List of college sponsors. https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/merit_sponsor_leaflet.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61
Any NMF planning to enroll to University of Florida for Fall 2020? Are you concerned about the potential impact COVID19 and the economic slow down will have on Benacquisto, especially for OOS kids? My D, an aspiting physician, is seriously considering UF from OOS, but the uncertainty about scholarship is giving her a pause. (She has admissions from FSU,UCF and USF, all of which guarantee scholarship for four years even if the state defunds Benacquisto)
@tnknes —so this isn’t the first time I have seen a parent say that FSU guarantees even if the state pulls money, especially for OOS. Do you mind telling me from where this info came? I have an OOS NMF committed to FSU, and we have been worried about funding of the scholarship, as well. And sorry I didn’t have any UF info for you.
@furmom I did not hear directly from FSU but have read parents post here. Most recently @BMC9670 mentioned that FSU confirmed this during a zoom call.
@tnknes —thanks!
" Does anyone know when you are allowed to tell others you are a NMS? From my understanding, once you accept the college’s award you become a NMS. Dd has accepted UCF and enrolled. Most of her friends are announcing to the Hs where they are going and their awards. We haven’t because I am not sure the rules surrounding it. Can DD announce she has accepted the offer, or does she have to wait until May? Thank you!"
@2tiredmomma
She can tell anyone! There are NO rules regarding announcing acceptances and NM college sponsored scholarships.
Congrats!!
My son is a $2500 NMS and I was told that on the website, in accepting your award, it specifically states you should not tell others, outside of family, of your NMS status and award until mid-May (can’t remember the exact date).
@2tiredmomma and @rainforestroll the date given to corporate sponsor winners is April 22 to announce beyond family
@rainforestroll - I hope you don’t mind me asking, did NMSC notify you of their selection via email or snail mail? We always seem to get snail mail notifications after the announcement date (at least for SF and F notifications) unlike others who always seem to know before hand and wanted to know how you found out.
@Waitlistedparent He was notified via email back in March. We have not received anything through snail mail.
@rainforestroll - thank you. I guess the Scholar round for us will likely be via snail mail for us too since we don’t seem to get anything via email?
Well, tomorrow is press release day for corporate sponsored scholars!
@tnknes well, DS21 is only a junior but he’s very likely to get NMF and UF is his top choice and yes, absolutely, we are extremely concerned. I’m glad we have a year to think about it and see what happens. Personally, if he were a senior, I very likely wouldn’t let him pick UF. I’d have him pick one of the schools that guarantee the scholarship. I will be shocked, actually, if the Benacquisto isn’t canceled. The economy will ultimately be just fine…in 5-7 years, or more.
The Scholar offer from NMSC had a deadline Apr 8. If you go back to the previous page of this post, you can find the text of the e-mail S20 received. Like others, we didn’t receive anything in mail, just an e-mail notification.
@mathKids - thank you.
How much money is there left if my daughter did not get notification of the $2500 award? I can’t remember is it $500 or nothing? And is it $500 one off or for all four years? Anyone knows what happens to the $500 if you defer?
@silverpurple - there are school based awards. If your S or D is a Finalist and you designated many of the Florida state schools, they’d give you a token amount which then qualifies him/her with Benacquisto Scholarship which covers the rest of the COA. You don’t even have to be a Florida resident. I think other states do this too, like Alabama, Oklahoma, etc.
?? I don’t understand your question. There is no guaranteed amount of minimum money for being NMF in and of itself.
As far as money at this point, it depends on the school. She might get nothing if her school isn’t a NM Sponsor or if she didn’t name them her top choice school by a certain date. Or, if she’s attending UTD or FSU or UAlabama (as examples), she could be looking at a full ride or close to a full ride.
@silverpurple If your child did not receive either the corporate sponsor award or the $2500 NM award, the only awards left are the college sponsored awards.
These college sponsored awards vary from $500 to $2000 and each college sponsor is different. You need to check with each specific college to which your child was accepted to determine their specific award amount and their individual deadlines for making them the first choice college with NM. Note that your kid cannot get any of those awards unless he/she designates the first choice college by that particular college’s deadline. The NMSC says their own final deadline is May 31, and that is generally what most colleges require, but certain colleges may require earlier designations, like Boston College. So it’s important to make sure you check with each college.
This is the award I was trying to figure out for Fordham earlier in the thread because it is not published anywhere on their website. I did finally determine there is a college sponsored award for Fordham (apparently it is $2000), but the amount is irrelevant, because it is just absorbed into their full tuition award. It is not a stackable award. Fordham simply views their full tuition award as an enhancement of the NM award.
That’s a bummer. Is Fordham the school that offered the honors program?
Yes. My D20 has a zoom meeting with some honors program students and the dean tonight. She is still considering. It’s a wonderful program.