<p>tutydau, I think you underestimate the quality of the applicant pool to the Foundation Fellowship. I know plenty of 1500+ SAT/4.0+ GPA people who applied and didn’t even get to the interview stage. When you have several hundred 1500+ SAT/4.0+ GPA applicants for 20 or so fellowships, you can certainly pick and choose among them for all those outstanding other attributes. And believe me, if you get to the interview weekend, you’ll see that they do a great job selecting outgoing, brilliant, impressive students as finalists. </p>
<p>The admissions process is a bit like the Rhodes/Marshall/Truman scholarship process- they’re looking for leaders, doers, innovators, etc. who will probably go on to bring glory to UGA (and, of course, compete for those big-name scholarships). At the interview stage, test scores really don’t matter as much- it’s how you think under pressure, interact with others, etc. that matters.</p>
<p>Also, since the social aspect is such a major part of the Fellowship, they’re also looking for a balanced class that can get along with each other and build on each others’ strengths. As corny as it sounds, it works. </p>
<p>By the way, one of the most successful fellows in recent years had a mere 1400 SAT score. If the rest of your application is stellar or you bring something truly unique, they may overlook a weak point or two.</p>