Decision time

Sue and I are about done with our third region of the day. I have to say that our scoring is going pretty nicely in tandem. 10 applicants in this region; we have one scholarship to award, and one 2nd read to name. Here's how we scored them (mine are on the left, Sue's on the right).

10, 11
9, 9
8, 12.5 (our biggest gap, but we both agreed that this one was not scholarship-worthy)
14, 14.5 (considering for scholarship)
11, 14 (considering for scholarship)
13, 12.5
12, 12
15, 14.5
13, 14
13, 14.5 (2nd read)

That's a REALLY strong region -- 7 are in the "could be considered" range.

The one we named as a second read was a really fascinating file. We both really liked it a lot, but had hesitancies about naming it as a scholar. So we put it in the 2nd read pile, knowing that it will at least be a honorable mention.

And now we're deciding about the two named above. It's a good example of the subjectivity that goes into reading, and how the reader's background influences their views. I like the liberal-arts candidate who is less directed but has a lot of leadership activities; Sue likes the more directed scientist who is lighter on out-of-class leadership but is clearly going to make contributions to their chosen field. We're deliberating. Which is a kind way of saying we're both trying to be generous towards the other, but each have the one we want -- and it's made tougher knowing that the one that doesn't get the scholarship won't get anything, and won't even know how close they were to winning.