<p>Hello,
My teen was recently a semi-finalist for the Morehead Cain scholarship. They initially knew very little about UNC and this program, however, once they learned about it they were ecstatic about the possibility. After learning how competitive it is, my teen labored for days over their application and made the first cut. Their out of state skype interview went really well and they had a good feeling about their prospect for becoming a finalist. They enjoyed the interview and became ecstatic about the program. About a week before the decision letters were to be posted, my teen received a letter at home from MC with a brochure, encouraging them to look into the program more and “facebook” them. My teen did all of that. There were also some great compliments and feedback from the person who interviewed them after the interview. My teen’s guidance counselor, and others we know who have worked in admissions, felt that they had probably decided to select them, else why would they send the brochure just a week before the letters come out (rather than as soon as the students are selected as semi-finalists and have not yet been interviewed)? At any rate, my teen was not selected in the end. They are handling it in a very mature way, and I’m really impressed. I just feel like the way MC handles the communication is a bit misleading. A bit like sending someone flowers after the first date but then a week letter emailing them and saying “it’s over.” It’s an incredible honor just to be selected as an applicant to MC, let alone to make SF status. I think since they are all about compassion and empathy they should try to find a way to honor the kids who don’t make it with some kind of certificate, and not woo them and compliment them to the point they feel like they are likely in, which gets their hopes up. Prior to that warm and positive feedback, my teen was very realistic about the odds, so I think it’s misleading. I’m not sure if others feel the same way or not, but either way, I would love to hear your thoughts. My teen is an incredible student, perfect GPA and test scores, but much more important, passionate about helping others and being a leader in causes they care about. Honestly, I have never met anyone as thorough and passionate as they are, who genuinely loves learning and helping others. I feel badly for them to have worked so hard and cared so much about this but I know other things are in store for them. The other reason I am posting this is just to let other MC semi finalists who did not make it know that they aren’t alone and that they should not see it as a reflection on their performance on the interviews, questions and so on. To those who made it though, a hearty congratulations!</p>
<p>My daughter was a fianlist last year and did not make it, she was terribly sick during the fnalist weekend, and considers it one of the biggest dissapointments in her life/ But she is happy where she is and I think in this case it worked out for the best,(althought the perks would have been REALLY nice)</p>
<p>Hi Down to Earth,
I am sorry to hear that your daughter made it so far only to get sick the final weekend. I think it is probably easier to deal with the disappointment at an earlier stage in the game than after a weekend of meeting such wonderful people, and learning more about the opportunities. The fact that she still sees it as one of the major disappoints of her life concerns me though (not just for her but for ALL the talented young people who don’t make the final cut). Rather than feeling immensely proud of the fact that, first, they were noticed by their schools as outstanding in the MC criteria, and two, made it past the first one or two rounds of cuts, suggests that they are all remarkable candidates. Many of them take time out of their very busy lives to spend on the preparation, and some never even heard of MC before being nominated. I wish they could have given students like your daughter some sense of accomplishment even though she didn’t get the scholarship in the end. At any rate, glad to hear she landed somewhere else she is happy with.</p>