I got offered the USC 1k a year national merit scholarship through the national merit site. However, I will be attending another school. If I decline this offer will I still be considered a national merit scholar? If not, if i accept the offer and do not go to USC will I still be a national merit scholar?
If I understand your question, you’re not expecting to get any money from USC, you just want to know if you can attain NM Scholar status. If you accept the scholarship from USC but decide to go elsewhere, I do no think you will be a National Merit Scholar. But it would be best to call the NMSC office for clarification. Report back and let us know what they say.
Since you designated USC as your first choice college and therefore received a college sponsored award from USC you can’t receive another NMSC award. You can only accept the award if you attend USC. Only applicants that are awarded and accept either the $2500 NMSC, college sponsored or corporate sponsored award in their NMSC portal are NM Scholars.
From the Information about NMSC page 3
“Every college-sponsored award is offered with the condition that the Finalist has been admitted for the fall term and will attend the sponsor college. Because every college-sponsored award can be used only at the institution financing it, the scholarship is canceled if the winner changes college choice. Also, if NMSC receives notice of a change in college choice from a Finalist to whom a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offer has already been mailed, the change in college choice will not be processed and the student cannot be offered another college-sponsored award—even if the new choice of college is one that also sponsors Merit Scholarship awards. (See page 3 of the Requirements and Instructions document which is posted online in the “Competition Instructions” section of the OSA or at nationalmerit.org/resources.)”
FYI, this would be the reason to not select a first choice college until closer to the May 31 deadline.
“NOTE: If NMSC receives notification of a change in college choice from a Finalist after mailing a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offer to that student, the change in college choice will not be processed and the Finalist cannot be offered another college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award. This applies even if the new choice of college is one that also sponsors Merit Scholarship awards. Therefore, a Finalist who has previously reported a sponsor college as first choice but is uncertain about it may choose to notify NMSC that he or she is now “undecided” to prevent being made an offer from a school he or she is uncertain about attending; such notification must be submitted online at osa.nationalmerit.org before May 1. The Finalist can subsequently report a firm college choice that NMSC receives by May 31.”