<p>E1A: Ah...Okay, thanks. It's all pretty confusing, but I think you are right that simply putting 'undecided' is the best route to take (for anybody doing this next year)..</p>
<p>Did anyone else find the whole process a little less useful than it could have been? I mean, you take the test in the beginning of your junior year, then you find out whether you are a finalist in February--after college applications are due, so you can't claim it. Then you find out whether you got the college award with like 2 days left to choose a school, or after you have already chosen. Also, it seems like people (at my school at least) make an awfully big deal out of it, when it isn't really usually much money. Not to sound completely mercenary, but college is expensive. It's a moot point for me; i ended up choosing a college that doesn't offer a NM scholarship, but it seems like it could be better organized, especially in the beginning.</p>
<p>Cynthia, I agree completely, though I am happy with my money, I think it would be much more useful if they sped things up a little and didn't make it so dramatic (as in skipping the whole semi-finalist stage)</p>
<p>The process was definently not as streamlined and efficient as it could have been. If things were more efficient I think that a previously unseen clarity might be brought to the whole thing.</p>
<p>THen again, maybe they want it to be all dramatic, who knows. Whatever their intentions, the system is not what it should be.</p>
<p>This is probably a matter of semantics, but with the college-sponsored scholarships, the award money comes from NMS. I think it is only semantic, because I believe that the sponsoring college pays money to NM in advance (in order to fund X number of scholarships); then later on the school designates the scholars and when the student enrolls, NM sends back the scholarship amount.</p>
<p>This seems crazy, but my son had a college-sponsored scholarship, and that was the way it worked -- we got a bill for the tuition money including amounts that were supposed to be covered by the scholarship, but then we subtracted out $1000 each semester, and the college got a check from NM sometime in September or October, and credited it to our account. </p>
<p>Also, each year to continue the scholarship, the student has to send a form back to NM reporting GPA and courses taken -- so the scholarship needs to be approved and renewed by NM. So as far as I'm concerned, the kid is a National Merit Scholar because NM is the outfit that seems to be administering the money, whatever the source. </p>
<p>Also, my son learned about the scholarship in June. He did not designate a first choice college until after May 1, when he made his final decision.</p>