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<p>Last year the conference in Virginia was around the 3rd week of September I believe, and everybody stays at the hotel where the conference is being held. I think it was a Marriott. They also sent D a prepaid debit card with enough money on it to handle transportation to the airport, and then back to her school when she returned.</p>
<p>Uh… I kinda have a dumb question about the Gates Scholarship.</p>
<p>What do we do now? Just chill out or is there something specific we’re suppose to do? Because I can’t find any more information at all (like activities or events we’re suppose to attend) </p>
<p>And also, should we be actively using the <a href=“http://www.gmsconnection.org/[/url]”>http://www.gmsconnection.org/</a> and the [::</a>. The Gates Millennium Scholars .::](<a href=“http://www.gmsp.org/scholar/scholarhome.aspx]::”>::. The Gates Millennium Scholars .::) websites?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>yupp. they’d like you to actively use gms connection but… i haven’t. it’s kinda like a facebook only for gms kids.</p>
<p>I want to apply for this scholarship. Any advice? I’m African American and live in Memphis, TN. Upcoming senior. I am heavily involved in after school activities (SGA, Key Club, National Honor Society, Beta Club, Shelby County Student Advisory Board, Bridge Builders, HOSA, Ladies of Roses Mentoring Program). I made a 29 on my ACT and the second time I made a 30. I will be taking the SAT in the fall and the ACT one more time. I take lots of AP classes and honors classes.
I do community service at least once a month, but I’m working on that. The only reason I don’t do more is because I have a job and it is really hard to schedule it in. (will they take that into consideration?) In the spring, I volunteer a lot more often as the baseball team assistant. I’m working on finding a retirement home to volunteer at, possibly even the hospital.
Any advice is welcome!!! PLEASE :)</p>
<p>msladiee, I was chosen to be a Gates Millenium Scholar this year. The application is brutal and they ask you a lot of questions. You answers to the questions are very important. Be very honest with them and tell a compelling story as to why you need the scholarship. They don’t want some supper polished answer… they was to know who you are and what you circumstances are. In my case, both my parents are alcohol and drug addicted and if it wasn’t for my grandmother (81 yrs old) and my aunt, I would be nowhere. Because of the drugs, I was born prematurely and have learning disabilities. My aunt worked with me on homework every night at the kitchen table… my grade were really bad in the early grades and my writing was almost illegible do to minor motor skill problems. My aunt made me take singing lessons because math and music are processed on the same side of the brain, and she read that music help develop that side of your brain. Basically, the more I sang, the better my math skills got. my grades started improving steadily from about 6th grade on, and I finished off high school with AP calculus and was 4.0 throughout my high school years. I was very active in school but couldn’t work or do much community service because I had to help take care of my grandmother who in not well, so I just told them that. Just be very honest with them. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket though… There were 22000 applicants this year and only 1000 get picked, so that’s only less than 5%…</p>
<p>missladiee… Your best bet is to look for colleges that meet 100% of the need. They often have their own formula of calculating your need which makes it different than the FAFSA Expected Family Contribution, but it is in the ballpark. For instance, Lafayette College in Pennsylvania is one of these and if you parents income is under $50,000, the package they put together includes no loans! Great school, great opportunity. All the Ivy Leagues meet 100% of need. Also, some of the better Liberal Arts schools like Swarthmore, Trinity etc. Apply to the Ivy Leagues and other schools with large endowments…they have more ability to help. My mother is unemployed and my father is not in the picture in any way, shape or form. I did the FAFSA and CSS Profile. I had to request that they not consider my father’s income which isn’t much anyway since he is a fork lift driver and wouldn’t cooperate even to tell us how much he makes for the forms. It’s a lot of work, but they waived it. I’m going to Smith College because I felt they gave me the best package with only $3500. in loans. I also got the Pell Grant and work study and Smith gave me a grant to make up the rest except for the amount they felt my mother should contribute which was $1300. Lafayette decided my family contribution would be $5000. They gave me work study and I got the Pell and beyond that Lafayette picked up the rest with no loans. Look at the better schools. It would have cost more for me to go to a state school than to Smith or Lafayette. Another great school that is very very generous is Clarkson University(famous for ice hockey team) in upstate NY. I could have gone there for a $2500. loan and work study. It’s far, but a very cool and innovative school. Close to Canada. The better private schools is your best bet. Also interesting is Berea College in Kentucky… if you get accepted,(35% acceptance rate) everything is free including your books, computer etc. They have a restaurant on campus and all the students have jobs. My guidance counselor went to visit the school and said it is really nice… You have to have good grades and low income… you would qualify based on your stated income.
