<p>I was surprised that my S2 received the $2500 NMF scholarship today. I figured he would not get it as we reported that he was going to a college which offered a NMF scholarship. (For some reason I figured that the $2500 was awarded to those individuals who would not get a school scholarship.) S2 is debating between UMN and UA (both great schools).</p>
<p>I am happy that he was recognized for this scholarship, but if we accept it I believe we will no longer be eligible for the school's scholarships of $1000 per year for UA or $1000/$2000 per year for UMN (S1 received $2000 the last two years, making this a possible $8,000 scholarship.) As both schools offer more than the $2500 in the long run, I believe it would be better to decline. Can someone comment on this and let me know if I am correct.
Thank you.</p>
<p>Yes, you are correct. If it makes you feel more comfortable, call NMC on Monday to clarify. But yes, $4000 or $8000 is certainly more than $2500 :-).</p>
<p>My S is in the same situation. If he declines the $2500 from National merit in order to receive the $1000/yr from his college, is he still considered a National Merit Scholar?</p>
<p>pebbles…Yes, he will still be a Scholar. Any student who receives an official NM scholarship ($2500, university sponsored, or corporate) is considered a National Merit Scholar. Congrats to you and your S!!</p>
<p>My S is in the same boat so I called the National Merit Corporation (NMC). I now understand that he should accept the $2500 regardless of his school decision. Here is why.</p>
<p>Once you are awarded the $2500 scholarship, you are no longer considered for a school-sponsored or a corporation-sponsored scholarship by NMC.</p>
<p>A school may still decide to award you a merit scholarship based on the fact that you are a national merit finalist but such an merit award will not be administered NMC.</p>
<p>My understanding is that the University of Minnesota has it arranged so that if a student receives the National Merit Scholarship of $2500 that they also would still receive the university’s National Merit scholarship money of $1000 a year for the remaining 3 years making the total $5500.</p>
<p>Yoopmom, thank you for that information. I have a call into umn to see how they handle this…I hope you are right. I also called University of Alabama and got good news. They told me that I should accept the $2500. They said the 1st year they would give us $1250 each semester, then in the subsequent years (2nd, 3rd and 4th) they would give $500 each semester, making the award worth $5500. I sent them an email making sure that this was correct, and asking them to let me know by the April 3rd deadline. Better safe than sorry. I will post what I hear from UMN. I guess it is best to contact each school and find out exactly how they handle this situation.</p>
<p>Yes…any student who receives an official NMF scholarship (college, corporate or NMCorp) is a National Merit Scholar.</p>
<p>Call NMCorp for the best way to proceed.</p>
<p>kjcf…</p>
<p>Please email Bama scholarships about your situation. Another student just did so and was told that Bama would have you accept the 2500 for the first year, and then give you the 1,000 for each of the following years…along with the rest of the scholarship of course! But, email and ask to be sure and keep the email.</p>
<p>ahh…xposted…you’ve already gotten the info. good. but get it in writing as well.</p>
<p>mom2, I have to thank you for another post you made regarding nmf scholarships. You were explaining the financial statement to someone and said that the room charge listed would cover the honors housing even if the amount was smaller. My son’s statement only listed the Presidential and Engineering scholarships and did not list the room (or the NMF portion) so your comment had me calling them. Apparently they did not realize he was a National Merit Finalist, so had me send them the letter. Once they receive this, they will adjust/explain his scholarships. At this time I asked about the 2500. I sent them an e-mail with what they told me ($2500 1st year from the Foundation, $1,000 afterwards) and asked them to let me know if this was not correct. I will keep this for my files. Thank you for your help.</p>
<p>Yes…that NMF housing scholarship does cover the 4 bedroom Super Suite (each student has a private bedroom)…and those cost $8800 per student…so it’s a nice addition to the scholarship!!</p>
<p>Considering that you also get the 2500 per year for engineering, you really have a free ride…or very close to it.</p>
