<p>Hi. I just got my junior year PSAT scores back (2280). So I think I have a pretty good chance of getting Finalist status, even tho I live in Jersey and there are so many other smart kids - lol. Anyway, there was a thread going on about this topic some time ago, but new posts have been discontinued. There was a lot of good info on there but I'm still wondering which colleges give full rides or at least decent scholarships to NM Finalists/Scholars/Semifinalists. Some of the colleges mentioned weren't so good reputation-wise. One of the better ones was Case Western Reserve in Ohio. My top choices are Bowdoin and Middlebury (Bowdoin is on the list for NM scholarships) but since I am in the top 1% of my class, I'd like to know what are the best colleges offering heavy NM scholarships. It would be tough to pay for tuition anywhere otherwise, so any help is appreciated!</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who replied! I'm so relieved now. But, if there are any potential Finalists out there, I'd just like to know: what colleges are you planning on applying to? What state do you live in, and how good are the public schools there? Would you rather go to a so-so public school on full tuition or an awesome private school and be in debt for the rest of your life? (I'm not being sarcastic, it's a serious question that I'm asking myself) So, food for thought. Please respond.</p>
<p>Hey, ya know what? I think I mighta deleted the responses between my first two posts. (Would that happen if you delete the e-mails?) I'm so technologically illiterate. Oh well.</p>
<p>List of full rides for NMF:
<a href="http://homepage.mac.com/l_j/secondhome/National_Merit.html%5B/url%5D">http://homepage.mac.com/l_j/secondhome/National_Merit.html</a></p>
<p>I will probably be notified that I am a finalist soon; i live in Mississippi and got a 226.</p>
<p>The two schools I am considering that give full tuition for finalists are U of Florida and Baylor (in Texas). I've been to Baylor twice and absolutely love how everything is pretty and new. Florida i will be visiting soon, and i am considering mostly cause its rank is so high (i know, i know, rank doesn't matter...) i think it is second in the whole country out of public and private universities to enroll NMFinalists, probably cause its such a great deal for such a good school.</p>
<p>I applied to 20ish schools and have no idea whether i will take the money or go for ivy league expensive. but really, i also suspect that my parents can afford it and they are just giving me a hard time b/c they are stingy (dad's a doctor, mom still works)</p>
<p>I think i'll just keep all my options open and decide later. Most likely I will lean towards going ahead and spending the money for a top tier education, since it has always been a dream. You should do the same, keep your options open. Congrats on the high PSAT cause it really does open a lot of doors. I hear a lot of my friends worrying about whether they'll get scholarships here and there. since you are NM you already know that if worse comes to worse you will still end up at a top 100 school for FREE!!!</p>
<p>Um, why the difference in scoring scale? Aren't the PSAT on the 240 scale now? Just wondering how the OP got a 2280 on a 240 scale</p>
<p>Some kids like to add a zero at the end of their PSAT scores.</p>
<p>you know what's interesting...</p>
<p>Chapel Hill asks for your PSAT score (minus writing), but when you try to type in a three digit number which is of course less than 400, it tells you the minimum is 400! (that's the minimum for SAT I old scale)</p>
<p>ento mom and others: Purdue is on the list for "full rides" to NMS but when I go to their website, this is what it says:</p>
<p>Purdue University: National Merit Scholarship</p>
<p>National Merit Scholarships are awarded to finalists who have been admitted to Purdue for the fall term, have indicated Purdue as their first-choice university, and have not received a corporation-sponsored merit scholarship. Recipients of this scholarship will receive $4,000 ($1,000 per year for four years). Students enter the Merit Program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT as an initial screen and should work with their high school counselors to follow the appropriate procedures. You also can contact the National Merit Scholarship Corporation at (847) 866-5100 for details.</p>
<p>Am I missing something? This sounds like a pretty crappy NMS scholarship $1,000 a year for 4 years.</p>
<p>That list has been around for a year or more, and I haven't personally checked all of the schools. Purdue may have been listed incorrectly as a full scholarship school, or maybe the school has changed it's policy. From what I've seen, there's a dicotomy in school based NMS $$. At one end are colleges that offer full or close to full scholarships, on the other are those that offer between 1-2 k per year depending on financial need. In general, the former are schools that are less selective and are trying to attract high scoring students.</p>
<p>I think an updated and new NMS Scholarship list needs to be created. Everyone, please post such info if you are aware of a school's CURRENT scholarship info. </p>
<p>For example:</p>
<p>ABC college charges in-state tuition to out-of-state residents.
