NOW I AM HELLA ALERT!</p>
<p>actually i got the email march 9th… my bad. i just checked my inbox again</p>
<p>my twin sister got it too… and apparently her recommender got an email too the same day … she, my sister, got the email and the letter on the same day (9th)</p>
<p>my letter was delayed one day…and my recommender didnt get any notification of my status as a finalist</p>