<p>Does anyone know when the $2500 awards from the NM folks (not schools) are announced? Or what criteria they use to decide who gets these scholarships? It is based mostly on the PSAT score that was used to determine NMSF status?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I believe they will be mailed on March 18th.</p>
<p>It is difficult to know what criteria the award was based on. One theory was that NM is trying to spread the scholarship money around, so if one qualifies for a Corp or School scholarship, the chance to get the one time $2500 award might diminish. Do not know how true that is.</p>
<p>As per NMSC, they are also given on state wide basis just like the Semi Finalist. In other words, no one state will monopolize this award, so a lot may depend on the state that you reside in.</p>
<p>I got a letter stating that I won the $2500 award in the mail today!!! So excited!</p>
<p>Congratulations, Scarlett.B.</p>
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<p>really? they mailed the letters already?</p>
<p>Per Educational Services (Stephanie) at NMSC, “National Merit® $2500 Scholarship Letters will be mailed 3/25/2010.” Not sure if that means all of them will have been mailed by then (i.e., Scarlett B. might have been in a first wave to be mailed?).</p>
<p>Scarlett B:
-Did you designate a College as first choice in your application?
-If so…it was a college that do not offer NMF scholarship?</p>
<p>Last year, DS heard from NMSC prior to the letter asking him to make a selection as to his first (like they allow a second!) choice college. That allowed them to list his intended school on the 3/25 letter, though it did NOT commit him to using it there, nor did it prevent him from changing it later. Thus, he knew he’d been selected prior to the official letter. Perhaps that’s what Scarlett.B is referring to?</p>
<p>I got an email last week that basically said “We are further considering you for the NMS program blah blah blah…reply back with a yes to confirm your intended major you listed last fall.”</p>
<p>Do they send this to everyone? Does this mean I am getting the $2500 scholarship?</p>
<p>Knowitsome: My S received a letter today asking him to designate a “College you tentatively plan to attend in 2010-2011”.</p>
<p>It further states “… although you probably have not been notified of admission yet, we ask that you please name the college you are tentatively planning to attend. Please note you can notify us later of a change once your college plans are firm…”</p>
<p>Is that the letter you DS received?</p>
<p>That sounds like what DS got, mazewanderer, though I *think<a href=“dangerous%20to%20rely%20on%20that!;”>/i</a>) it also mentioned the $2500 scholarship. There had to be some sort of rationale in the letter, as he didn’t want to commit to a school yet since there were two contenders which offered full tuition if named as a first choice. Something prompted him to designate one of them (the one he eventually attended).</p>
<p>If we did NOT get a letter like that, does that mean we have no chance at the $2500 scholarship? 
I was really hoping for some money</p>
<p>If you have designated a school then they would not have sent a letter. My son had marked “undecided” so may be they were just polling him. I am not sure how much you can read into that letter.</p>
<p>Ya… it seems like the majority of people who will be getting money haven’t been notified/don’t know yet. I’m not sure how Scarlett.B. got her letter already, but I think it’s safe to say that most people haven’t.</p>
<p>Is it a one time $2500 or $2500 x 4 years?</p>
<p>One time, unfortunately. :p</p>
<p>It seems to me that it is better to receive a university scholarship (having the student designated a college that offer scholarships to a finalist) than the $2500. I wonder if Scarlett designated a college that offer no scholarships for finalists and that is the reason for the offer of $2500.</p>
<p>It depends upon the college you want to go. Some of the top schools do not offer NMSC scholarships (Harvard being an example) but many NMF students go there even if they do not get the NMSC or college scholarship.</p>