Parents of the HS Class of 2017 (Part 1)

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
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A HUGE Congrats to @srk2017 ,@crazym0m and @LoveTheBard !

On a less happy note I want to let other parents know what is going on at IU with their Fry Scholarship (by invite only for URMs that are directly admitted to the Kelley business school) so I am sharing this post that I wrote today for FB today:

I finally lost my mind and went Rambo Mom on IU!

I feel better about telling the head of the Fry scholarship that their process is duplicitous and misleading.
He was borderline condescending until I explained that I would be sending a detailed letter to the the Fry family explaining how IU misleads these students…I swear I heard the guy choke on his coffee. He suddenly became very solicitous. My problem is IU states the scholarship is “rolling” to string kids along for months when in fact it is a tiered system that picks students for an initial round in January while they tell the rest “we are still evaluating your application” as IU waits to hear what the first tier decides.This is unbeknownst to the waiting applicants who have no idea they are second choice. Thankfully another kind parent clued me in and IU was forced to come clean when I called for information yesterday

I can take a straight " no" but I can’t stand a shady “maybe” hence my call today. At the end Mr. Condescending
was apologizing all over himself and assuring me the process would be evaluated for next year.
I may not have accomplished anything but at least they now know that someone is aware and called them out on it…
I am at peace and hope this post will help other clueless parents like myself.

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Congrats @LoveTheBard your good news just keeps rolling in!! How will your daughter ever make a decision?
AMAZING!

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@Cubanmom3 - So sorry to hear about the IU Scholarship. I hate that so many of these scholarship selections processes lack transparency. How great of you to stand up to them - gotta love Rambo Mom!

I remember reading a thread a while back about finalists for American University’s full ride scholarship having to create 4-5 minute videos. People were complaining that when they checked the youtube stats, they saw that the videos were never even watched. Terrible to make kids jump through hoops for no reason!

D just had to choose between two scholarship interview programs – Emory and Wash U. She went with Wash U…Emory wouldn’t budge enough on their 4-day (!) program…I think asking kids to give up nearly an entire school week (it’s not even a weekend!) for a scholarship competition that sounds a bit like a reality TV show series of ranked group interviews is a bit over the top. They graciously offered to let D17 leave at 8:30pm on day 3 (which overlapped with another program), as if that would be at all helpful…Ummm, not so much.

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Congrats @LoveTheBard. I agree asking kids to come for one scholarship interview is crazy knowing that there are so many other schools which do interviews for full ride scholarships.

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@LoveTheBard Thanks for the support. This really galled me so I had to address it and just let it go. I feel so much better.
D got a "no but thank you for applying "from Vandy today and that was fine because to their credit everyone is notified at the same time
.( Congrats to your D -well deserved!) That is how it should be in my opinion.

I am glad you chose Wash U :slight_smile: I think the girls will have a great time!

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Congrats to the Vandy scholarship winners @LoveTheBard @srk2017 and @crazym0m!

Tough decisions on scholarship interview days–but I agree that FOUR DAYS is beyond ridiculous! It would take a kids weeks just to catch up from the missed school after that!

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@carachel2 - Thankfully, D is on break that week, but I agree – it’s waaaayy over the top.

@Cubanmom3 - So glad our Ds (and @Dolemite’s!) will meet up at Wash U! I just pm-ed you

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@LoveTheBard --just because I’m nosey, I would love to see the full schedule of events for a four day scholarship interview like that! I mean…how many faculty events, dinners and interviews can one have???

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@srk2017 - In fairness, Emory’s was for a full-ride scholarship. But 4 days is outrageous. Gotta love the Vandy’s CV that doesn’t make you jump through hoops and sing for your proverbial supper.

USC was fine – one overnight, an interview the following morning and you get to sit in on a couple of classes, meet faculty, etc. In and out in 24 hours.

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@carachel2 - You ask, I deliver:

Tuesday, March 28

Arrival and Registration
Lunch Buffet
Campus Tours
Opening Dinner and Arts Showcase with Scholar Hosts

Wednesday, March 29
Morning Interviews*
Department Lunch with Faculty & current Scholars Afternoon Interviews*
Emory Scholars Program Overview
Dinner with Faculty Hosts & Current Scholars Dessert Reception with Emory’s President

Thursday, March 30
Morning Interviews*
Lunch with the Dean of the College
Afternoon Interviews*
Atlanta Area Venue Visit & Dinner Banquet with Faculty Speaker
with Current Scholars, Faculty, and Alumni

Friday, March 31
Small Group Meet-Ups
Closing Lunch with Current Scholars Departure
Dinner Provided for Late Departures

Besides the four days (!) two things galled me. The first is that they could not dig up a single humanities professor among the faculty to meet with (the closest they came was “creative writing.”) The other choices included natural and laboratory sciences, computer science, and social sciences (psychology, sociology, political science). The second is that it really feels like a “chopped” type of competition:

How are interviews conducted?

Interviews are scheduled throughout Finalists’ Week. Members of the selection committee include faculty, current and alumni Scholars, and staff. They work in teams of three to five to conduct each interview session. You will participate in three interview sessions where you will be interviewed in groups of four to six Finalists.

The composition of the Finalist group you interview with will change for each of the three interview sessions. This is a great way to help you meet other future potential Scholars as well as meet a variety of faculty, current and alumni Scholars, and staff.

The interviews begin with introductions. In the past, some interviews have been discussion-based where a selection committee member will pose a question, and the conversation will take off from there. Other interviews have been activity-based, where students work together as a large group or in pairs.

This may be hard to believe, but past Finalists have indicated that interviews were one of their favorite parts of the Finalists’ Week! Here are quotes from some past Finalists as written on their evaluations at the end of their visit.

“The interviews were my favorite part of the process.”

Somehow, I doubt that…

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Imagine some one travelling from CA small to mid towns which don’t have direct flights to Atlanta.That it self is half day lost in travel in each way. That’s one of the reasons we limited applications that require interviews.

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Wow. I think interviewing potential scholarship recipients is a good thing. But four days and three different sets of interviews is just…a bit much!

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@srk2017 - for better or worse, D hadn’t visited any of the schools she applied to (other than Rice, which flew her in, and a few CA schools). These scholarship “weekends” are great ways to see the schools, but they can be a bit overwhelming…

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@LoveTheBard - We also didn’t visit any schools and only visits are for interviews only.

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@LoveTheBard Emory’s scholarship competition sounds quite similar to UGA’s though a day longer. Must be a Georgia thing. And the interview questions were tough. But D did have a great time that weekend.

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Congrats to all the Vandy scholarship winners!!! @lovethebard @srk2017 @crazym0m

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Four days for a scholarship interview is ridiculous. That can be accomplished much more efficiently than 4 days. I guess at that point it has to be close to someone’s #1 choice to miss four days of school.

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@LoveTheBard While I understand that four days is exorbitant, especially considering the crazy schedules of these super kids, the prize is worth well over $250,000. In that context, Emory is holding the cards. I just hope that the runners-up are compensated with a generous consolation package.

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Congrats to @srk2017 @crazym0m and @LoveTheBard! The Vandy winners

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@STEM2017 – I was also worrying about the kids not selected. That is a very long time to invest and come out without the grand prize! @LoveTheBard – sounds like you have lots of great options! Did your DD like the Grinnell event?