Hello! I am a rising senior looking to apply for a POSSE scholarship. Based on google searches, it appears they want a lot of leadership and community service. However, a lot of their scholars also look like they do research as a sort of leadership role. Here’s my question: Where does research fit in on an application like this (if applicable)? As a twin, I have been doing twin research for the past 2 years to try to expand the amount of information available for parents raising twins to help their twin children achieve their full potentials. I have presented said research at regional, state, and international science fairs. It has been a really big part of my high school experience, and I would really like to fit it in somewhere because I think it would be different from some of the other applicants from my school. Should I leave it out? The questions my counselors have asked are: “Write a paragraph telling us about a time when you demonstrated leadership skills.”, “One of the key aspects of POSSE is the leadership component. Describe in detail any leadership roles you have had over the years.”, and “Please write a paragraph explaining why you want to be nominated for the POSSE scholarship and why you think you would be a good fit.” If not, where should I include it?
You are not applying for the Posse Scholarship, your high school is nominating you.
Posse will accept all of the nominees from your high school. However, your high school has a limit on the number of students it can nominate. For the Chicago Posse, each non-magnet CPS public high school and two suburban high school districts can each nominate 10 students for Posse per high school. Public magnet schools can nominate 15 each (I think). I am not sure how many can be nominated by each civic organization. Each of the students who are nominated will participate in the DAP selection process, regardless of what they have done in their lives.
So you are not making a case for Posse, but for your counselor/high school.
So you need to know what you high school is looking for in the students it wants to nominate, and I don’t know that anybody here can help you, since we do not know what your high school requires.
What is the success rate for your schools POSSE nominees?
Your academics will determine the college with which your are matched, if you make it to Finalist, but whether you make it that far is determined by your performance in the DAP interviews and activities.