<p>^Northeastern gives full tuition for NMF.</p>
<p>My D is a semi-finalist and hopefully will be a Finalist. She wants to take a gap year before entering college (she’ll probably spend that time working about 20 hours a week and acting in community theatre).</p>
<p>Does anyone know if Scholarships based on NMF are contigent on atttending the college immediately after senior year? (I saw that some stated they would not accept a transfer student, but that’s not what she’d be; she’d be a Freshman, only with a year’s gap). </p>
<p>THANKS!</p>
<p>You might need to check with the individual colleges about taking a gap year with NMF scholarships. Even though she would still be a freshman, not being a recent high school graduate might be a problem. Personally, I don’t see a problem because as an incoming freshman, her NMF status would still be good for the PR. But, a school will probably not promise a scholarship offered one year for the next year. Many schools change their NMF scholarship offers every year and some do by reducing the scholarship amount.</p>
<p>taking a “break” between high school and college doesn’t sound like a good idea. It’s like when you “rest your eyes” for a few minutes and end up sleeping for an extra four hours</p>
<p>I wouldn’t take a gap year.</p>
<p>I remember reading that you must enter college as a freshmen the fall after senior year.</p>
<p>What she could do is enter as a freshmen, and then request a break from school for a semester or two.</p>
<p>The Ivy League & MIT college info sessions I’ve attended have included encouragement to consider a gap year. Here’s a blog entry discussing one:
[MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: “On taking a ‘Gap Year’”](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/deferring_enrollment/on_taking_a_gap_year.shtml]MIT”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/deferring_enrollment/on_taking_a_gap_year.shtml)</p>
<p>But the question about scholarships is interesting. It’s hard to imagine colleges encouraging them but scholarships not supporting them. But I’ll have to keep that in mind. </p>
<p>If you find out, please post here.</p>
<p>*The Ivy League & MIT college info sessions I’ve attended have included encouragement to consider a gap year. Here’s a blog entry discussing one:
MIT Admissions | Blog Entry: “On taking a ‘Gap Year’”</p>
<p>But the question about scholarships is interesting. **It’s hard to imagine colleges encouraging them but scholarships not supporting them. **But I’ll have to keep that in mind. *</p>
<p>the colleges that you mention that are encouraging gap years don’t give NMF scholarships, therefore they have no reason not to encourage gap years.</p>
<p>Thanks for pointing that out. I was thinking of outside scholarships, since, as you say, those colleges don’t have scholarships. But because the majority of students from those colleges qualify for financial aid, you would hope they wouldn’t encourage something that would result in lost funds (scholarships). </p>
<p>In any case, it certainly requires more research. Losing scholarship money is a definite discouragement to taking a gap year.</p>
<p>I just discovered on the National Merit website that, to have a good shot at a college National Merit scholarship, the student needs to have designated by March 1 a first-choice college that offers these scholarships (although it can be sent later for inclusion in a second pool of applicants). The National Merit website has a list of the colleges that offer the scholarships, and a postcard that can be printed out and mailed or faxed to them designating or changing the student’s first-choice college.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>What schools are you considering that give NMF scholarships. If you’re only applying to one, then choose that one. If you’re applying to more than one school that gives a NMF scholarship, then check to see in any of those schools has its own deadline.</p>
<p>What schools are you applying to?</p>
<p>I am a little confused regarding the process for declaring a first-choice school. DS has been accepted early action to a school that is not a NMF sponsor. The best he could get is the $2,500 scholarship from NM and this seems unlikely because he put little effort into his essay. He applied regular decision to two other schools that are NM sponsors, but won’t hear back from either of them for another 2 months. Although he would like to attend the early action school, the financial burden of $50,000+ for this school is weighing heavily on his father and I. Do we have him select the early action school as his first choice (knowing the best he can get is $2500) or have him select one of the other schools that would likely provide him with significant merit aid based on NMF? Will these two regular decision schools know if he hasn’t selected them as his first choice, hurting his chances for admission? They know he was a semi-finalist, as he noted this on his applications.</p>
