The letter is in my informed delivery in WA state. Yay!
My D20 did not apply to any of the really big NMF programs – she only applied to schools that she knew she would consider if admitted to UW, so mostly reach schools, two of them with significant merit available for NMF, but several with the possibility of institutional scholarships. Unfortunately, we are still waiting on her first decision, which we expect to be from UW in early March, then other schools say mid- to late-March. The waiting is tough at this point!
Like @ChrisG77 said above, big congrats to all of you who already know where you/your kids are going and those able to take advantage of big NMF scholarships! What an exciting time.
Lucky duck!
Didn’t your DS get a scholarship letter along with his letter of acceptance? Check that! It will be on his portal.
@CFLdad Have your son check his status portal. On the acceptance notification there should be a link to the Benaquisto scholarship offer. My daughter got it online there but they didn’t put it in the mailing she received.
@durster A friend whose son is interested in actuary science and a NM finalist listed Nebraska - Lincoln as his first choice because it’s very generous vs. Purdue.
@threebeans UNL is a great school for insurance-related study, or at least used to be, because of their relationship with Mutual of Omaha. I have a graduate degree in Economics from there.
“National Merit Scholars. Of the 15,000 Finalists, approximately 7,600 will become National Merit Scholars. It is perhaps this moniker that is most confusing, as often the term National Merit Scholar is used for all students earning Commended Student, Semifinalist or Finalist status. In fact, National Merit Scholar is a specific designation reserved for only those Finalists who are awarded an official Merit Scholarship award.”
Source: https://publicuniversityhonors.com/2015/09/14/the-national-merit-journey-what-you-need-to-know-part-one/
That is what I was told by schools – if you are one of the “winners of Merit Scholarship® awards ( (Merit Scholar® designees)” (quoting from MNSC site), then you are a National Merit Scholar.
OK, thanks, not sure. I just saw the paper letter.
@BostonMADizhu —in MA here. We hadn’t heard from school (even with me asking guidance daily), and nothing in informed delivery today. I called NMSC yesterday and was told they would not confirm on phone until 2/19 and that letters are addressed to principals directly by name. SOOOO, I called and emailed our principal this morning and basically said “you have to have it by now, and we want to know, as there is a great deal riding on this.” I had an email back in under 5 min saying he just opened it, and that she is, indeed, a finalist. As I had guessed, it was just sitting on his desk for who knows how long!! I just wanted to know before the school shut down tomorrow for MA February break!
@furmom good to know, my son was sick today, so he will go to principals office to check tomorrow.
i actually don’t think that’s accurate.
from what i understand, all NMF are simply not NMScholars. you can be a scholar 1 of 3 ways:
- get a scholarship from a participating college (list on NM site–this is NOT just any college that gives you money for being a NMF. it is a very specific list.)
- get a scholarship from a participating company
- get a scholarship from NM ($2500 one time)
not all NMF will get one of the above. in fact, my son may not. he is not going to a participating college, and we don’t work for a participating company. he has a 1 and 6 chance at #3. fingers crossed!
Does anyone know if the Benacquisto covers study abroad for fall or spring. I know it doesn’t cover anything for summers, but if a study abroad program is offered through the school itself, would the scholarship apply? I can’t find anything about this on the Benacquisto fact sheet, unless I missed it.
Does anyone have any experience getting a scholarship from a participating company? We saw that my husband’s company was on the list after he made NMSF. So he contacted the company and his company told him my DS should have applied as a junior. We didn’t even know he was a NMSF until he was a senior (and didn’t know that there was such a thing a company/corporate scholarships), so how would we have known to have him apply as a junior? They wouldn’t let us apply as a senior and kept saying he needed to have done so as a junior.
Anyone else have that experience?
@“Mrs.WJB” , back in 2014 my daughter got scholarship from my husband company for being NMF. We did not have to do anything. NMSS reaches out to parent’s company on behalf of NMFs. At least, that’s how it was at that time.
Unfortunately, for my son, both of our companies are not in the list.
It was my impression that the NMSC did the matching of NMFs with corporate sponsors given the information provided on the application. Is that not the case?
Nothing in central OH today! Agh!
We’re in NE Ohio and the letter was delivered today.
I wonder if they didn’t understand what you were asking. Since NMSF status relies in the PSAT taken junior year, perhaps that’s what they were referring to in their answer.
I have no personal experience with company-sponsored NM scholarships (except that a friend in high school received one although she was Commended, not a SF – so it was probably a “special scholarship”), but my understanding is the same as @val0822 and @amsunshine. Some sort of information from the application is used to let companies know who is eligible for their scholarship that year. (I can’t remember–did the student have to name his/her parents’ employers?) I didn’t think any separate application was necessary. If your son gets one, let us know!
Got the letter today (Central TX) nothing from the school.
No letter in Central Texas. Hoping for tomorrow. Nothing from school.