<p>I'm currently a semifinalist in both the National Merit and the National Achievement programs, and I'm trying to figure out what to do about naming a 1st choice college, since many schools ask you to designate them way before you hear from all your schools and make your final decision. So I was wondering, if you're involved in both competitions, can you list one top choice school for National Merit and another for National Achievement to have better chances of your 'first choice' lining up with your actual final choice of college?
Thanks for sharing any information you have about this :)</p>
<p>since many schools ask you to designate them way before you hear from all your schools and make your final decision</p>
<p>Schools may “ask”…but it doesn’t matter UNLESS they have a deadline for NMF/NA scholarship consideration. If your schools limit who they award their NMF scholarships to and they give a firm deadline (like January 30th) for naming them as first choice, then do so. (you can always change your choice later…before May 1st.)</p>
<p>Do not worry AT ALL about schools that are just asking, but don’t have any deadline requirements that are before May 1st. Don’t worry about the schools that give EVERY NMF/NA student a NMF scholarship. </p>
<p>Which schools are you worried about?</p>
<p>That said, I don’t see why you can’t use each of your 1st choice cards and name two different schools.</p>
<p>Sorry for being unclear, I meant that the designation was a requirement to receive the aid. Most of my schools want to be designated in February so I need to figure out what I’m doing with that, but narrowing it down to which 2 schools make the most sense to bet on instead of 1 makes it a little easier…</p>
<p>*Most of my schools want to be designated in February *</p>
<p>Which schools are these? I wasn’t aware of many schools that require a Feb naming…otherwise, no merit consideration.</p>
<p>For American:
and I haven’t looked into my other schools in a while (I’d list the info on them but I have 8 schools and I don’t have the energy to do the individual research at the moment) but I remember multiple schools wanting you to designate them early in the year which is super annoying. </p>
<p>I figure I’ll just list GW as my top choice since they offer the most money for NMFs but I’m hoping I can add a second to the list to increase my chances of getting a scholarship.</p>
<p>Unless NMCorp won’t allow you to, put one as your NMF choice and one as your NA choice.</p>
<p>What are the names of the other schools that you’re considering? You don’t have to list their policies.</p>
<p>Doesn’t look like GWU has that early designation req’t.</p>
<p>NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS</p>
<p>National Merit Finalists, National Achievement Finalists, and National Hispanic Scholars who apply to GW and meet the following eligibility requirements are considered for Presidential Academic Scholarships in the amount of $15,000 per year.</p>
<p>National Merit and National Achievement finalists must select GW as their college of choice with the National Merit Corporation and be selected by that organization as a National Merit Finalist or a National Achievement Finalist.</p>
<p>Thanks, I noticed that too which is great for GW, though I might email them to confirm since American’s policy has made me a little paranoid…</p>
<p>Besides American and GW, I’m applying to Swarthmore, Georgetown, Bard (all of which don’t offer aid for national merit) and Claremont Mckenna, U Maryland, and U Mass, plus possibly NYU and Pomona but I’m only applying to those if I have the time to write the supplements since they’re not at the top of my list.</p>
<p>*National Merit Scholarships/College-Sponsored Merit Awards
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has a variety of scholarships that are awarded to students based on academic performance. The University of Maryland serves as a sponsoring institution for students selected by NMSC to receive the College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship award. Students selected for the UM Sponsored Merit award will receive a four-year renewable scholarship ranging from $750-$2,000/year. All finalists should follow NMSC’s instructions for first choice notifications carefully and observe deadlines to remain eligible for awards.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>The above is UM-CP’s policy. Doesn’t look like they require an early date. </p>
<p>*National Merit Scholarships </p>
<p>These scholarships cover the full cost of tuition, fees, and standard room and board. A limited number of scholarships are offered per entering class, based on a competitive review of the freshman National Merit Scholars who have applied to the university. These scholarships may not be combined with tuition waivers, since the scholarship already covers the full cost of tuition, fees, and standard room and board. </p>
<p>Scholarship application: None required
Notification: Admissions Office will notify recipients after acceptance
UMass Amherst GPA requirement: 3.0 or higher during freshman year, 3.2 in subsequent years.
*</p>
<p>Doesn’t look like UMass does either.</p>
<p>American may be your only school has an early deadline.</p>
<p>ok thanks! so i’ll try to add both american and gw and otherwise maybe just change it to american for now since i can change it to anything later…i’ll also talk to my counselor tomorrow for more advice on which one i should choose when. thanks for all your help! :)</p>