THRIVE SCHOLARS APPLICATION ROUND 2 FAQ

Recommendations 

• Does my counselor and teacher have to draft a formal letter of recommendation?
  No. Your counselor and teacher recommender will complete short forms assessing your performance as a student. There will be a field for your counselor and teacher to submit any additional information they would like to share.
• How will Thrive Scholars collect my counselor and teacher recommendation contact information?
  In the initial email you received on February 1, 2023 notifying you of your advancement to round two of the application process; there is a link that reads, “Complete the counselor and teacher recommendation form“, when you click on this hyperlink, you will then plug in your teacher recommendation contact information. This will then allow us to send an email to your counselor and teacher recommenders. Upon submission, your recommenders will receive a personalized link via email to access and complete the recommendation form. Remember, it’s important to double-check the email address before submitting to ensure that the information is delivered to the right recipient.
• Can I update my counselor contact information?
  Yes you can! When completing the “Counselor and teacher recommendation form” in your round two email, the counselor contact information you included in round one of your application will prepopulate in the form. Below your counselor contact information, it will read, “I would like to change my counselor”, simply select “Yes” and input the new counselor contact information. 
• Can I list someone else other than a teacher or counselor as a recommender?
  The counselor recommendation form should be completed by a school counselor/ professional who is responsible for submitting official transcripts to colleges and universities. Your teacher recommender should be a core subject teacher (English, math, science or social studies). 
• Does my teacher recommendation have to come from a teacher I have this school year?
  No. You are allowed to select a teacher from a prior academic year, provided that the teacher in question has taught you a core subject and can attest to your academic abilities.

Interviews

• What is a virtual interview and how does it work?
  Virtual interviews are the easiest way for us at Thrive Scholars to get to know more about who you are, what you enjoy in life, and learn more about your passions outside of your application. Our virtual interviews work pretty simple! Our interview platform, Hireflix, will send you an email that has a link to our interviews. For each of the six questions, you’ll record a video of yourself answering each one for 60 seconds.
• How long can I record each video for?
  You have 60 seconds to record your answer for each video. If you need to redo it, you can. But once you move on, you won’t be able to record again.
• How can I restart my interview?
  If you would like to restart your interview, please contact admissions@thrivescholars.org with your request. Please keep in mind you can only request this once.
• Can I delete a previously recorded video?
  You have the option to redo the latest video you recorded, but you can’t delete previous recordings.
• Do I need to complete a written response as well as the virtual interview?
  For round 2, you can choose either a pre-recorded virtual interview or written responses to answer the interview questions. You only need to do one, not both.

Decision Releases

• What are the deadlines for round 2 interviews?
  All interviews, financial documents and counselor and teacher recommendation forms are due by February 21, 2023 at 11:59pm
• When will I be notified if I was admitted to Thrive Scholars??
  All applicants  will receive their decision in late March.

Summer Academy

• Does Thrive Scholars have an exemption process for those who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine??
  There is an exemption application process that is considered on a case by case basis for the vaccination requirements for admission and participation in the Summer Academy program. Attendance at Summer Academy is a requirement for participation in our 6-year program. 
• I have also been accepted into another summer program. Can I still attend Summer Academy?
  Should you have a conflict with any other summer programs, internships, or jobs overlapping with the dates of Thrive Scholars Summer Academy, upon acceptance into our program you will be able to inform the Director of Summer Academy’s for a possible attendance waiver.

Financial Documents

• What financial documents do I need to submit?
  You should provide your parents 2021 IRS 1040 tax form. Should you have difficulties obtaining family household income verification in the form of a 1040, W2, or 1099 you can also provide an employment verification letter including the annual income of the parent/s or guardian/s.
• How many pages of our tax form do we need to submit?
  We only require the first page of the 1040, W2, or 1099 to verify annual income and everything except for the name, employer, and annual income can be blurred or blacked out.