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The never ending application...


teachermom2834
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My ds is pretty set on attending U of Tennessee-Knoxville.  We are in state and it is a good choice for what he wants to do. It's on the expensive side of what we are comfortable with but it is doable and we agreed that he would put every effort into securing any scholarship he was eligible for. 

The way they do it is they send a scholarship link to fill out a scholarship application after the initial admissions application. So ds fills out the initial application. His scores are way above average and he knows he will be admitted but he has to really give his all on the application so he gets filtered into the highest potential scholarship pool. So, he lists all his activities and awards (and there are alot and no limit so takes forever). He writes the essay and the optional personal statement. He gets the required recommedation plus the one extra optional. Submits the application. Yay. that part is done.

So then he gets the scholarship link. None of the info from admissions carries over or is shared so he must once again enter all the info. Writes a new scholarship essay. Really works hard because this is where he for sure wants to go and needs every penny and competitive merit is tough. He shares his essay with me, which he generally does not like to do, because this is important and it was the deal that he would try to make it as strong as possible. He goes to submit and he needs a LOR again. I think surely he can't need to get another LOR from the same teacher. He calls the admissions office and learns that he does, indeed, need to get the letter sent again because admissions doesn't share with scholarship office. Okay, then. Goes back to de prof, who is out of class recovering from surgery, who kindly sends the letter again. Okay cool. That's done.

Wait...here is an email inviting him to apply to the top scholarship program. Great! This is the BIG ONE. Full tuition and fees + room and board + study abroad + he would get the state money he is entitled to for books, etc. Fantastic to get invited to apply. Essay prompt is right up his alley. Spends hours pouring over essay and making every word of the 600 word limit count. Keeps a positive attitude throughout. Hits submit, gives Mom a high five. WE ARE DONE. 

But wait...there's more...in his portal is another honors program application with a scholarship attached. Just announced and next year will be the first cohort. It is leadership and community engagement which he has in spades. So...here we go...hmmm...list activities and extracurriculars, two essays, another LOR (this time from someone in the community not a teacher) and now he gets to make a video pitching why they should choose him. And so it goes on and on and on...

Grateful for every opportunity to better his bottom line but goodness...glad he knows where he is going, Maybe some of his competition will burn out before they get to the end...if there ever is an end!

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😂 Oh, the memories!!!!!!!! YES! Those pop-up scholarships/programs applications KILLED US! 😅 Several of the schools didn't have all their scholarships/programs listed anywhere, so DDs just kept getting emails and/or portal alerts for more essays and more LORs needed! Especially re-asking for those LORs! Painful!

DD2 was a CHAMP and steadfastly took one step after the other and she applied to EVERY SINGLE thing she was interested in. It paid off, too, with a mega scholarship to her favorite school!!

DD1 made it about halfway and just said, "No more. I am done." and she was DONE. *shrug* She still wound up with a full ride somewhere, but it wasn't a great fit, so I'll always have regrets about not pushing her more.

DS has it so easy. He's already received a verbal commit for his #1 choice, so he's not bothering with any additional applications anywhere. If something happens with that #1 choice offer, he says he'll just take a gap year and apply to lots of schools then.

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Yes, yes, and yes. It also seems intended to make kids feel inadequate. I’m just not sure many teenagers have well thought out plans to change the world, and the idea that this is a prerequisite is daunting. Especially this year when so much has been cancelled or changed dramatically. I almost wonder if the goal is to get most of them to give up so the scholarship committee only has a few to evaluate. And whether it’s really worth putting a kid through it all. 

 

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21 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

 And whether it’s really worth putting a kid through it all. 

 

Yeah this part really gets to me. I knew with ds #2 that we wouldn’t get anything competitive so I didn’t make him go through it. This ds is close enough he has to do it all but still a long shot. 
 

My son’s girlfriend has also been jumping all these hoops while having a busy senior year with academics and other demands. Yet, she has been jumping all these hoops because she meets all the minimums to apply and supposedly be competitive. Well the EA decisions came out last night and she didn’t even make the honors program. So she isn’t going to get one of these competitive scholarships that goes to students in that program. Would have been nice to have that info before the competitive scholarship app was due. So much wasted time and effort when she was never in the running. That stuff gets to me. 

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On 12/15/2020 at 1:23 PM, teachermom2834 said:

Well the EA decisions came out last night and she didn’t even make the honors program. So she isn’t going to get one of these competitive scholarships that goes to students in that program. Would have been nice to have that info before the competitive scholarship app was due. So much wasted time and effort when she was never in the running. That stuff gets to me. 

oof. Yes. They could certainly order things in a way to ensure kids don't waste their time like that... 😕 That stuff gets me, too. Respect their time and energy!!!

Also agreeing with a PP that the system is definitely set up so that some kids burn out and don't finish the process to make it easier for the scholarship committees!

I will say that in our case for some of the uber competitive scholarships that DD applied for, she barely met some of the minimum requirements. And yet, she won almost everything she applied for, beating out kids with higher test scores, harder classes, and more traditionally-packed resumes. So, don't count yourself out if you're just meeting some of the minimum requirements - if the student balances that out with a heavier resume in other respects!!

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