<p>Massmom, congratulations to your daughter! Make sure she stays away from liquor stores. :)</p>
<p>You’ll want to check out the National Merit forum here on CC [National</a> Merit Scholarships - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/]National”>National Merit Scholarships - College Confidential Forums) All kinds of great advice, including a very long-running thread on what schools offer “substantial” NM scholarships: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html</a> Go to the end to see the most recent list. </p>
<p>Once you’ve read through that list, you’ll see that the schools that offer big NM money are generally not well-known schools, though there are exceptions. Finalists do apply to name-brand schools, and some will receive NM scholarships directly from the National Merit folks instead of through the school. All of these scholarships are merit based; as far as I’m aware need is not a component. </p>
<p>As far as filling out the FAFSA or Profile to receive merit aid: this depends on the school. Some schools require you to fill them out to be considered. You’ll need to check with each school.</p>