Does anyone know the Benacquisto value is this coming year? I see FSU puts there COA at 23136 and Florida is 21430.
“They have consistently told us that if awarded Presidential, Trustee or Mork, the scholarship doesn’t stack with NM”
They are referring to the 1/2 tuition NM scholarship that USC offers to NMF’s.
USC won’t stack or combine any of those awards with the 1/2 tuition NM award.
The 1000/ year scholarship comes directly from NMSF [ but is paid from $$ that USC contributes to NMSF as a sponsor] .That is how DS was deemed , by NMSF to be a NMS, NOT because he could ALSO have gotten USC’s 1/2 tuition scholarship- [ he ended up receiving a Trustee scholarship. ]Its confusing, I know, but that $ is one of the 3 types of direct scholarships that determine if a student advances to NMS standing by receiving $$ from either -1- a sponsoring company, 2- a sponsoring college, or 3- the $2500 one time scholarship for students selected by NMSF.
We found out about the $500 /semester award in the summer after DS designated USC as his final first choice and enrolled .
It came in a mailed notification card to him. Each year he would receive the same notification and would have to respond “yes” in order to continue to receive the $1000. I’m not sure if that is the way it is still done.
I would not bother to ask about it when you travel to USC, as you first have to declare USC as your first choice and then finally enroll there. $1000/ year is a LOT less than the NM 1/2 Tuition scholarship.
Thanks @furmom
DD just talked to NMSC and here is what they said:
We can put BU as the first choice to meet their 3/1 deadline, but can later change to a different college before 5/1
NMSC will start sending college sponsored scholarships starting 5/1. Once they have sent out a scholarship, we’ll not be able to change the first choice college after that.
I guess the reason BU is insisting on 3/1 deadline is so they will get the names of finalists interested BU from NMSC in the first roster that NMSC sends after March 1st
Thanks – this is very helpful clarification. I still think the way BU and BC insist on the 3/1 designation is kind of rude. What if your kid applies to both?
Right. It is rude and super inconvenient. If they want to make sure the applicant is a NMF before awarding those large scholarships ($25 K/year in BU’s case), they could ask for copy of the certificate/letter from NMSC. Oh, well…
So the crazy thing about the above BC discussion is that I called them yesterday to ask about this - and the women I spoke to said they aren’t offering a NMF award. I don’t know if she just didn’t understand what I was asking or if they got rid of it. I couldn’t find anything on their website about it either. I was going to call back today and try someone else but I had a fussy 3 month old and never got around to it. Dd isn’t super serious about BC anyway, but heads up to those who might be considering this. Maybe call and check?
On BC’s FAQ page, I found this:
Boston College-sponsored National Merit awards are determined each year from rosters of finalists who have selected Boston College as their first choice institution. The award, in the amount of $1,000, is awarded to seven students each year. Boston College selects eligible students from the first National Merit Scholarship roster only, which is generally received in early March. Students whose names appear on subsequent rosters are not considered. Boston College-sponsored National Merit Scholarships are renewable.
Lame.
Oh good! You found it. Better than I did. And I agree, lame. And apparently not worth calling them about because they don’t seem to even know!
@tnknes you very welcome!
@durster, I actually would expect many publics to have actuarial science tracks. However, some may not have a separate major for that but hide it under a math major or stats major, so explore more closely. That’s the case at WSU, for instance.
@WasIDremin, the exact Benacquisto amount doesn’t matter (except at Miami) as at the publics, you will be classified as in-state and be rewarded enough to cover in-state tuition and R&B.
BTW, NCF is still accepting apps, for those looking for a full-ride to a tiny LAC (not many of those with big NMF awards). Or just go to a school on the beach.
This is helpful. Thanks for sharing. Have another question regarding this if anyone with the knowledge can chime in.
BU is listed as college sponsor in NMSC list of sponsors. This means, I’m assuming that BU also offers extra $ (1000-2000) in addition to the 25K NMF BU scholarship.
If we list BU as first choice by March 1st and have to change it to another college (which has a later deadline and also offers some NMF scholarship + 1000-2000 as NMSC college sponsor) later for any reason, I understand that we get NMF scholarship from the second college. What about the 1000-2000 NMSC college sponsorship amount?
Does BU mail the NMSC college sponsorship amount after May 1st or right away? From what I’m reading below from information provided by NMSC, we’ll lose it at the second college if BU mails it right after March 1st before we change it to another college.
“MAY 1, 2020
NMSC will begin mailing college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offers.
IMPORTANT: If NMSC receives notification of a change in college choice from a Finalist after mailing a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offer to that student, the change in college choice will not be processed and the Finalist cannot be offered another college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award. This applies even if the
new choice of college is one that also sponsors Merit Scholarship awards. Therefore, a Finalist who has previously reported a sponsor college as first choice but is uncertain about it may change their college choice to “undecided” to prevent being made an off er from a school the Finalist is uncertain about attending; such notification must be submitted online at osa.nationalmerit.org before May 1. The Finalist can subsequently
report a firm college choice that NMSC receives by May 31.”
“if NMSC receives notice of a change in college choice from a Finalist to whom a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship off er has already been mailed, the change in college choice will not be processed and the student cannot be offered another college-sponsored award—even if the new choice of college is one that also sponsors
Merit Scholarship awards. (See page 4 of the Requirements and Instructions document, which is posted online in the “Competition Instructions” section of the OSA or at nationalmerit.org/resources.)”
@PurpleTitan @WasIDremin Not to nitpick but just to clarify, Benacquisto award is more than tuition and room/board, because it covers fees, transportation costs etc…For example, the State of Fl deposited $21,956 into my son’s account at FSU this year for Benacquisto. FSU’s 2019-2020 total in state cost of attendance, leaving out health insurance, is $18,592.
Shhh!
(jk) It’s an amazing scholarship. 
NMSC seems to send out the first roster to the first choice colleges on March 1st. When do they second out the next ones (second and third…)?
@MacroQuest
“Does BU mail the NMSC college sponsorship amount after May 1st or right away?”
It is my understanding that it is NMSC (and not BU) that sends out college sponsored scholarships and NMSC starts sending out these scholarships on 5/1
This is what I see in the second page of the letter from NMSC
“May 1,2020: NMSC will begin mailing college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offers”
@vistajay or any parent/student from past years: could you please confirm if my understanding is correct?
Thanks, @vistajay. I didn’t look that closely.
@vistajay Thank You, that is the information I was looking for! We are taking a trip down in March and I am trying to convince my D20 that the extra distance is worth the extra saved money. Especially when considering there will be a masters coming too.
I believe the next one is on April 1, then May 1, then May 31 (or June 1?)