Also, York College in Pennsylvania - the tuition, room and board is only like $13,000 maybe because it is kind of rural. Hope this helps you and anyone else looking for a way… Smith is a really great school… I almost passed it up because it isn’t coed, but my aunt forced me to go on an overnight and that was it… I loved it. Check out their web site. Are you going into a science or math? Gates will pay for undergrad no matter what your major is, but it also helps all the way through the masters and doctorate for math, the sciences and library science. I’m going to study engineering…
Whatever you do, don’t wait till last minute to write your essays… they take a lot of time… some kids waited till the day they were due to write the essays and of course they didn’t get it. read everything carefully and keep following up with your recommender and nominator to make sure they get their part in on time… if anything is late, you are automatically knocked out of the running. my aunt lived in memphis for a year (on Poplar) and then went out to Rossville, TN with a doctor to help set up a clinic there. She said it was called the Poor People’s Health Clinic …that was in the early 70’s and she thinks it has been re-named since then… she was a nun at the time, but left the convent while in TN, but stayed there to get the clinic up and running. Small world, right? Hope all this helps.</p>
<p>what i’ve been telling everyone who’s PM’ed me is to just speak from the heart. your essays don’t all have to be super long. some of mine were less than 400 words, but if it’s from the heart, and what you say is genuine, that’s all that matters. also, you need to point out what makes you unique from the other 20,000+ applicants. if you do that, and your recommender/nominator can write a heartfelt recommendation, then you are that much closer 
just know it’s not an exact science, and you may have had terrible hardships in your past but not be awarded this scholarship. you never know. if you don’t get it, that does not take away from the hard work you’ve put into your work, and that does not mean you were any less deserving.</p>
<p>I would recommend that you pour your heart and soul into your essays. That is the most significant aspect of your application. There are several questions that you are required to write on. Make sure you address the topic and always answer the question. If after you answer the question, you find yourself beginning to write about something relevant to the topic that will provide greater insight on the kind of person you are, then keep on going. Just make sure to answer each and every question carefully and honestly to the best of your ability. You can’t go wrong with being honest. Communicate your passion through your writing.
I also had an excellent nominator/recommendor. Although I never had the teacher for any classes throughout my 4 years, he knew me really well. I actually met him on the very first day of school in my freshman year and then went on to become his aide up through my 11th grade year. Even when things got hectic during the school year, I always made the time to visit him at one time or another throughout my days. Needless to say, we communicated very well. He was familiar with me as a student in my school as well as a person in the community. If you have a teacher or even a counselor or someone with whom you’re very close, you should ask that person to be nominator and/or recommendor [you can have one person do both forms, as I did].
As for the extracurricular activities, I was involved in many many many things in school as well as in the community. However, if you have a job and this hinders your ability to partake in such activities, they will take that into consideration. If you have family obligations, that will be taken into consideration as well. They even request that you mention this either in the essays or in a separate part of your application [I forget which] because they want to understand the role you play at home, school, and in the community.
I hope this helps. Good luck on your application! Don’t stress too much.</p>
<p>Man… i remember applying for this scholarship on a whim. i really thought i stood no chance b/c i lacked community involvment/service and had NO LEadership positions . i was simply a member of several mediocre clubs. but i was like…what the heck . let me just do these essays. for me, the essays were the easiest part b/c i truly did pour out what i’ve always felt like saying at times. it took me one saturday to complete all those essays… i didnt have anyone edit them for me. it was just me who reread them like 2 times (after i submitted them, there were like 2 grammar errors so i freaked a little). although my grades and classes were exceptional ( i was in the top 2% in my school and had 8 overall ap classes and 2 ib, my weighted gpa was 4.67ish) as stated b4, i had little community service and no leadership appeal. i believe what convinced gms that i was a leader in the community despite my limited participation is my explanation for not being able to participate. i’ve pretty much have had to stay home and babysit and do all the chores while my parents work in menial jobs for like 12+ hours a day. plus, i’ve endured other unfavorable circumstances which i will not go into detail. …anywho, if you have passion to go to college and have had hardships that make it difficult for you to achieve this dream then writing the essays will be a piece of cake. you won’t stop typing like me. (all the planning i did was look at each ? b4hand and write the main idea i would discuss, then i just lived on microsoft word for the entire day). also, if you lack leadership positions (you weren’t ‘president’, ‘secretary’, ‘vp’, etc… of any club) remember that being a leader isnt simply defined by a tag as simple as ‘president’. that is what i explained. i showcased how despite this shortcoming, i voiced my opinion and organized crap …most importantly, leadership doesnt just thrive at school but at home. i talked about how i’ve helped my family and friends…</p>
<p>good luck to you all. p.s i know this scholarship is THE scholarship. but like my college is paying everything anyway. GMS only pays for what is left, unmet aid, and apparently my gms award is like $50. so yeah. GMS THANKS A LOT lol… STILL im planning on maybe transferring to a much more $$$ college depending on what i plan on studying so i’ll be milking GMS then, IF i transfer.</p>
<p>o i forgot, another weakness of mine was that i am naturally aperson who doesn’t really talk to teachers so i thought my recommender/nominator (i knew one for 2 years and one for like a year) wouldnt write much about me but i guess they did. i was afterall a very hardworking student…and hardwork pays off.</p>
<p>my twin sister also won it. thank god. that would have been cruel. that was also a fear of mine. my sister received notification as a finalist first. i tried to hide my angst while i congratulated her. luckily, mine came the next day. we both had forgotten about this scholarship after applying until those letters in march (afterwards, i joined this forum) .even after those letters, we were still a bit skeptical…then PARANOID… then in april that fedex truck delivered those packages and the rest is history…</p>
<p>good luck to you all!!! </p>
<p>VIVA LA RAZA!! ( i’m mexican american)</p>
<p>OBAMA 2012 !! LOL</p>
<p>Lol im also mexican american im applying for the GSM any tips for me JFBYCC?
Help out another mexican?</p>
<p>does anybody know the stats of gms?
what percentage of students that apply receive the scholarship?
what is the average gpa? stuff like that</p>
<p>Gosh darn it, I freaking regret not applying for this scholarship! I am going to be so jealous if my other friends that have applied win this. I have won other scholarships, but this is the only scholarship that actually covers the FULL thing.</p>