Update after the second region of the day

Another region down. The discussion on this one was relatively easy. Of the 15 applications, about 1/2 were worth considering for scholarships or honorable mention -- which is really saying something, when you think about it. Half of the candidates are worthy of consideration. "Very strong" is relatively average in this pool.

But we found our two scholars out of this region right away -- we agreed instantly who the top two were. Deciding on our 2nd read file and the honorable mention took another 5-10 minutes, but was pretty amiable. We're seeing different things, and value different things, in each file. There were two files in particular that split us -- one that I scored as a 7, and Sue had as a 14. We had to chat about that one for awhile (we agreed in the end that it was a good candidate, but not worthy of an honor -- a compromise between our two beginning stances).

For those of you scoring at home, we're stingy with our points. Of the 21 possible points on the Udall scoring sheet, I would say that a 16 is really outstanding. A 13-14 will probably get you an honorable mention. We're tough, but we have to be, since there are so many worthy candidates.

I'm taking a lot of notes and will post something longer tonight, but Mia is waving the next region at me. 10 candidates, and 8 of them have NAFA advisors (four from the same school). We get to name one scholar and one 2nd read.

One piece of advice before I go: there is no quicker way to shoot your application in the foot than to refer to him as "Senator" Udall. I actually cursed earlier today when I read that on one of the application (it's been on 3 of the 24 we've read so far) -- when the next table started giggling, I said, "I liked this one so much, but now I don't think I can award it."