In case there are NMF students who still need a financial safety
Univ of Alabama routinely enrolls about 175-200 NMFs every year.
NMF award
5 years of tuition (AND you can use an extra semester to pay for summer abroad…nice! $12k towards study abroad))
1 year of housing, including the honors housing super suites
$3500 per year stipend (and if you’re eng’g or CS, you get an add’l $2500 per year)
Some kind of technology choice (latest iPad, laptop, whatever)
$2000 towards a summer experience.
Usually around this time there are some NMF students who are finding that they can’t afford their top schools, so they need financial safeties.
Alabama will award their NMF and National Achievenment scholarships to applicants who apply by about mid April, and name Alabama as #1 choice by May 1st.
My daughter is currently a freshman at UA and is on this scholarship. It is so appreciated when that tuition bill has come in for each semester, that we only pay class and lab fees and a small balance on meals…it is great!
Visited Alabama for Capstone Scholar day and must say, campus is unbelievable. Sprawling, well kept and brand new amazing buildings everywhere with cool historical buildings that make things interesting. Welcoming school that wants you to come there as opposed to some of the attitude other schools have. Honors research, seminar and housing were compelling. Honors housing was fabulous. Travel options were great, though many schools have similar. What was different was ability to use scholarship to pay for it, which was intriguing. My son didn’t want to come really and has no interest in football. As we walked the campus, he was quiet and pensive. After talking with freshman computer science scholarship students in the Honors housing, he said, “I like this University. I could see myself attending here. This would be a good choice for me.” If your child is a scholarship candidate because of ACT, SAT or National Merit scores, and finances are a concern, you won’t be compromising coming to Alabama. We’ve been to Stanford, UC Irvine, USC, Cal Poly, Harvey Mudd, UCLA, Wash U, U of MN, Northwestern,and U of Chicago over last two years, with Illinois, Purdue, and Rose Hulman left, potentially Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech too. I share where we’ve been for context…our son has been excited about only two schools we’ve visited so far…USC (which is a stretch school) and Alabama. Football apparently has been very very good to Alabama and smart kids look like they have been beneficiaries. I’ll add that the tour guide, level of service and helpfulness were second to none and only place I’ve heard that rivals it are Oklahoma, which we will only visit if son gets finalist. If your kid is a smart one, but more collegial, less killer instinct and will benefit from being “seen” and access to professors, this college felt surprisingly small for it’s size. Alabama, I was wrong and am thrilled we visited. Hope this helps someone else. Roll tide:)
My OS, who was waitlisted by Harvard (the other Crimson) and accepted by Georgetown, is a happy NMF Bama freshman. Having completed his first semester, he is always talking about how he sees people he knows all over campus - at Starbucks, at the gym, etc.
Bama may seem big, but according to him, it doesn’t feel big.
Also, the NMF scholarship is a great deal.
Many people don’t know that you can apply any leftover semesters after earning a bachelor’s to Masters or PhD level programs there (they give NMFs 10 semesters!).
@RedbirdDad
We felt the same way. We were surprised by how much we like UA. I really liked the welcoming feel and felt that they would be supportive of my child. She is one who does not ask for help from teachers and is not very aggressive in finding info about opportunities. I felt UA would be helpful to a student like her and that she would not be lost there. I like how open they are with opportunities for out of state students. I think OOS students have just as good of a shot at their Capstone program as in-state (hence your son receiving invite for interview for the program). Contrast that with another NMF scholarship school- UK. AT UK their comparable program- the Singletary Scholarship, is reserved mainly for Kentucky students. UA was in our top three choices. She chose a different school because of distance and she was offered their top competitive scholarship (full-ride). A son of a friend of mine is a junior at UA and is having a very good experience. I know the travel abroad program he attended was one of the highlights of his time there so far. The mom mentioned that although the group did some intense studying during the week, the group would travel to different regions on the weekends and had a great experience seeing different countries in Europe. Some of his family met up with him in Europe at the end of the study abroad session and they had a great time together.
Oh wow…I forgot that the NMCorp ended the NA program. Weren’t they supposed to substitute something else?
As for NHRP…no, Bama discontinued its NHRP program several years ago. The issue, I think, was that NHRP includes the top 5%, which was too broad a range.
I finally got my confirming letter yesterday that I made it to NMF. UA said last month that once I advance, I have to provide them a copy of the letter - where do I send this?
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Son may not pursue NMF for next year (no reason to).
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No reason to? If you’re asking about scholarships for making NMSF, then that alone would be a reason to pursue NMF.
BTW…when my son accepted an internship with a company that happens to be a NMCorp sponsor, when they learned he was a NMF, his hourly salary was immediately raised by $3. So, uh, there are reasons to.
@andyjs When UA told you to submit a copy, did they communicate that thru an email? If so, go back and look to see if there’s a preferred method. If not, then write to scholarships@ua.edu and ask what address do they want you to snail mail the copy to.
@herewelearn <<< Son got a few email reminders about the financial aid deadline. Our income isn’t high but we have some assets. He is the only dependent. <<<
Your son is your only dependent and it sounds like he’s a senior this year, so why are you mentioning “not pursuing” NMF for next year?
He is a junior but is graduating early. He had his SAT and ACT before his PSAT. He should make NMSF next year. NM has a policy for people graduating HS early.
@herewelearn before he graduates early, is there any dual enrollment he can do, so stay in HS but get college credits? I also wonder why he would not try to make NMF.
Kids get so anxious to get out of HS, get out of UG. It is one thing if there is not academic opportunities or opportunities to learn other life skills before moving on, but they may be also missing out of other things that they will later regret.
DD had a real breather second semester senior year. Also had a bit of a breather last summer (limited work hours and no local classes w/o going overboard, and more important to take the sequence at her school).
Some may think they can continue on w/o a break, but often they may have a regret.
Help your sons/daughters open their eyes, get well rounded, take advantage of other experiences and opportunities while under your roof. It may pay off in a lot of ways.
Son made his decision over the summer and since then he has applied for 10 colleges. So far he has 3 acceptances and one defer. He isn’t happy here and wants to move on. His HS doesn’t have much to offer next year.
“I finally got my confirming letter yesterday that I made it to NMF. UA said last month that once I advance, I have to provide them a copy of the letter - where do I send this?”
You can fax or scan the finalist letter and send to scholarships.ua.edu. It’s really that simple. Congratulations!