Does anyone know which school (FSU or USF) gives a National Merit Finalist package for out of state students?
Both. The Benaquisto works at either plus several more Florida colleges.
https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/PDF/factsheets/FIS.pdf
Thank you @Reebtoor. My son is admitted to FSU. I spoke to the admissions officer and she says that his national merit scholarship will not exceed 20K per year, and will only cover his tuition and fees because he did qualify for any FSU scholarship.
@Eskimo7 , there seems to be a disconnect there because the Benacquisto at FSU covers the complete cost of attendance and includes a waiver of OOS tuition. It is a state scholarship, not an FSU scholarship, that after waiver of OOS will equal about $20,000 a year in value, so that may be what she was referring to. But it will cover full tuition, full room and board, all costs/fees and leave some in his pocket for books and other incidental costs.
Thank you @VIstajay. The same FSU admissions counselor calls back and tells me that my son will not qualify for the Benacquisto because he was not awarded any FSU merit scholarship. She adds, his FSU re-computed GPA of 3.70 is low for any kind of scholarship.
Wow, @Eskimo7. IMO, that’s super crummy of FSU. On the chance your son gets a Corp-Sponsored or NMSC-sponsored scholarship, he will qualify for the Benaquisto because all NM Scholars are qualified.
I’d be upset with FSU.
@eskimo7, is he a NM Finalist officially yet?
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@Eskimo7, the Benacquisto is a state scholarship, and your son will get it if he is a NMF and attends one of the state colleges on the list in the statute, provided that he meets the other requirements of the law. The statute does not reference a specific GPA for the initial qualification.
My understanding is that the Benacquisto is paid by the state IF (and subtracting from the total) the school gives a sponsor scholarship, which is a relatively small amount, I think $500/year. So, I think it’s possible to be denied that sponsor scholarship and therefore be ineligible for the Benacquisto despite being a NMF.
Here is the sheet for Benacquisto, and it looks like @kdnmom is spot-on. See page 1: https://www.floridastudentfinancialaidsg.org/PDF/factsheets/FIS.pdf
That really is harsh of FSU.
Oh no! We are waiting for UF admissions letter, but this may blow the plans of a Benacquisto scholarship out of the water. UF doesn’t have an automatic National Merit award, so no reason to think my DS would get any other merit scholarship from them as an OOS. So then doesn’t qualify for Benacquisto?
@countertenormom - UF states on their website “UF offers a $500 annual scholarship to all National Merit® Finalists that indicate UF as their first-choice institution with the National Merit® Corporation by their deadline. This scholarship qualifies as a college-sponsored scholarship for the Benacquisto Scholarship…” so I think that UF does have an automatic NMF award. The hurdle is getting accepted for admission.
With apologies to the OP, I don’t think we have an accurate picture of the story here. FSU and any other FL school can deny admission to all the NMFs they want to, but after an NMF is admitted there is absolutely NO incentive to not award the $500 NMF college sponsored scholarship that would qualify one for Benacquisto. All the Benacquisto money is coming from the state, not the college. There’s no reason to turn down that free state funding. Either there is a miscommunication or something new is going on such as the state giving the schools some numerical Benacquisto cap (which I’ve not heard of). I would encourage OP to email the FSU admissions head directly. She was very helpful and communicative when I emailed her Benacquisto questions last year.
Thank you Kdnmom. I was starting my morning with a freak out! Now just waiting for news from National Meirit and UF.
We are in the same boat here countertenormom (OOS NMF waiting on UF decision). I have been pretty laid back so far, but the wait must be getting to me because I started my morning with a freak out too! Thank you to all the very, very helpful posters on this forum from a longtime lurker ?
After all the confusion, my son received a formal letter and was offered the Benacquisto Scholarship. To receive this scholarship, he must qualify as a National Merit Finalist and list FSU as his first choice institution with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Thank you all for your guidance, feedback and advice. Greatly appreciated.
By the way, his school has not received his finalist letter yet.
@Eskimo7 Great news! The finalist letter should be there either this week or early next week. So glad FSU came through!
Thank you, @eskimo7 , for letting us know, and good luck!
Your son is OOS and he received a formal letter and was offered the Benacquisto Scholarship without FSU’s knowledge. Then who had sent this letter? The Florida state? How they knew your son applied FSU? Thanks.My daughter would like to apply FSU this year.
My son applied to FSU in November last year.