@snicks1234 there is still time to switch. First round notifications happen March 1st. Best to put the college you are actually expecting to attend. If it’s a toss-up between two schools with very different amounts I can see where that would be a difficult choice. Of course, in that case sometimes the money does the deciding for you
Edit to add: if you are still waiting to hear back, you should probably switch to “Undecided” to prevent your name going to a college you don’t end up attending. That would wipe any chance of a scholarship at all.
@snicks1234 they say on the letter and also on the website that if you are uncertain it’s best to say “undecided” to prevent being made an offer from a school you are uncertain about attending. If there is uncertainty it really sounds like you don’t want your name going out on March 1st. Best to wait. If you have questions about that - will funds run out? Are they still making decisions by late March or early April? - then call NMSC to get their input on the best strategy.
Question: As an NMF, how should I notify the schools I am currently applying to (some are NMF participants, some are not, all are RD)? I am not sure whether it would be better to email my rep with a scanned copy of my certificate/letter attached OR send a photocopy of both along with a cover letter via snail mail?
@blunette23 you can probably just contact your regional admissions counselor or the NM liaison, if the school is a sponsor, either by phone or e-mail. Send an FYI and ask if they need verification. I wouldn’t use snail-mail.
Question re: Alabama. I have read in several places it is full ride +. Based on my reading, they cover full tuition, one year room and board, and $3500 stipend per year. Am I missing details, or have they reduced their scholarship recently?
@datahead Alabama is not full ride, but is a nice package. Tuition is 5 years, 1 year housing (not board) plus stipend and a few other allowances. I’m not sure how this compares to years past, since my daughter is my oldest, but it is appealing to us and adds on to the OOS scholarship that was already guaranteed. The tuition scholarship requires a 3.0 for renewal. Others may have insight on what may have changed. Good luck on your decision.
From Alabama site:
Value of tuition for up to five years or 10 semesters for degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate (or law) studies
One year of on-campus housing at regular room rate* (based on assignment by Housing and Residential Communities)
A $3,500 per year Merit Scholarship stipend for four years. A student must maintain at least a 3.3 GPA to continue receiving this scholarship stipend. If a corporate-sponsored scholarship from the National Merit Corporation is received, the total value cannot exceed $3,500. (For example, if you receive a corporate-sponsored scholarship of $2,000 per year, UA will contribute $1,500 per year to reach the total stipend amount of $3,500.)
One-time allowance of $2,000 for use in summer research or international study (after completing one year of study at UA)
One question for all. If you don’t intend to attend to any college that will give you any merit money for being a NMF, which of the following is the best course of action? Right now, he plans to take a gap year if he gets into a study abroad scholarship program and then go to a private college.
Not designate any college of choice.
Designate a college which already said it will give you a full-ride merit scholarship for being a NMF even though you will not go there, just in case our kid goes there after taking a gap year; OR
@websensation Re: Gap years and NMF scholarships specifically - Most of the time to use an NMF scholarship after a gap year, you have to apply to a school, get accepted, then ask if you can defer enrollment for a year. If you take the gap year and apply afterward, you won’t get the NMF scholarship because you didn’t pre-arrange the gap year in advance.
This might not apply to all schools, but I’m not aware of any that would award NMF money to a student who took a gap year before ever applying.
If it were me / my kid, I would ask him to pick the big money NMF school that sounds most appealing, apply (the apps are usually fast and easy), get accepted, name that school by the deadline and then defer enrollment (paying any necessary deposit).
This gives the student a financial & admit safety to keep in his back pocket as an insurance policy after the gap year.
Hi ya’ll! Do any of you know anything about the $2500 scholarship that national merit gives out? I don’t qualify for a corporate scholarship and I know that I’m not attending a school that gives anything for National Merit Finalists. Does anyone know what they are looking for when they choose the students who receive the scholarship?
Also, when it says that the $2500 scholarships are a awarded on a “state proportional” basis does that mean that hypothetically if 5% of the NMF’s are from California then 5% of the $2500 scholarships will go to NMF’s from that state?
Congrats! My son got Finalist, also!
Got Full Ride to U of KY and Full Ride to U of Central FL! PLUS, applied to
Carnegie Mellon, Ivy League colleges, Vandy, and Duke!!! Oh, my!
IF he gets in to TOP school, need to decide for Computer Science!
Please, if you have details about KY or FL, please post!!
@2sunny UK is my NMF S choice…a TON of recent investment in honors program (Google News for “Lewis Honors Program”), campus development, technology and obviously the scholarship covers EVERYTHING. If you are interested in more check out the UK Merit Weekends coming up in March.
@Backbeatcat We are going to UK Merit !! I read great things about KY! I think if it was between KY and FL, we would lean towards KY! (would need to FLY to FL, they have more congestion on freeways, and VERY humid/major rainfalls & hurricane season)
Everyone needs to keep in mind those are NMSC’s deadlines. The schools may have a different deadline. You should check the school’s deadlines as well so as not to miss out on any merit aid. BU and BC both have a 3/1 deadline. There was another school someone mentioned on another thread, possibly Colorado?, that had a 3/1 deadline as well.
any finalists going to U of Texas Dallas? since my son is national merit finalist, he also got HUGE offer from U of TX Dallas— this 1 has great access to tech companies, but it is a commuter school, and they do not guarantee dorms for anyone (also it does not offer a tradition college experience at all)
I live near Dallas, my son seriously considered UTD (though he ultimately went to UT Austin). He had some friends who chose UTD. We’ve been impressed - they are very good in CS, engineering, business, idk what else. Originally a commuter school, but they have nice dorms and more students living on campus than in the past. No football but most other sports, and a top-ranked chess team.