XYZ college gives free tuition and room and board
XXX college gives free tuition, room and board and a stipend.</p>
<p>this way we can recreate the list with accurate info.</p>
<p>when will it be over: I think you have to add a zero to the end of the PSAT score (minus writing) for Chapel Hill -- have you asked them????</p>
<p>Purdue ABSOLUTELY does NOT offer NMF Full Rides. We're from Ohio and my son is/was pretty interested in Purdue -- we visited and met with the financial folks, and they really could CARE LESS about NMF's. If you're in-state, you get a great package, but for out-of-state, you're screwed completely. I have to admit that I found the entire process at Purdue to be negative - the engineering programs are too large, the distances you walk for everything are long, the freshman seminar classes are HUGE, with no Honors exceptions, and the financial aid people were uncooperative. We felt like a number, unlike anywhere else we visited. We actually went on a walking tour, and at one point when we were waiting by an entrance, a couple existing students crept up into the back of the crowd and actually started talking to prospects saying they hated the engineering program, and felt that they had been lied to during recruiting in several ways. Terrible experience.</p>
<p>OH Dad..... thanks for the info about Purdue. Crossing it off our list. The "too huge" "long distances" and out of state issues are killers.</p>
<p>Where have you had better experiences?? Is your son a senior? Our son is a junior, has great stats & a possible NMSF (won't know til sept). </p>
<p>We're interested in great merit scholarships at schools with great eng programs and honor programs</p>
<p>In Ohio, Case Western gives generous scholarships, and University of Cincinnati gives full in-state tuition, room & board, plus $1500 stipend to NM finalists.</p>
<p>The University of Arizona proudly offers out of state National Merit Finalists, National Achievement Program Semifinalists, or National Hispanic Scholars a scholarship package of $20,000. National Merit Finalists must name the University of Arizona as their first choice school in order to receive this award, which includes the college-sponsored, corporate-sponsored, or NMSC-sponsored scholarship award. The total value of this award over four years is $80,000.</p>
<p>My son is a senior, and I offer a STRONG ENDORSEMENT of the Cincinnati recommendation. The only negative about Cincinnati is that the neighborhood surrounding the campus is downright scary; you can also infer this by the dormitory security which is prevalent. You don't just walk into a dorm there - you go past a security desk and check in. Otherwise, we were treated like dignitaries, and the faculty was impressive.</p>
<p>Our best experience, and most likely the school he will attend, is University of Central Florida in Orlando. He's going into Aerospace Engineering, and although UCF is absolutely NOT the best of the programs out there, the school and facilities, and neighborhood, and crew program are just great. Also the campus is large but not overwhelming, and the ratio of F/M is about 60/40, and (this may seem ridiculous, but I'm sorry, it's important to us and him) so his social prospects are enhanced. UCF wants out-of-state students badly, and they go out of their way to show it. When we visited, they paid for rental car, hotel, meals, everything - probably would have bought airline tickets too, but frankly, I felt it was important that we "met them halfway" on some of the expenses.</p>
<p>Finally a word about all the incessant dialogue elsewhere on this site about engineering school rankings....we've considered that, and it's my opinion as an engineer that in today's world, you're not likely to break into the top eschelon of R/D or Management with a BS anyway. Therefore, we are pretty much taking the approach of going for the NMF "Full Ride" at a school which offers it, knowing full-well that the TOP TOP TOP schools do not offer NMF rides. Who cares? Get a debt-free BS, then get the MS or PhD, quite possibly paid for by the future employer. A huge advantage of UCF is that Orlando has a thriving economy and the Research Park which links to the campus affords an inherent hiring pool which I feel is unmatched at just about any other institution. It is well known that graduates of an institution like to hire from their Alma Mater, and relative to UCF, I'm really liking the hiriing odds within 150 mile radius of that campus. Weekly maid service in honors dorm...need I go on?</p>
<p>Oh-Dad. You are soooo right. The successful engineers in my family (and there are a bunch!) all went to "regular colleges" for their b.s's AND then went to more prestigious schools for their grad degrees (and most of them got their employers to pay for those pricy grad degrees at the school of their choice). They all graduated debt free.</p>
<p>JLAUER95,
Oh-Dad is correct that Purdue offers very little merit aid to out-of-state NMF. D was in-state NMF and, when combined with other Purdue merit aid, offered about 3/4 ride. However, she looked elsewhere and is now a freshman AE/ME at Univ. Alabama at Huntsville (your back yard) and is very happy. They have a top notch engineering program in several fields and for AE majors (part of ME) both Army and NASA have huge facilities locally. This means every Aerospace contractor in the country has an office in large research park (which is across the street from the campus). Also have a great coop program (great work experience while attending school and good source of funds if merit aid does not work out). Finally, resident halls are better than any I've seen, every student gets a private room. At UAH D received full tuition plus for NMF. D also looked at GaTech, Riddle, Fla Tech, Rose. If you want more info feel free to PM me. UAH sounds very similar to description Oh-Dad gave for UCF.</p>
<p>working for blue: Very familiar with it all; hubby works in Research Park. The dorms at UAH are nice -- all brick -- many are brand new --watched them being built. Plus the school is paying for the "greek row" houses to be built. The goal is to make the school more nationally appealling.</p>