@dreambig55 —my girl was admitted to Northeasten on early action with a sizable merit package. When I have inquired about the delta for NMF, they have said they take a student’s current award and add $5k per year. Have you heard otherwise? Thanks for any info.
@dreambig55 my DS is also deferred from Northeastern. He initially put it as his 1st choice for NM but changed it to undecided since we don’t know if he’ll get accepted in RD round. Will your son send a letter of continued interest after being confirmed as NMF?
I’m only going off of what I have seen on here for past NMFs at Northeastern. It seemed that most awards were $27,000-$30,000. It seemed that they were slightly decreasing over the past couple years. It may have depended on other stats too, I’m not sure.
He was literally about to write the LOCI this week, but he just found out tonight he got into Vanderbilt ED2! 
So he will have to withdraw his application. But he definitely would have if we received different news tonight.
…
The NM coordinator at USF spoke to us about the process at other instate schools (we are FL, obviously). She mentioned that FSU has a cap on their NM that they will name as scholars. I think she said it is 25. That is important because you are not actually eligible for Benaquisto unless you are named a scholar. Not sure how FSU chooses the 25, but it stands to reason that it might be a first come / first served kind of scenario meaning that getting your selection sent in the first round (March 1) could be vital.
We toured Monday and they sold my dd. I am UF alum (as is my husband, all three of my brothers and two of my sisters). I think even if dd gets a UF acceptance, she’ll choose USF. Loved the dorms, loved the feel, love the offer of $5000 a year over the COA.
Wow congrats! You have double great news this week! That’s so great
That is the crux of the matter discussed earlier.
No school can sustainably offer full ride to all NMFs unless there are very few of them that are interested in taking the offer.
I would call the National Merit place and ask.
No letter here either in KY!!!
The full ride is provided by the state of Florida, not the individual colleges. The Colleges just need to make the student a National Merit Scholar by providing them a minimal award, sometimes $500 / year.
“That is important because you are not actually eligible for Benaquisto unless you are named a scholar.”
ALL NMF’s are designated NMF Scholars by NMSF, so it sounds like someone at USF is trying to split hairs.
"Winner Selection
All winners of Merit Scholarship® awards (Merit Scholar® designees) are chosen from the Finalist group based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments—without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference. A variety of information is available for NMSC selectors to evaluate: the Finalist’s academic record, information about the school’s curricula and grading system, PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index score, the high school official’s written recommendation, information about the student’s activities and leadership, and the Finalist’s own essay.
Types of Merit Scholarship® Awards
Beginning in March and continuing to mid-June, NMSC notifies approximately 7,600 Finalists at their home addresses that they have been selected to receive a Merit Scholarship® award. Merit Scholarship awards are of three types:
National Merit® $2500 Scholarships
Every Finalist competes for these single-payment scholarships, which are awarded on a state-representational basis. Winners are selected by a committee of college admission officers and high school counselors without consideration of family financial circumstances, college choice, or major and career plans.
Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards
Corporate sponsors designate their awards for children of their employees or members, for residents of a community where a company has operations, or for Finalists with career plans the sponsor wishes to encourage. These scholarships may either be renewable for four years of undergraduate study or one-time awards
College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards
Officials of each sponsor college select winners of their awards from Finalists who have been accepted for admission and have informed NMSC by the published deadlines that the sponsor college or university is their first choice. These awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study. The published deadlines for reporting a sponsor college as first choice can be viewed on page 4 of the Requirements and Instructions for Semifinalists in the 2020 National Merit® Scholarship Program. "
https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=424
And it will end as soon as it becomes popular enough. That’s why some colleges went out on a limb to guarantee it with their own money, but as we’ve just been told the top 100 school only offers about 25 of them.
Our own top 200 state flagship used to be full ride plus for NMFs until very recently. Then they decided to shift the balance towards need based aid, and been reducing the NMF package every year since. They are now full tuition plus 10K.
DS also in Houston, but counselor does not know anything as of yesterday. Schools are so different, and I guess bigger school always acts slower. There are 20 NMSF here.
My D just texted a pic of her finalist certificate (finally)! I’m guessing her school had received it yesterday. We are in PA.
I show in our informed delivery that we are receiving mail from nmsf today.
Nothing from the school yet but Informed Delivery shows receiving letter in the mail today in Oklahoma City.
Hi @twinmommy! One of my twins is NMF and looking very closely at Temple where they have offered free tuition and she was accepted into Honors there.
Thanks - You are right, my D has been awarded the Presidential Scholarship already, so she had full tuition. This replaces that and adds $10,000 for her. I should have been more clear on that.