@silverpurple my daughter updated the portals that would let her to say she had been designated a NMF. They may not care, but figured it could only help. Edited to note that she did not notify the schools to which she’d already been admitted as they don’t offer NMF money, and obviously don’t care about her status otherwise as they’ve already accepted her.
Does anyone know how long it usually takes the 1st choice university to receive the notification once NMSC sends them out on March 1st?
I too am wondering. Do they send these notifications by snail mail also?
Omg I sure hope this isn’t sent snail mail!!
The big merit scholarships at UNC are very competitive/tough to get. I’d say as difficult as admission to HYPSM.
@furmom , I don’t know much about USF but I have a sophomore OOS Benacquisto recipient at FSU. Feel free to PM me with any specific FSU questions.
@Furmom We visited USF and my son loved it. They treat their NM Scholars very well. The financial package is beyond amazing, but not only that, they have several layers of support built in for these students. They will have an advisor in their major, an advisor in the honors college, and they have an advisor specific to NM Scholars. If you haven’t already, contact Winsome Nisbett, the National Merit Scholarship coordinator at USF. She was amazing to work with! My son isn’t 100% USF, but he is close to making a final decision. We visited in October and are returning for a second visit the first week of April. The campus is large, but they made it feel smaller, like a school-within-a-school for us. The honors college was amazing. We sat in on a class and talked with students. We had only positive experiences there. As for the safety, one area around campus was a little sketchy, but you will see that at many/most large universities.
@vistajay and @Mommieakin THANKS! We have been in contact with Winsome ?
@vistajay and @Mommieakin also, we visit both later this month. We ended up having to schedule it during their spring break due to our schedules, but I still think we will be able to get a good feel, plus she has toured that size of school when students were present. I will definitely reach out with any questions after we tour!
Is it too late to apply to UF as a NMF? (and get full coa scholarship/benaquisto)?
Freshman Deadlines - UF Admissions - University of Florida
Application Deadline. November 1. Application considered on space-available basis. November 2 - March 1. Yes unfortunately it is too late. My twins applied February 4 and we expected to get a decision on March 27 however they found out on February 28 that they were admitted.
thanks. just missed it. : (
I believe there are still some colleges that give full rides to nmf that are still accepting applications. I believe univ of Alabama is and possibly some of the other fl colleges such as UCF but you would need to check.
I called and spoke with UT Dallas and was told it’s not too late for them (D20 is working on an application this week after having a change of heart about her previous first choice).
@PurpleTitan —yes, maybe the big ones, but to not offer a single penny to multiple NMF both in and OOS—crazy. Purdue was similar—even with a parental legacy!
@furmom, the top 30 research U’s (and top 20 or so LACs) in the USNews ranking just don’t offer many merit scholarships period because they don’t need to to get NMS-level students. Some offer zero merit scholarships. Now, some of them do offer $2K or $500 total to NMS, but is that really such a big difference from $0?
@PurpleTitan for the most part, yes, but Purdue main campus isn’t in the top 30, but USC is in the top 20 and gives 50% off tuition for NMF. Just not tons of rhyme or reason to it. Purdue is still a bargain with no tuition increases for 9 years now!
Just received an email from Cal Poly SLO saying there is an April 1 deadline to notify them if you are a National Merit Finalist. I’ve never heard of NMF offers from SLO. Does anyone know what they offer?
@furmom, it just depends on each school’s history and philosophy. All schools want to build the strongest class they can while making the finances work. Note that COA for USC with a half-tuition scholarship is still more than COA for PU OOS at full cost. A school could give a $100K/year scholarship to NMS but if its list price tuition is $150K/year, that doesn’t mean it’s a better deal than a school that has a $40K/year tuition.
In the case of PU, it probably already think it’s a good enough deal for in-state given the in-state discount and with the tuition freeze and strength in engineering and quantitative disciplines, it can get enough strong OOS students.
Note that while USC does give the half-tuition scholarship to NMS, it doesn’t automatically admit NMS.
I think they offer 2-3k per year for NMFs. I’ve seen references to this on these boards, but can’t recall exactly where.