The cutoff was 202, if you havent heard from your school call national merit 
they should tell you! @PilotKhyle
NMSC is extremely helpful. Even in the hectic last days before the deadline, they were kind, patient, and helpful on the phone. If you can, please think about sending them a gift card for pizza or something like that. I believe they have interns answering the phones and supporting the families. The email for their staff is scholarshipadmin@nmerit.net. You can send an e gift card to that address, and they will get it.
@pilotkhyle Unless you are homeschooled you won’t get a letter until your school notifies you. You can call NMSC to verify, and then ask your school guidance office if they have overlooked notifying you. Our school did it a couple of weeks ago, took a photo and then (to our surprise) tweeted it. They included both NMSF and commended students. But once NMSC confirms you can put it on your college apps even if your school drops the ball.
Do colleges typically reach out to students who qualify as semi finalists at some point? Is anyone receiving letters from colleges offering incentives to apply now that the semifinalists have been identified?
It is an entirely new onslaught of mailings. Many offering application fee waivers. The significant pitches are from Arizona State, Alabama and Central Florida with free tuition offers or more.
yes, my D is getting more and with many specifically mentioning benefits available for NMSF/F
My son hasn’t really gotten any, so I was wondering if that was because his application was incomplete. I called NMSC and they said they were missing his confirming sat scores, which he would have to send. Do you think this is the reason he is not getting the mailings?
Yes, my D is also getting more. Three just today.
Most of what we are getting is from colleges on the nmfscholarships.yolasite.com list. Anyone get any big offers from schools not on that list?
Oh and I wish OU would stop sending us mail, save the postage .cost and just deduct it from her “fees” I still can’t believe they sent her a “thank you for applying card!”
@3scoutsmom nope… Most have been familiar to us. BU’s letters confirms the $20k off is guaranteed (while I think yolasite says it is competitive … or at least some list I saw recently does.)
Do you have to call to see if they have received your scores, or is there a way to check online?
@helpfulandtrying No, there’s no way to check on line but the phone call was painless, they were very nice when I called.
OU sends out “thank you for existing as an NMSF” cards.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it looks like Drexel has removed the full tuition NMF scholarship from its web site.
I posted about this earlier tonight on the parents of 2020 board: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18917715/#Comment_18917715
I am streamed. I have a cached version of their scholarship page from Oct. 18, 2015 – ironically the day we traveled to visit. It was listed then but has disappeared.
I even mentioned the scholarship being a reason Drexel was on our radar to an Honors College rep while we were there and she didn’t say a peep.
If it’s true – I will call first thing in the morning – and they left that info up until this late in the application process, it is so unfair to parents and students who made decisions based on it … like traveling across the country, applying EA, etc. this is NOT an affordable school for us without it.
@MidwestMomTo2 … Sorry to hear about the change at Drexel. Hopefully you’ll get some positive news when you call them. It’s not uncommon for the NM scholarship packages to change periodically, but I agree with you that doing it this late in the admissions cycle would be a huge foul. :-q
What a boondoggle. I talked to the freshman admissions rep at Drexel today and she said the school has dropped its full tuition scholarship… HOWEVER, Drexel is blaming a letter they got from National Merit Scholarship Corp. on Oct. 28.
As I talked with the person from Drexel, it seemed to me that they’d gotten a letter taking issue with the use of “National Merit” in the name of the scholarship and in part of the description.
(Not that it matters to most, but Drexel is not an official part of the program and so a student awarded that full-tuition scholarship does not become a National Merit Scholar and technically remains a National Merit Finalist, even after they win the scholarship.)
When I pointed that out to Drexel – that if it’s a wording thing, why don’t they just change the wording – the woman allowed that Drexel did have “choice” in the matter. Huh?
I then followed up with a nice lady at NM headquarters and she said that my impression was correct. NMSC sent a letter asking Drexel to adhere to their trademark and to clarify the status of students who get the award, that they don’t become National Merit Scholars.
It is difficult to fathom what is going on here … whether Drexel felt forced to drop the scholarship or whether they’re trying to place the blame on NMSC.
Lost in the shuffle … the kids and parents who made trips, applications, portfolios, etc., with this scholarship in mind.
UPDATE: woman from NMSC called back. she’s clarified with Drexel that it’s a wording thing and Drexel is free to use the status to award the scholarship, however, when she asked if they were going to reinstate the award, the could not say.
@MidwestMomTo2, the link was broken way before 10/28. Drexel was going to be a reach for our son, since he’s very unlikely to advance from NMSF. A month or so ago I checked and the link was broken. On a related note, when he was looking at setting up a tour he found it very difficult to do, and when I told him the scholarship was gone anyway he decided not to bother. He was very impressed with Temple, so that’s going to be his top choice anywahy.
@mstomper the cached version of the page on google shows it was online with that scholarship listed on Oct. 18. The woman from Drexel said they got the letter Oct. 28. I don’t know when info was actually pulled from web site.
@MidwestMomTo2 Any update from Drexel - is it official - NMS Gone?