I received an invitation! I’m so excited!
congratulations @avisomani
I’ve heard that if you accept the McDermott scholarship that you are not allowed to get a job while in school. Anyone know if this is true and if so how they handle internships?
@3scoutsmom you can have internships. anything that contributes to your professional or personal development is fine. they just dont want you holding a job at say a fast food place just for the sake of earning spending money. they give a $1400 monthly stipend for a reason.
@bigreddawgie Do you have any advice for finalist weekend?
Look at post #138. It gives some description about the finalist weekend.
@avisomani agree with GTAustin. Post #138 is pretty good overview. Something that will be different this year is that for the individual interviews, its will be with alumni. Of course, know your application backwards and forwards. and have a good answer for why you want to be a mcdermott scholar and what you will bring to the program, utd, dallas community.
@bigreddawgie (and anyone else who might know 
)
Quick question about the minimum ACT / SAT scores - does anyone know if higher is better, or if it’s more like as long as you meet the minimum requirement, your outcome will probably be decided by some other part of the process?
S is a probable NMF with a 1490 SAT - 780R, 740W, 730M for a three-part breakdown, or 760 ERBW / 730M. He is leaning toward retaking to break 1500, and for the opportunity to superscore. However, if it truly doesn’t matter and his time would be better spent elsewhere, that would be helpful to know.
@DiotimaDM higher is always better, but once you reach the minimum, other stuff will come into play. but of course, the top candidates will have high scores and other desirable things. If those were my scores, I probably wouldnt retake.
Thanks, @bigreddawgie !
Now that I’m getting into the nitty-gritty issues of scholarship taxes for DD, can anyone tell me how the McDermott scholarship is reported? Since they have responsibilities beyond GPA do the kids get a 1099 so they can report it as earned income or is it reported as unearned income and subject to the “Kiddie Tax” ?
Never dreamed I might need to consult a CPA before considering various scholarships!
My DD is not a McDermott but is on the NMF award. She did not receive anything from UTD. Their online instructions state they will not generate a 1098T for McDermott’s or NMF. It is the strangest thing. I tried calling and requesting one but they would not accept my request, said my DD had to do it. Of course, she didn’t. So, I put down her stipend (less books) as taxable income and was subjected to the Kiddie Tax. It will be more of a problem next year with 2 semesters. They seem to be treating McDermott’s and NMF the same, so I would expect the “Kiddie Tax” to apply.
^correct. Need to ask for a 1098T and all the numbers will be on there. It’s unearned income
bigreddawgie@ states an important fact. The scholarship amount for room and board is considered unearned income vs earned. I do believe the first $2100 is taxed at the students income tax %, above that it is taxed at the parent’s highest %.
Now that the class has been announced, I want to thank @bigreddawgie and everyone who contributed to this thread. All of the insights gathered here were invaluable and I think truly helped my son during Finalist weekend. Very, very excited that he has been named a Scholar.
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations!!
Now that the silence period is over, my daughter is a 2017 McDermott Scholar, Very happy with decision.
My daughter chose McDermott over these schools:
Harvard (with substantial financial aid)
Rice (With merit scholarship)
Emory (With LAS scholarship)
Johns Hopkins (With Hodson?? Scholarship)
7 year medical FAME program at UTSA
UTSA Top Scholar.
Northwestern
Barnard
and UT Austin.
Congratulations to this year’s class of McDermott Scholars!
@rice2019, Good luck. I am sure that you made a right decision. Program is very lucky to have your D. This is a great program for students who are cutthroat when it comes to competition. Stress management is key to success in this program. While in overall success of an individual, undergrad experience may weigh more than the school it-self, brand equity does matter in the professional growth in longer term.