<p>March 1 is not the dead line to select first choice school. What it means is by March 1 if NMSC has your first choice school in their system, then they will forward your information to the school of your choice for scholarship consideration. For those Finalists who have declared “Undecided” status for their first choice school. NMSC will not do anything with your file ( as far as the school scholarship concern). Finalists have until April 26 to inform NMSC about their first choice school.</p>
<p>In some cases, you can let the school know yourself about your finalist status. Northeastern for example asks you to send them a copy of your finalist letter to be considered for their scholarship. They want you to send that info ASAP but you don’t have to mark them as your first choice until the last minute (sometime in late April). I assume that when you send a school like that your finalist information, they tell you that if you designate them as your first choice, then you would receive XYZ scholarship. My son has a few schools that offer NM scholarships, and he doesn’t yet have a preference between them, so for now he is listed as undecided. I am assuming that once schools tell him what they “would” give him if they are his first choice, then he can make a more informed decision as to which (if any in the final analysis) is his first choice.</p>
<p>Motherbear…for now, your son should be listed as undecided.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’re rather certain that the EA school will expect you to be “full pay”. It sounds like you’re very concerned about how you will manage paying $50k for 4 years straight. That can be very frightening.</p>
<p>We waited until we were POSITIVE which school our S would attend. The disadvantage of that was that he didn’t get merit $$$ from schools that wanted you to list them as 1st choice as early as possible, but he wanted to be honest & really didn’t know. USC was fine with giving him merit $ as long as he listed them when he was sure that would be where he was attending.</p>
<p>Thinking of coming up with all the kiddos college expenses for 4+ years is indeed scary, but somehow most of us get it done one way or another–some savings, some current earnings, some loans and some combo of all of the above.</p>
<p>*but somehow most of us get it done one way or another–some savings, some current earnings, some loans and some combo of all of the above. *</p>
<p>Not exactly… lol</p>
<p>Most people do not have to come up with $50k+ per year…even by resorting to loans. I would even venture to say that only a small percentage of parents are full-freight paying $50k+ per year (thru loans, savings, and earnings).</p>
<p>I do know a considerable # of full-freight parents (including us for one of our kiddos). I guess that makes me lucky? Oh well, people manage one way or another with whatever life deals them.</p>
<p>It is important for families to be realistic about what different choices will mean though & not just hope that things will work out. There is little point in sending them to expensive school & then having to transfer back to in-state U because you run out of money & kiddo gets degree from that school instead of doing the reverse & getting degree from “prestigous U.”</p>
<p>*There is little point in sending them to expensive school & then having to transfer back to in-state U because you run out of money & kiddo gets degree from that school instead of doing the reverse & getting degree from “prestigous U.” *</p>
<p>this is very, very true…and we see this every year on CC. Kids starting at expensive schools, parents over-estimating how much they can realistically pay, and then after a semester or two or three, the student is needing to transfer to a more affordable school…often much less prestigious than the schools that had offered them nice merit scholarships as incoming freshmen (and those great scholarships are not available to transfer students).</p>
<p>I think HiMom’s family took advantage of large merit for USC for one child, and then had the second child go to a CC for two years, and now that child is full-freight at USC for junior and senior years. A very good economical strategy to get 2 kids with USC degrees without paying anywhere near $400k. :)</p>
<p>Yes, we are fairly certain that we will be paying full-freight even with 2 in college at the same time. The EA school does not give merit aid, and our oldest child did not qualify academically for merit at his school. We will have two years of overlap. We hope our youngest will get excited about a large NM scholarship and possibly have a change of heart, but realize the EA school is his dream. Hubby and I feel the EA school is the best fit, but would like to retire one day!</p>
<p>Doesn’t NMSC send out the postcards in the mail for you to return in the early spring?</p>