<p>Top schools tend not to give money for NMSF because</p>
<p>1) So many of their applicants are NMSF that they can neither distinguish between them all or give money to them all.</p>
<p>2) Some schools hardly give any merit scholarships whatsoever.</p>
<p>As has been said before, a few schools like Vanderbilt and Northwestern will give small amounts to the tune of $2,000 a year, but the big NMSF scholarships will come from large state schools. </p>
<p>Being from California I know that USC is somewhat of an exception being an excellent private school that gives many fat scholarships to NMSF applicants. It’s half-tuition guaranteed with a good chance to get bumped up to full-tuition or full-tuition + stipend following another application process so if your daughter likes USC, it could be a really good fit.</p>