Is the Work worth the Result?

Paying for College National Merit Aid
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<p>So I recently found out that I was a Semi-Finalist for Missouri. I was excited, but unsure of what I was winning. On further research, I found out that the National Merit Scholarship was a "tremendous opportunity" I shouldn't waste. However: I am not convinced. Hear me out.</p>

<p>Neither of my parents are employed at a corporation, so there is no corporate scholarship available for winning. </p>

<p>My first choice school is MIT, which offers no merit scholarships. (Second is Stanford... again no money)</p>

<p>In total, I would qualify for $2,500 at the most, which is a drop in the bucket at those schools. However, this is a prestigious scholarship (or so I've heard) which makes winning it have inherent value beyond the money. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, there are issues (because of course there are). The first and most important is time.</p>

<p>In addition to homework, three major clubs, starting my own club, building a part time phone repair business, and studying two standardized tests (ACT+Writing and SAT Subject: Physics) taking this scholarship would throw me into full study for a complete third test which I have never taken before. What free time I use to relax would vanish. Also, because of a very nice score on the ACT+Writing, the SAT, although certainly a wonderful test, is useless to me in any capacity except as qualifying for this single scholarship. </p>

<p>So my question is, as posted above, "Is the work worth the result"?</p>

<p>In my mind, it comes down to trading stress and free time for prestige, which I'm not sure I really need. Let me know if this sounds accurate, or if I should really reconsider. The counselors at my school are ambivalent about wether I should go for it or not, so I really do want another honest opinion (or two, or three, or even more than that!).</p>

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<p>You are spending MORE time thinking about this than it would take to DO IT. Just do it.</p>

<p>Good heavens…you are “talking to GCs about it,” and you are making a thread about it. Look at that wasted time. (this sounds like procrastination…get over that obstacle if you want to succeed at a top school!! Stop looking for reasons to avoid doing what you need to do!)</p>

<p>The chances that you will get into MIT or Stanford are low since even those with perfect stats don’t get in. You can’t count on either school. </p>

<p>I highly doubt that you would need to study much for the SAT…You only need a 1960ish score to make NMF. And to say that you “have never taken this test before” is silly. You’ve taken the PSAT, so you’ve had a good fat taste of that test already.</p>

<p>Yes, the work is worth the result. Why would ANYONE want to stay a NMSF and not move onto NMF. That is just crazy. Putting NMF on a resume is a GOOD THING. My son was given a raise from an internship when they found out he had been a NMF. They immediately increased his internship hourly pay by $3 an hour. </p>

<p>BTW…forget about “starting your own club”. You’re a senior. Starting a club during fall of senior year looks like resume padding.</p>

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<p>Don’t bank on MIT and Stanford. Buy the blue book and practice on a couple of tests and TAKE THE TEST! (And be sure to apply to more than MIT and Stanford).</p>

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<p>If you end up going to Kentucky because you were careful enough to secure a full-ride safety, you’ll think it was very worth it.</p>

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<p>Just turn in the paperwork and take the SAT. This will not cut into your free time much. If your PSAT score was good enough to make semifinalist, you should make a good enough SAT score to qualify for finalist with very little prep. Look up the schools that give big merit scholarships and get yourself a financial safety. Where do you plan to go if you don’t get into Stanford or MIT? Are your parents very wealthy? </p>

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<p>First off, thanks for all of the advice! I think, since it’s pretty much unanimous, that I will at least take a shot at the SAT. To answer a few questions: </p>

<p>After MIT and Stanford, in no particular order, are:
UC Berkley, Colorado School of Mines, Harvard, Brown, Cal-Tech, and WPI. </p>

<p>My parents are not very wealthy, which is why I am concerned about scholarship money.</p>

<p>Not to get too off topic, but something that now concerns me even though it didn’t before… does the whole “starting a club” thing really sound so shallow? It’s a legitimate endeavor, so do I need to work on presentation? I know “mom2collegekids” thinks it’s a joke, but it’s actually taking a significant part of my time to get the organization established and running. Do you guys think there is anything else I should consider about the NMS or my college plans in general?</p>

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<p>Focus on your essays and the rest of your application process. The new club may well be legitimate, but it’s not what’s likely to determine where you get in. Your mix is top heavy, with several schools with single digit acceptance rates. You need academic and financial safeties. CC has good lists of schools that give impressive scholarships to NMF; you should try to work a couple of those into your list. If the club is a driving passion, the idea and passion will still be there after January 1st.</p>

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<p>This is exactly why you should complete the process. While none of the schools that offer large NM scholarships are on your current wish list, you should really look into them to try and find yourself a true safety school. Many of your top choice schools are reaches for everyone, so admission and affordability are always question marks.</p>

