Challenge and Community: The Appeal of UD

If you’d stopped by to chat with a member of a group of bewildered high school students with straps and folders walking around campus a couple of weekends ago, you’d be featured in the final round of University of Dallas scholarship applicants. Superiority competition. Now in its fourth year, the scholarship competition invites the top applicants of the upcoming freshman class to visit the campus for the weekend, attend test lectures and speeches by UD faculty, and participate in a full scholarship essay competition.

While more than 80 students were invited to campus this year to compete, only 10 scholarships are available. Who receives these scholarships is entirely determined by the students’ essays and the grades they receive from faculty members who know nothing about the student other than the ID number.

Carey Christenberry, director of admissions, says an essay contest is the best and most practical way to see who really excels at UD. He said, “The reality is that the more skilled you are at [essay writing], the more you really feel that this student has a more complex writing style and a larger vocabulary.” Things such as interviews and debates, while providing a more complete picture of the applicant as an individual, are limited in time and limited in size, which ultimately defeats the purpose of the program.

Scholars of Excellence replaced the National Merit Scholarship because it allowed more applicants to be invited to visit the campus and enjoy its community. Christenberry says that visits are perhaps the most important part of any student’s decision-making process, and that the true value of UD is seen in such visits. He said, “What we do know is that the students who come to UD…will get here because, again, we have the best students on the planet.”

Students who have attended Scholars of Excellence in the past and applied here say this weekend really made a big difference in their decision to go to college. Cecilia Geiger, a sophomore majoring in English, said: “That weekend definitely made me want to go to UD.”

The community they encountered here attracted the attention of many of the students in attendance. Margaret Jennings, an English associate who attended the first year of the program, said, “Meeting people in this way definitely made a huge difference in finding community, which I wasn’t really looking for that much.”

“Whether I got a scholarship or not, I think the fact that UD was very, very welcoming and the community was very, very there,” said Tri Ha, a sophomore majoring in biology. “[It] really got my attention.”

Several students who attended the program said that while the personability and gregariousness of both faculty and staff were irresistible, it was the competitive atmosphere in which they found themselves that ultimately motivated them to join UD. The academic nature of Scholars weekend gives prospective students an insight into the intellectual life of UD that other visiting opportunities simply cannot provide.

Lucy Gallagher, a freshman with a double major in English and drama, made several visits to campus before the competition. “I saw UD from a different angle,” she said. “One of the big decisions I made when I was trying to choose a college was how much academia would really give me trouble. And I think that weekend really showed me that I would definitely face a challenge.”

Molly Zepeda, Associate Policy Officer and Student Government President, said: “It was a really humbling experience for me to find out that… there are a lot of other people who are better than me going to the school. And it was really attractive that I would get into an academic environment where I would be challenged.”

Asked why challenge is attractive, Zepeda said: “A busy life is a life that faces challenges and suffering. And that’s what I’ve seen with Scholars of Excellence students.

Zepeda explained that this desire for challenge drew her not only to the UD atmosphere, but also to her potential peers. She said: “These initial friendships among scientists are incredibly important. And I found that these friendships make me think more, especially in student government.”

From the competitor experience of UD President Dr. Jonathan Sanford’s Friendship Lecture and a Dante Trial Lesson led by the Head of the English Department, Dr. Debra Romanik-Baldwin, to breakfast conversations and admissions enthusiasm. faculty, students who attend Scholars of Excellence leave with an impression of authentic community, intense academic atmosphere and challenge. These experiences become real when they become members of the crusader community.

Christenberry emphasizes that this community and the people who make it up are the purpose and pleasure of UD. He said, “Look at the students here and you’ll find all the beauty you’ll ever need to fill yourself up, keep you going for four years.” Students who attend Scholars of Excellence see this beauty of challenge and community and are drawn into a life of personality, productivity and prayer at UD.

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