Is National Merit Scholar that big of a deal?

Applying to College
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<p>@celesteroberts‌ where do you see that Denison gives full tuition? I thought I saw it previously but I can’t seem to find it now–can you direct me? Thank you!</p>

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<p>Hmm, It seems to have disappeared from the website. I wonder if they’ve discontinued it. Here is the application from 2014. Maybe I’ll call and report back what I find out.
<a href=“http://denison.edu/files/forms/paschal_carter_scholarship_0.pdf”>http://denison.edu/files/forms/paschal_carter_scholarship_0.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
The $44K value is a per year value, like all their top awards that are still listed on the website.</p>

<p>OK, I e-mailed the FA office just now.</p>

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<p>@CallMeJonah‌ Yes</p>

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<p>Yes, NMS is a big deal.
When I took the PSAT I did not realize the weight of the test itself. I wish I had done more research because doing well on the PSAT can make the difference from some pretty hefty scholarships (such as Half tuition ones at USC I believe). </p>

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<p>Hmmm. What did happen to the Paschal Carter Scholarship info on Denison’s site?</p>

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<p>I found the application for 2014 but the fact that it’s not listed has me worried–it was there just a bit ago.</p>

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<p>Well, sort of. You are in the top 1% in your state. That can, based on 2013 cutoffs, mean a 203 In some states and a 224 in other states. One of those scores is considerably easier to get than the other. I think it’s very unfair to students in high-scoring states, but they forgot to ask my opinion. </p>

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<p>Well, it won’t make or break your application, but it’s still a nice thing to have. There are five spots to put down for awards on the Common App, so you might as well use them if you can! </p>

<p>I’d probably list them in this order:</p>

<ol>
<li>Chem Olympiad</li>
<li>NMSF (you’ll find out in about a week or so IIRC)</li>
<li>AP Scholar</li>
</ol>

<p>And you could always put down school awards like Honor Roll or whatever if you want to fill up the other two. Best of luck! </p>

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<p>Being a NMF can follow you for years. When my son was applying to internships while in college, he didn’t want to put it down. Then he found out that the one that he participated in paid the NMFs $3 an hour more…he got the increase. lol</p>

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<p>I will call Denison tomorrow–YIKES–I hope it just isn’t up yet!! @celesteroberts‌ </p>

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<p>USC gives $20K to National Merit winners. Our son was a NM Corporate Winner. USC offered him $20K for his NM “winner” status which still left us with ~$40K to pay. (So he didn’t accept USC). NM winners get ½ tuition only at USC, not including room and board. I think son listed his NM score, and his semi-finalist status, because he didn’t really know his true status until later. He didn’t apply to those schools that would cover full tuition because he wanted to stay in-state (California) closer to home. </p>

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<p>@isaelijohjac, received a response to my e-mail to Denison. The scholarship has been discontinued.</p>

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<p>Denison is still pretty generous with merit, though. Perhaps a bit less so as it has become more popular/selective.</p>

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<p>@celesteroberts‌ that is a bummer for sure! Thanks for the update. @erinsDad</p>