<p>Being a mom, I want to remind Fall 2010 applicants to be mindful of deadlines at various colleges for merit scholarships' applications. Two weeks ago I attended for my DS the local presentation by Boston University (ds was at nu's presentation on the same night). I was surprised to see an earlier deadline for merit scholarships applications of Dec. 1 than for regular admissions of Jan. 1. The admissions person mentioned that this earlier deadline does trip students up who would have been qualified to received a scholarship. He told me that National Hispanic Scholars must complete a merit scholarship application by Dec. 1 in order to be eligible for a NHS award. Since my DS had Bu's deadline of Jan. 1 on his list, he did not have the earlier deadline calendared.</p>
<p>DS and I visited Vanderbilt this past week and they too had a Dec. 1 deadline for Merit Scholarships. Plus some schools require the CSS form to be filled out by Dec. 1 in order to qualify for merit or financial aid. So I just wanted to bring this point to everyone's attention. I would hate to see a student who is NHS miss an award for failing to submit the application by an earlier deadline. Some schools may not require any additional paperwork other than an admissions application for merit money, but others may have some additional essays or forms so just be sure to research it with the school (including phone financial aid or admissions.)</p>