Monday, Nov. 8, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.
They are the kind of kids most of the high school student body secretly admired and hated all at the same time -- the kids who could typically ace tests without studying, who were rarely challenged in even the most difficult classes, but who agonized over every B.
They're exactly the kind of students UNLV wants.
Seven National Merit Scholars enrolled in UNLV's Honor College this fall, the highest number the university has recruited in any one year, Dean Stephen Rosenbaum said.
The A-list includes Allison and Andrea Schmidt, twins from Fargo, N.D., Palo Verde High School graduates Tom Kaiser and Dean Navalta, Advanced Technology Academy graduate Paul Giordani, and Pahrump High School graduate Bryan Wilson, all 18. One scholar declined to be interviewed or to have his name released.
"Schools compete for these students because they are a mark of prestige, a mark of having good students at the university," Rosenbaum said.
With the exception of some Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Yale or, on the West Coast, Stanford, National Merit Scholars can usually write their own ticket to go to any university they choose, Rosenbaum said. Numerous major state universities, including UNLV, attempt to lure the students onto their campuses with scholarship offers.
National Merit Scholars score in the top 1 percent of the 1.3 million students who take the practice SAT test in their junior year of high school and also must meet high academic standards in their grades and coursework, Rosenbaum said.
Most of UNLV's scholars said they scored between a 1450 and a 1550 on their SAT. A perfect score is 1600 and although UNLV does not require a certain SAT score, most students score between a 900 and a 1140, according to U.S. News and World Report's Americas Best Colleges 2005 Edition.
So what made these students choose UNLV? UNLV showed them the money.
Although some students, such as the Fargo twins, were squeamish about talking about their scholarships, all of the students verified that they are getting a free college education at UNLV. Even better than free, in some cases.
"I got paid to go here," Navalta said, noting that in addition to tuition and books, he received a stipend back for living expenses from his scholarship money.
The students received scholarships primarily from enrolling in the Honors College, which offers accelerated, smaller classes to its students with more personal attention, Rosenbaum said. There are no specific requirements to enroll in the Honors College, Rosenbaum said, but students have to separately apply and only the top 125 to 130 applicants are accepted.
The Nevada residents also received Millennium Scholarships, but at least one received so many other scholarships that he was no longer eligible for the Millennium.
The Pahrump High School valedictorian just didn't need it.
"I actually got so much scholarship money I actually get a rebate check each semester over and above tuition, room and board," said Wilson, whose only B in high school was in music.
But while the money was something they couldn't refuse, all of the local scholars also said they didn't seriously consider anywhere else. With the exceptions of the twins, UNLV was more of a default option than an actual choice.
"I never really thought of having that as an attainable goal," Wilson said, summarizing the thoughts of many of his fellow scholars. "I didn't set my sights that high. Now I see in hindsight that I could have gone anywhere I wanted. Still, having the National Merit Scholarship I could go somewhere later if I want, but I'm good for now."
As is typical for freshmen college students, several said they thought UNLV was a great place to start while they figured out what they wanted to do. Only Giordani and Navalta sounded sure about the majors they selected, and the rest were either undeclared or unsure if they would stay with their initial major.
Giordani said he had considered enlisting in the Marine Corps, but decided to go to college to keep his options open. Kaiser, who also got a perfect score on the ACT, received scholarship offers from universities in Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona, but said he wanted to stay at home for a while to figure things out.
"I don't particularly plan on staying, but I don't particularly plan on leaving either," Kaiser said. "For now I'm fine here."
Navalta and Allison and Andrea Schmidt all applied to a few schools, but found that UNLV made them the best offer.
The Schmidt twins applied and got "generous" scholarship offers from Arizona State University, University of Southern California, and the University of Minnesota, but they said they choose UNLV because it had a good film program and wouldn't put them into debt. The one school they didn't get into was Yale.
"I think you have to own a small country or save a small country to get into those colleges," said Allison Schmidt, who aced all but one class in high school.
Las Vegas was also attractive because it was a big city as different as could be from Fargo, the twins said, though they added that as nondrinkers, they didn't come here to party.
Rather, the two film fans said they were interested in how Las Vegas merged different cultures and forms of entertainment together, from the lights and architecture of the Strip to the drama and music of the various shows.
"It's the entertainment capital of the world and we're living here," Allison Schmidt said.
Despite their interest in the film program, so far Allison and Andrea have not declared majors and are uncertain about what path they want to take. For now, they said, they are just enjoying classes, trying to not drive each other crazy as they share a dorm room in one of UNLV's residence halls, and adapting to the "culture shock" of moving far, far away from the safety and conservatism of Fargo to a city they say has earned its nickname.
And so far, they aren't questioning their choice of UNLV.
"UNLV is really working hard to change its academic standing," Andrea Schmidt said. "I'm glad to be a part of that."
archive