<p>Having a “Plan B” of a full-ride or near full-ride at some great schools can make the waiting for admissions decisions and FA/Scholarship offers much less stressful. Since your list has schools across the whole country, consider if schools like UKy, OU, Bama, UCF, etc. might be places where you could be happy if none of your top choices ends up being affordable for your family. </p>

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<p>I agree with the others, especially mom2collegekids. Just do it. And add more match/safety schools to your list, which is very top heavy. I’m sort of shocked that your GC is ambivalent. Usually schools are anxious to have Finalists because it reflects positively upon the school. Is your school not used to having NMSF’s?</p>

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<p>Not to be overly cynical, but no, they are not at all used to having NMSFs. My school has a total enrollment of 600 small town students from Southwest Missouri. Our area is not famous for its academic success, which makes it doubly hard to get really good advice about college admissions and stuff like this.</p>

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<p>hey theAraus, another mom weighing in. Totally get it on your school by the way. Similar comments could me made on my kids’ school, glad you are taking the SAT. my kid took SAT cold and his SAT score was only 30 points below his projected SAT score based on his psat. just to give you an idea of what you can expect if you don’t have time to prep. if your PSAT was 205 or under, probably would be wise to prep just in case. if it’s at least a 220, i doubt you need to prep at all. if in between 205 and 220, use your judgment on prepping. I suggest adding at least one school that offers generous NM scholarships to your list since your parents don’t have lots of money, Work on your key priorities now and then research the schools that give out generous national merit scholarships and see which might suit you and your desired field of study the best. Regarding your club, i suggest putting it on hold til you get all your college apps and anything tied into them in. since it is something u enjoy, pick it back up when you are done with your apps and don’t worry about it whether it sounds shallow or not. the bigger issue is you like doing it. </p>

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<p>Looks like you are into tech/engineering–why not apply to MO S&T? (you can get score-based scholarships and $1000 extra for being NM Finalist there). You could get full tuition (or maybe a full ride) at U.Tulsa or automatic near full-ride at U. Texas Dallas–both have very good engineering/CS etc. programs. Are you hoping for full financial aid/ with an economic/geographic diversity admit at some of these top schools? Do not take admission for granted. Also, if you don’t have much $, don’t forget about travel expenses to far-away schools. Look into the automatic NM scholarship thread here and apply to some of these schools. A few hours invested in doing the paperwork and taking a couple practice tests could really pay off. You are passing up some easy, automatic, and huge scholarship opportunities if you don’t make the small effort to qualify for finalist–you’ve already passed the big hurdle by making semifinalist. Starting a club is fine, but it is probably not what will get you into college and get you scholarships right now. (FWIW, I am familiar with your area–I lived in north central and NW Arkansas for many years.)</p>

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<p>OP, my son applied to MIT so I watched the threads about who was accepted and who was not (he was not). ALL the kids had amazing stats. Don’t forget that MIT only accepts 1100 students (or at least that was the figure 4 years ago) and they definitely want diversity. My son is male white caucasion, and I think there was something like 350 accepted his year. Since you are already on CC, check out the top few college threads that you are applying to and you will get a better idea of your chances. I hope you get in one of your top choices, but definitely apply to some safety schools.</p>

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<p>My son was a NM corporate winner. He was accepted to several schools because of it but, he didn’t receive full ride offers at the schools where he applied. He did receive the $2500 per year. It helps us pay a small portion of his bill.
Take Berkeley off of your list. The UC’s are California public schools and don’t provide any scholarships for OOS students.</p>

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<p>@kjcphmom: my son also was waitlisted and rejected by MIT, but he was accepted to Caltech. Go figure!!!</p>

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<p>^Congratulations to your son Aunt Bea. My son’s second choice was the University of Alabama, almost a full ride for him with his NMF and engineering scholarship. He is in his 3rd year and loves the school.</p>

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<p>Thank you guys so much! I’m excited about the future, and simultaneously discouraged ;D I think my future involves several scholarships, Early App to MIT and everyone else during regular admission. I love this community on the forums.</p>

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<p>

If u spend a total of 10 hours registering for the SAT, taking the test, filling out the NMF application, recycling another college app essay, then you will have earned 250 bucks per hour. </p>

<p>Maybe you have a part-time job that pays more than that per hour, or maybe your parents are rich and easily drop 2500 bucks on a bottle of wine. But to most other people 2500 bucks isn’t the chump change u portray it to be.</p>

<p>BTW, the $7.25 federal min wage minus FICA & Medicaid withholding nets $6.70/hr. At that rate, u wd have to work 373 hrs (2 months fulltime) to earn 2500 bucks.</p>