<p>Hey everyone,
I am a mom of an 16 year old from Kosova (Europe).
My daughter has been nominated for a scholarship in UWCSEA and we have filled up the application forms on 6/19/2013, and sent them to our countries committee.
These people never asked to meet us (parents) in person.My daughter became close to another girl who was nominated for UWC Adriatic and has everything behind her regarding registration and even the plane ticket! She had everything done in a couple of days.Knowing this everything started to look suspicious to us.I contacted the committee and they told me that UWCSEA are now looking for a boy. My daughter was told that UWCSEA was specifically looking for a girl;the matter that gender plays a role in who wins a scholarship seems ridiculous to me. As a result that i lacked information I called the UWC committee in the UK and afterwards I also called the school in Singapore (UWCSEA); I got the sense that they didn’t even know what I was talking about. A day ago the committee members asked to meet up with me and my husband. Again we were told nothing new only that we should be patient and wait and that the answer will be sendfrom UWCSEA to us and the committee simultaneously. We live in a very poor country in which corruption is actively present everywhere. This leads me to believe that something is going on behind the curtains of this committee. The Kosova committee lost further credibility when I called the school in Singapore again and they told me that only the committee will be informed with news on if my child will be accepted or not. I would kindly ask anyone who has had similar experience to help me understand what is going on.
Thank you in advance, I appreciate every answer!</p>
<p>Greetings,
I’m a former UWC in Mostar student from the second generation. I also had the opportunity to serve as a selection committee member in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Albania. I usually was extra support for the newly formed committees around Balkans. As far as Kosovo goes there has never been a problem and I was never invited to go there or felt the need to, since that committee was always rated high in the international selection board. As far as I have understood from other international UWC family members who have taken part in helping the selection of students from Kosovo the UWC Committee in Kosovo was founded completely by former UWC students who have organized selection camps with minimal or no help from other sources other than their own members who contribute money on volunteer basis and also help selection completely on volunteer basis. So as far as the committee of Kosovo goes I can only assure you that you are most likely working with some of the best.
From the selection experience over the last 5 years, I can tell that you are a frustrated parent and I see cases often times when parents think their child is the best and there is no better. I also understand the frustration coming from waiting for emails. A committee usually sends up to 5 nominations to a school ranking them from 1-5, number 1 being committee’s first choice. However, the ultimate decision comes from the school and its selection board depending on multiple reasons to accept or reject students. Not all the school use the same methods to reply to a student who has been nominated. Some committees also don’t tell the nominees that they have been nominated but wait for the final decision from the school to avoid anxiety and to assure that certain degree of confidentiality in communication is maintained at all times. Some committees only inform their first choice nominee that they have been nominated not to create too much hope for people ranked 2nd to 5th. Also schools, when they accept or reject a students, they may or might not let students now that they have been rejected or accepted until everything is cleared. For example, some colleges will usually let committee’s first choice know he/she has been accepted but won’t let 2nd to 5th choice know until they confirm that their first choice has accepted the scholarship or rejected it.
You will be lucky if you get an answer from the school Singapore or any other college on why you child has been rejected. No college has to give reasons, so to me as an experienced selector the idea that your daughter was not accepted because of gender or Singapore was looking for a boy or a girl looks more like a gossip than an actuality in the selection. Remember this is a scholarship and nobody really owes an answer, not the specific school, not the Kosovo committee. Your daughter could have well just received a general rejection email from either the committee or the school, thanking her for participation and wishing her all the best. I think the Kosovo committee has gone too far meeting you and working that close with you to find a solution for your daughter. I’ve never seen such a practice in B and H, Macedonia or Albania. The committee never usually meets with parents before or after selection. After nominations have been sent of the committee may be nice and provide advisory help to parents and kids but has no responsibility to do so (Most UWC kids are nice though and they’ll do anything to help future UWCers, its a big family). The communication with parents is usually started by schools who secure places for kids. Please remember, its not only one person selecting students, its usually up to 5 people voting in the selection, sometimes even more, I don’t know what is the case in Kosovo but there must have been at least 5 people who came to an unanimous decision to nominate your daughter and then the president of the committee sends off the nominations.
Please remember that once a person joins UWC family, they try to live the mission of the movement for the rest of their lives. UWC kids are known to do great things in the world and am sure the Kosovo committee is trying to do the same, so bear with them, something good may happen and a placement for your daughter may be found. If not this year, she hopefully will have another chance. If you have any other concerns I hope you will address them here, so I can reply here. </p>
<p>Best of Luck,</p>
<p>Hello uwcimking,</p>
<p>Thank you very much for taking time to reply,you have helped clarify some things.Although I don’t quite understand why did you have the need to go down on a personal level, your quote :
“From the selection experience over the last 5 years, I can tell that you are a frustrated parent and I see cases often times when parents think their child is the best and there is no better”
I was not aware i was going to be psycho-analysed or getting any psychological counseling in here , since i think this forum is not the right place to do so. Please do keep in mind that my daughter was nominated by the committee members and not by ME, the reason i asked for help in here IS NOT that i blindly want something impossible, it’s rather asking for any answer and above all asking for transparency and justice.
