Hey everyonee,
I know this is fairly random and rather inconsequential to most of us, but just in case a couple of Year 10s looked this up, I thought it might help. Just looking through a couple of the threads concerning the Kwong Lee Dow Program at Melbourne Uni, I got the sense that all applying were feeling nervous and panicky about their applications and such, and I thought yous might like to know just a little something that may (or may not :S) ease your mind.
Acceptance into the Kwong Lee Dow program, really isn't based on your academic achievement or quality of application. I suppose you could say this is speculated, but I can cite a few examples and you can then decide for yourself ^^
When I opted in on the process to apply for the UoM KLD Program, I really, really, really wanted it and churned out an application hitting the word limits of every question. At the time in Yr 10, I was dux, and so had the academic part of it in the bag, so I thought.
My best friend was right next, in second place, and often scored either the same mark as me or higher. Whilst I might have been dux of Year 10, I've no doubt she worked way harder to get the marks she did (As, A+s). She applied also.
Another person in my class applied as well, and since we're a small school my teacher simply disregarded the clause in the KLD eligibility section which said the applicants had to be in the top 5% academically of the cohort. This classmate was a fair student, bringing in over Cs, always, but failing miserably in Maths, with Fs in their report, literally. This person's application consisted of dot points and short, curt sentences. Compared to the elaborate stuff (community involvement, extra-curricular skills etc.) me and my best mate put in our applications, and our ranking academically, we thought we'd get in for sure.
However, it just so happened that I was there in my Secondary Co-ordinator's office when he submitted the applications, and as it turns out, this is what the KLD selection process is based on:
Your submitting teacher's recommendation.And our Co-ordinator liked me and this other person with the F, but not my mate who was ranked second.
Melbourne Uni actually instructs your teacher or Secondary Head to select the top two students they want (I actually saw this on my teacher's screen), to get into the program, and in my theory, don't bother reading the rest of the applications. So my teacher put me down as the person he thought most suitable, followed by the other person who wasn't that brilliant academically or well-rounded application wise as his second choice (and asked me what I thought of what he wrote, which was why I was there in the first place).
Despite my (and my best friend's) protests, we (me and the other kid) both got in, and the other 4 students, whose academic ability were all higher than the mentioned applicant all got sent rejection letters. They were all really upset, but none more than my best mate who couldn't believe she lost a place to someone who failed maths.
This year, the same thing happened with a couple of the Year 10s in the batch before us; this time the fellow was from Chile - supposedly his draw card when persuading our Secondary co-ordinator. Another girl in another school experienced the same thing, and justified her inacceptance with my reasoning.
So in my opinion, don't stress out too much about applications and such 
If anything, make sure your teacher likes you, and if you're bold enough, bring them aside and tell them exactly why and how much you want the scholarship. I wouldn't exactly recommend asking them about the choosing option directly, but I suppose you could what you wanted.I know applications have been closed for awhile now this year, but to all those perhaps applying next year and maybe those who applied but didn't get in (here's a speculated reason as to why), hopefully this offers some sort of enlightenment.
Ok, gonna' stop rambling now lol.
Again, random and late, I know, but just FYI, I guess, to all those interested. ^^
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