<p>I called UMN and they suggested S2 accept the $2500 award as they treat it just like UA ($2,500 received goes to the 1st year, the 2nd/3rd/4th years they award $1,000). This means $1,500 more than the guaranteed at both schools if he declines (although maybe $2500 less at UMN as S2 received $2,000 p/year.) He is going to definitely accept this as that $2,000 p/year is not guaranteed. I am glad I posted here since after everyone’s input it motivated me to call each school and get the answer instead of “assuming” I knew it. I would suggest anyone else in this situation to call too. Thanks!</p>
<p>if you receive any money from “any” source for your finalist status, you are a scholar. it is really a meaningless title… just means you got money.</p>
<p>According to the NM Corporation rep I spoke with today, receiving a scholarship from a university because of NMF status does not make a student a NM Scholar. It has to be an “official” NM scholarship. Some schools give “unofficial” money to National Merit Finalists, but those students cannot call themselves Scholars. Honestly, it really doesn’t matter, as it’s still money, and this really had nothing to do with why I called them. She just wanted to make sure I knew this if my son declined the $2500 scholarship.</p>
<p>My daughter received this $2500 scholarship offer as well, and I was confirmed today that neither USC or Northwestern will be able to give her the scholarships they automatically award all NMF’s ($1000/yr on top of the Presidential Scholarship for USC and $2000/yr for Northwestern) BECAUSE OF THIS! I was shocked and so disappointed that my daughter’s being awarded the “scholar” status could potentially cost her $1500 to $5500 in scholarship funds!! I found that unbelievable!!! I feel so stupid and “taken” to think this “scholar” status was a “good” thing! Unfortunately, neither Northwestern or USC said they would pay her any money for the subsequent years as UMN and Alabama seem to be doing. So lucky for those kids!! Anyone have any advice?</p>
<p>* I feel so stupid and “taken” to think this “scholar” status was a “good” thing! *</p>
<p>Clarification. ALL NMF kids are SCHOLARS if they get a scholarship from a college (like USC), a corporation, or the one time 2500. You seem to that thought that your child needed to get the 2500 in order to be a scholar…not true.</p>
<p>???
When you say USC…are you talking about Southern Cal or South Carolina?</p>
<p>“Anyone have any advice?”</p>
<p>If the schools have that policy, what else can you do? I guess you could apply to UMinn or Bama and get both. Don’t know if UMinn is still offering, but Bama is.</p>
<p>I think she’s talking about University of So California. Weird thing is, I called USC a few days ago and they told me that S should take the $2500. The rep also said “why turn down money” So I we sent the acceptance back to National Merit Corp. Sounds like one of the posters on the USC board was right-you can’t get both the $2500 from NMC and the $1000/year from Univ of So California.</p>
<p>Mom103, that is correct that to be a National Merit SCHOLAR, as opposed to a Finalist, the student must receive an “official” NM scholarship, whether from NMSC, a university, or a corporation. An scholarship that comes directly from a university and is given just because a student is a finalist does not count if it is not an official university sponsored NM scholarship. BUT if it comes from a university via NMSC, it does count. For example, NMFs who name Texas A&M as their first choice by the deadline will get an official university sponsored NM scholarship. Then, those students are NM Scholars, and Texas A&M can brag about how many NM Scholars they have. All other scholarships from Texas A&M, given to NMFs because they are NMFs, are not the “official” university sponsored NM scholarships. Weird and confusing, but true.</p>
<p>Yes, but that wasn’t my point. Milwaukee mom seemed to think that only the one time 2500 NMCorp award makes a student a scholar. It’s irrelevant that some of the TAMU NMF money isn’t official, the point is that TAMU does give its NMF’s an offical amount (even if it’s a small amount) and that’s what makes their scholars. It’s not relevant that the same students are given additional monies that aren’t official.</p>
<p>Pebbles…are you saying that of the “half tuition” NMF scholarship that USC awards (about $20k) that $1k is “official”, so that would be lost when accepting the one time 2500?</p>
<p>Just to clarify my earlier post, what I was surprised by was that by virtue of being OFFERED the $2500 scholarship directly from NMC, my daughter has been disqualified from the Univ of So Cal $1000/yr scholarship and the Northwestern $2000/yr scholarship. Even if we DENY acceptance of the scholarship, my D can not no longer get either of the them. I called NMC before the award letter was sent out, and was led to believe that we still had the option of denying the scholarship and, therefore, being able to qualify for the other scholarships. That has not turned out to be true and what I found to be the most disturbing.</p>
but get it in writing as well.</p>