To get to the subject , we still haven’t got any answer from both committee or the school in Singapore, and by now we have gotten used to it 
</p>
<p>Again I thank you very much for your reply </p>
<p>Best regards</p>
<p>Wolfmom, Bravo! I admire your optimism and determination! Had the exact reply to uwcimking in mind when I first saw it but guessed I wasn’t in a good position to comment. Uwcimking, no offence, you sounded as if you were siding and defending UWCSEA… wolfmom is just a worried mum, try to place yourself in her position. Wolfmom, I’m a Singaporean. I can’t help you on UWCSEA, it isn’t a Singaporean-owned institution… but if you need any info regarding Singapore, Singapore’s Education/Schools/Culture/Living environment, I’ll be glad to provide them!</p>
<p>Dear Wolfmom, </p>
<p>Im sorry to hear that you feel like you are being psychoanalyzed or getting psychological counseling. Thats really sad. In no way did I intend to give you a psychological analysis or offer you any psychological counseling. However, please bear in mind that this is an open forum subject to scrutiny by people of different backgrounds, intentions and needs. In the matter that you raise about me going down to a personal level I came to a conclusion (right or wrong) based on the patterns I see all the time on the field. It is similar to what you did when you said We live in a very poor country in which corruption is actively present everywhere. This leads me to believe that something is going on behind the curtains of this committee. Thus, you see corruption going on in Kosovo all time and you think this might be one of them. I, on the other hand, see parents wanting to results to be in their favor all the time and not being patient enough, in some cases not accepting the results and as such starting to create gossips or false allegations about selections committees being corrupted. If you feel strong about your subject matter you should raise a court case but please bear in mind that the suspicion on the committee being corrupted itself cannot be used and is not a proof that the committee is actually corrupted. Im sure you will get an official response eventually, either positive or negative which should clarify some more things to you. I strongly believe justice will be served. Please bare in mind, though, that justice has no sides and if you dont feel like justice has not been served and if you feel like you can prove the injustice you have suffered, you should take it to court. I strongly recommend that, instead of making allegations anywhere (including here) you take them to the proper institutions. Im glad that you have gotten used to waiting by now. It is the best virtue at certain times, I believe. </p>
<p>Cxavier,
I do not feel offended at all. I myself was a second time applicant when I was accepted. My parents felt similar to Wolfmom, when I was told, mid-august, that my profile did not fit the UWC-Adriatic College expectations and that my nomination was not picked by the college. Instead of my nomination, committees 3rd choice was accepted by the college. My parents, as well, made allegations because they didnt believe the system was working right. They called the school and asked all kind of questions and expressed all kinds of suspicions. Yet, the only suggestion the college made was for me to reapply and I did that .Only after I became of the UWC movement did I understand how wrong I was and how wrong my parents were. That is why I make my best possible to explain to the kids and to the parents not to get to fired up regardless of what answer they get, even if the answer neutral such is the nomination is still in consideration or the college has not had time to look at the nominations. In all the committees Ive been part of Ive seen members badly wanting to accept most of the applicants possible but the reality is that UWC can only accept so many people. </p>
<p>Am I siding or defending UWCSEA? Of course I am. I do feel very strong about UWC mission at large, and of course I feel hurt when people make allegations that I know do not stand. The Wolfmom, is asking for transparency and justice in this forum but this is not where justice is served. You see, everything is based on feelings and senses. She says I got the sense that they didn’t even know what I was talking about. (Thus, they didnt know what I was talking about, that what she is basically saying). Then the matter that gender plays a role in who wins a scholarship seems ridiculous to me. The college would never make gender as the only criteria for selection, it is absurd to think that such an institution would select based on gender. But you have to understand that the person was nominated not selected. Thus, if a boy with the same or a better profile than Wolfmoms daughter was nominated and the college really needed a boy to create a balance they would take the boy, I believe. Im sure that both the committee and the UWCSEA are and will be transparent and just doing their best to follow their standards of involvement. That take time and I only can wish for the best. Ultimately, writing here and making allegations such as Wolfmom has done, instead of closely working with the institutions at had, sheds such a bad light on such a humane mission and people and is very unnecessary in my opinion. </p>
<p>Anyways, I hope that Ive clarified to both of you some things. Please bear in mind that I dont intend to be personal but I cant ask you to feel different, if you feel as such. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>@Cxavier :</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your reply, i really was touched by your sincere lines
If we ever need any insider info regarding Singapore be sure you are the one to be asked since you are the only Singaporean we have ever communicated with, and based on this singular experience i can say I really like Singaporeans :)</p>
<p>All the best </p>
<p>WM</p>