@tx1707, have you had any direct contact with this program? The selection process is similar to many other universities for this type of award. Yes, it is competitive but what they are offering is very desirable. My DD knows the McDermott scholars that are on campus and finds them to be nice, out going, friendly, smart kids.
As far as the brand equity, that is your opinion. There have been numerous McDermott scholars that have turned down the Ivy League for this honor. The most successful people that I know did not graduate from the Ivy League but from state schools. The school promotes these scholars and opens many doors for them both academically and for networking. It is a great honor to be chosen and your post sound a lot like sour grapes.
I found my answer shortly after asking it of course! It agrees with your numbers @GTAustin except it seems maybe 1500 apps are started but much less are actually submitted.
@DavidPuddy - if my memory serves from finalists weekend 400 of the completed applications met the minimum standards. From those, 67 were invited to finalists weekend and 24 received the award.
@tx1707 - I don’t understand your comment at all. Having met many current scholars and alumni during finalists weekend, there was never a sense of cutthroat competition. Much care is given to making sure that the scholars work cooperatively with one another. Finalists weekend in many ways seemed like a very large family reunion occurring concurrently with the interview process.
Congratulations to the McDermott Scholars for this year! My son was chosen as a scholar in 2012, but ultimately decided to attend MIT. It was the absolute right decision for him, but he and I were both very impressed with UTD and the McDermott Scholars program.
My S applied early but wasn’t selected as an early finalist. He wasn’t eliminated though, so he’ll be considered with the pool of regular deadline applicants.
My D applied for early consideration and wasn’t selected as an early finalist either, but will be put in with the pool of regular deadline as well. Mcdermott staff informed me that the mass majority of early applicants will be put in the regular pool.
@3scoutsmom Thanks! Congrats to your D for making early finalist—very difficult feat to achieve! Would you mind sharing some of her stats and accomplishments?
@colorfulhuman The staff at Mcdermott office informed me that it’s really difficult to be an early finalist and they pick like 10 of them. She also said very few applicants will be rejected but the masses will move into the January pool.
My S had a good laugh the other day when he received a notification from McDermott reminding him of the regular deadline, even though he was an early applicant and had already been reviewed in the early read round.
Less than a month left to hear a definitive answer on finalist status! Already a month has flown by since S got his deferral notification, and with the start of the new semester I suspect February 1 will be here before we know it. Congrats to all the early finalists and good luck to all still waiting to hear.