questions about the Robertson

Colleges & Universities University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1

<p>Hi everybody!
I’m an instate student and I’m interested in applying for the Robertson. I just had a few questions about the program.

  1. How much of a commitment are the summer community service/trips? I saw it was an “8 week minimum,” which is quite lengthy. Is one allowed to leave for other obligations during this time?
  2. Does there appear to be a certain SAT score cutoff? I received a 2070 on the SAT, which I was pleased with and consider fairly competitive, but I am very aware that many individuals score higher.
  3. If selected further in the process, what are the interviews like?</p>

<p>Thanks, and any helpful comments would be much appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Robertson summers</p>

<p>The Robertson program provides generous funding for three summers. The first summer is relatively structured, while the other two are pretty open-ended.</p>

<p>The first summer involves living with other Robertson scholars in one of four predetermined locations (Atlanta, Georgia; Cleveland, Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; or Whitesburg, Kentucky). This is supposed to last eight weeks, but can occasionally be as few as six, and individual scholars can pick when they begin and end their summer. You can leave for family events and the like but your primary obligation during the first summer is to your community service placement/project.</p>

<p>The second summer gives you three options: participate in a group program led by a Robertson partner (in Argentina, Vietnam, or South Africa), create a new small group project (recent ones have been in India and Sierra Leone), or pursue an individual independent project (recent ones have been in London and Washington DC). This allows scholars to create their own summer experience if they’d like, or take advantage of existing connections and relationships the program has if they’d prefer to work on a project with other scholars.</p>

<p>The third and final summer is very open-ended. Scholars have access to over $6,000 in funding to pursue personal, professional, or academic goals as they prepare for life after graduation.</p>

<p>Cutoffs</p>

<p>The Robertson program is looking for people who will be able to succeed and thrive in the rigorous academic environments of Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill. That said, the program is much more interested in your ability to be a “change agent” than it is in your SAT scores. 2070 is a solid score, and while it’s probably lower than most Robertson scholars, if you stand out where it it really matters (potential to be a change agent) then I don’t think the score would stand in your way.</p>

<p>What next?</p>

<p>After applications are submitted, the next round is phone interviews, where candidates are asked to talk in greater depth about the topics they discussed in their application, as well as articulate how they would specifically contribute to and benefit from the Robertson scholars community. Note that only students who advance to this round of the selection process will be notified by the program.</p>

<p>Finalists are then flown out to UNC/Duke for a weekend that includes a panel interview and some sort of group interview, as well as informal opportunities to explore the campuses and learn more about the Robertson program. The panel interview typically consists of a half dozen prominent faculty, non-profit leaders, and business executives who interview each finalist.</p>

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<p>What obligations are you talking about? </p>

<p>The summer experiential learning trips are a very important component of the Robertson Scholarship. I would think that unless the other “obligations” were truly compelling it would not be looked kindly on but I could be wrong. From what I recall hearing, most Robertsons spend closer to 10-12 weeks on the service trips, but again that is how the several Robertsons that I know personally have spent their summers.</p>

4

<p>ThoughtProvoking, thanks for all the great info! This helped so much!</p>

<p>eadad, I guess “obligations” wasn’t really the right word. I was really just wondering if scholars would be granted leave to pursue other, shorter opportunities. More specifically, the speech and debate team at my high school hosts a week long camp for middle school students in the summer. While this may seem like an event lacking in significance, it is truly life changing to see how speech impacts the self-esteem of younger students. I’ve always hoped to continue to volunteer there after I graduate, as many alumni of our team come back to partipate</p>

<p>Obviously this wouldn’t affect whether or not I pursue the Robertson haha! If I was lucky enough to advance further in the selection process I would, it’s an amazing opportunity! I was just curious if we’d be allowed a short leave to explore other venues or if the Robertson summer is set in stone. Just finding out more about the program. :):)</p>