The Patterson covers housing cost of the Central I & Central II halls (the older of the “new” dorms), whether the student lives on campus or not. I believe you get the equivalent in money if you’re not living in the dorm. The meal plan is the most basic meal plan. There is [a thread from 2013 on College Confidential](National Merit, Honors at UK? - University of Kentucky - College Confidential Forums) that discusses the minimum meal plan. My daughter switched this semester to the meal plan with more “flex” dollars and fewer meal swipes. You can see the details on the dining plans at http://uky.campusdish.com/Commerce/Catalog/ShopSubCategory.aspx?category=All_Products_6975&lid=6975&root=Meal_Plan
My son was a Patterson Award winner LAST year. He decided to go to U Cinci using a Cincinnatus Excellence award instead. @ILfather has it right. It is hard to beat the UK deal and is the one I’d have chosen if I were him.
Interestingly, with the changes implemented in the fall of 2015, the Patterson Scholarship is now worth more than the Singletary Scholarship if one receives a college-sponsored National Merit or National Merit scholarship. Of course a Singletary winning the National Merit award will receive the same amount (I know of Singletaries who receive the National Merit stipend of $2,500). Otherwise, the two awards are financially identical. As has been previously noted, Singletary Scholars are required to enroll in a Singletary class and complete community service. Patterson scholars are treated like normal college students. So if you want more programming related to your scholarship, definitely apply for the Singletary, but if you don’t care about that and are NMF, just take the Patterson (of course you have to list UK as your first choice with NMSC on their website by the deadline). Some people will say that the Singletary is more prestigious, and that seems to be how the administration perceives it. Singletaries get one-on-one attention with the Singletary advisor, which could be invaluable, but at the University of Kentucky, there are so many other ways for highly motivated students to learn about various opportunities (i.e. the Chellgren and Gaines Student Fellows Programs as well as your Honors advisor). I will say that if you ever have the inclination to drop the Honors Program, you won’t be able to do so as easily as a Singletary Scholar as they are required to participate. If you get the Patterson, but not Honors Program, don’t let that be the deal breaker. I know people with 29 ACTs who got into Honors second semester as well as some Pattersons who got in once they arrived on campus. Then again, you might decide that you don’t need Honors. Another thing to keep in mind when evaluating different scholarship offers is the minimum required GPA. At UK for Pattersons, it is a 3.3, which is reasonable to expect. You can also take more than the limit of credit hours without incurring extra cost. For instance, I took 20 credit hours spring semester freshman year. I highly recommend UK, especially if you get the chance to go for free.