<p>I applied for GMSP but haven’t received any notification yet…Hispanic female from Houston, TX. Does this mean I wasn’t selected as a finalist?</p>
<p>@PaolaPenguin95, you can check your status by logging in online. Under “Package Status” it should say either Non-Select or Finalist.</p>
<p>@Abcerv14, based on information I found online last year, at this point your entire application has been scored. Now it’s a criteria review and a ladder…as one falls off the ladder another moves up. Make sense?</p>
<p>What are the potential reasons for a finalist to not receive the Gates Millennium Scholarship? I have always been a little confused by that. Does a “first-come-first-served” basis come into play when sending in those last five documents? Or is it all “score-based” combining the score of the essays (qualities) with the documents (financial and academic origin)? How are winners selected? </p>
<p>This is my understanding, each applicant is already ranked 1-500 per division. Now you are in the criteria phase. Let’s say #2 does not meet the criteria (based on 5 docs being submitted), number 2 drops and everyone left moves up 1 step on the ladder. </p>
<p>Another way to look at this is to say that applicants ranked 1-250 do not meet GMS criteria, but 250-500 do, now those ranked 250-500 get the big package in the mail mid April. </p>
<p>Hope this makes sense.</p>
<p>@ScubaMom9026, if I may ask, where did you obtain this information? </p>
<p>At this stage, they are asking for 4-5 items. One of them is an acceptance letter. Is it better to send an acceptance letter from an Ivy League/highly selective school or from a school that is more of a safety?</p>
<p>@NewHavenCTmom It is not supposed to matter; however, it does say to send the acceptance letter from the college you plan to attend. Personally, I would send the Ivy one! <em>GO Princeton!</em></p>
<p>@ScubaMom9026 thank you! that clears things up for me!</p>
<p>Has anyone received a “Y” underneath the “reviewed” column for their uploaded forms on the finalist website? </p>
<p>@serendipity14, gosh, I really don’t remember. I did so much research last year when my son was named a finalist. I may have read it on this message board from previous years or I may have seen it on a university youtube presentation. </p>
<p><a href=“"Investigating the Effects of the Gates Millennium Scholars and Washington State Achievers Programs" - YouTube”>"Investigating the Effects of the Gates Millennium Scholars and Washington State Achievers Programs" - YouTube; </p>
<p>I also remember reading/hearing that the essays were actually an aptitude test grading the applicants on how well they would perform at the college level. </p>
<p>@cynthia808 Yes, I have Y’s in my review column.</p>
<p>im sure you are supposed to have y’s there</p>
<p>Oh wow, I feel like I’m one of the only ones who does not have the y’s there. Just going to have to wait and see then!</p>
<p>@rhythmandbible @Swatboy Do you know how many days it took for your documents to update themselves with the “y”? </p>
<p>@cynthia808 It only took a matter of hours. I submitted the documents just before noon, and when I checked my status at 3:30 that afternoon, I had Y’s in my review column. What ethnic group are you? Mine is UNCF.</p>
<p>@cynthia808 Also, if you call the Gates Millennium number, you can check to see if they have reviewed your documents. Have your birth date and ID (zip code + last 4 digits of your phone number) available. 
Let me know if you need anything else.</p>
<p>@rhythmandbible I’m APIASF! The odd thing is that when I call in, it says 5/5 of my documents have been received…but my status page does not have the “y’s” at all. It’s been almost two weeks since I submitted my documents. LOL, I seriously think I’m just being paranoid right now, but it’s making me very anxious 
</p>
<p>I’m sure it’s nothing, but you might consider calling your ethnic group’s scholarship fund just to ensure that all is well. </p>
<p>I have Y’s in all of mine.</p>
<p>@Cfletch What ethnic group are you? Where are you from? What college do you plan to attend? What is your intended major?</p>