<p>CarolMerill,
I am sorry you and your daughter are feeling the disappointment of not making the final cut! I can certainly understand those feelings. My son was a finalist for both the Morehead and the Jefferson, and I agree that the Jefferson “rejection process” is perhaps a better one, although any rejection is going to sting. My son made so many good friends that finalist weekend for the Jefferson; none of that group of friends actually got the scholarship, but most of them ended up at UVA anyway and are happy there. My son was disappointed when he did not get it, but the sting didn’t last too long. At the finalist weekend at UVA, each finalist receives a Congratulatory acceptance letter from the University, at least a week before normal Acceptance letters go out. (Since everybody knows this policy, they all know they are accepted as soon as they find out they are finalists, but it is still a nice ceremony to have at the finalist weekend). Each finalist also gets a token scholarship ($2000 or $3000). So I think in general the Admissions Office at UVA may work more closely with the Jefferson Selection Committee and make all of the finalists feel wanted. I was surprised at UNC that not all finalists automatically get accepted - they have to be pretty special people to get that far, after all, and it made me think that Admissions and the Morehead Foundation have a different working relationship.</p>
<p>Having said that, my son is absolutely loving UNC as a freshman and I am delighted he chose that school over the Ivies and other colleges he got into, including UVA. I understand much of the decision comes down to costs, so good luck to you and your daughter in the scholarship/financial aid process. If those don’t pan out, UNC is still a bargain compared with the tuition elsewhere, so it might come down to whether your daughter felt any affinity with the place during her finalist weekend. My son came back from the finalist weekend in love with Chapel Hill and the institution, so it was always top of his list.</p>