One thing I didn't mention in my original post is that I really like the addition of the interviews. Logistical concerns aside, the interview process will help ensure the best candidates are chosen. Consider this wording from the 2013 description of the Dean's List Award:
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Originally Posted by 2013 FIRST Admin Manual
...it is FIRST’s intention that they will continue on, post-award, as great leaders of FIRST’s ever growing student alumni and as advocates of FIRST.
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If the award is looking to recognize people who will be advocates of FIRST well into the future, you want to choose students who have a demonstrated ability to sell the program. One of the best ways to judge this is to speak to the students directly to gauge not only their passion and dedication to FIRST, but their ability to evangelize the program. This will ensure that students who are much more than can be seen from a 4,000 character essay, get properly recognized.
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Originally Posted by Andrew Lawrence
As a Senior who has been dreaming of possibly winning this award since Freshman year: This sucks.
I'm not trying to sound selfish, because I'm sure there are other seniors who feel the same way. This award was a big goal of mine, and I'm really disappointed that neither I, nor any of the amazing seniors this year, will have the chance to be rewarded and recognized for our hard work.
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By no means am I trying to sound harsh here, but as disappointing as it is for you to no longer be eligible for this award, it's not like you never had a chance. You were very eligible in your Junior year, with FIRST strongly urging all teams to nominate Juniors. See below.
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Originally Posted by 2013 FIRST Admin Manual
Teams nominating students as FIRST Dean’s List Entrants/Nominees should note that colleges and universities are extremely interested in recruiting FIRST Dean’s List Award students and accordingly, FIRST strongly urges teams to nominate a student in his or her junior year as a FIRST Dean’s List Semi-Finalist.
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