National Merit Finalist (Class of 2019) - rejection/acceptance letter

@Dataminer , What state are you in? No mail for DD in CA yet.

Son will be getting “a letter” from NMSC today (per USPS informed delivery). Are they sending out any “no” letters for scholarships yet or just “yes” letters?

hey just logged into son’s portal and saw the award - he received the $2500 scholarship! woot! I’m not going to mention it to him and will leave the envelope on his desk when he gets home so he gets to be surprised and excited!

DD is getting a letter from NMSC today (informed delivery).

D and 1 other at D’s school got letter and actual NM scholarship 2500. Others did not receive letter. No one planning on “National Merit School”. So letter in mail should be a VERY good thing!

I think I know the answer to this but am not sure…My daughter received a letter yesterday saying she is being awarded the $2500 from National Merit. However, since she is going to UCF, which is offering a full ride, does that mean she is supposed to notify NM that she is rejecting this?

@FrozenMaineMom I would just double check with Luke @ UCF. He’s so crazy helpful. Son decided Florida was too far away but UCF’s program for NMF is impressive. Congrats!

@FrozenMaineMom Congrats!!! Double check with Luke, but he’ll likely say to take it. It won’t reduce her overall award-the overall award will be the same just like for the Bright Futures kids.

@FrozenMaineMom Congratulations ! No, tell her to go ahead and take it, it will just go in the COA pot. She won’t make any more or less.

I was awarded the $2500 scholarship, and I’m curious about how that can be used. Can it be stacked on top of individual school-sponsored NM scholarships? Will it reduce the amount of those scholarships - or will we not allowed to receive them at all? (My school provides $2000/yr in NM scholarships, so if the third option was true, would it be better for me to reject the one-time scholarship?) Thanks in advance!

@kdrose As I understand it, you should not accept the one time $2500 scholarship if the school gives you $2000 a year. You still have scholar status because you will accept the school NM funded scholarship.

@kdrose check with your school. D got NMS $2500 her first year, as Vandy gives only $2000 for NMF when you have full tuition scholarship. Her next 3 years, she gets $2000 a year from that.

Matter of fact, I don’t understand how people would reject this scholarship. The scholarship is such a honor and as long as it is higher than what the school gives in for a year, you should always keep the larger of the two! Hope this helps!

I still don’t have an update in my portal or a letter.

@apmaster10 If you are talking about a scholarship notification/letter, you only get the added link/letter if you received a scholarship (corporate or NM-specific).
If you are talking about Finalist notification, call National Merit directly. They should be able to look your file up and advise you.

@Phlipper and @Reebtoor you were both correct in regards to what UCF wants to be done with that scholarship…although it is rather “invisible” to the student, Luke specifically said to accept that scholarship! I have no doubts after our trip to UCF that it was the right choice for my daughter and we are so so sad to be home now!

@FrozenMaineMom I KNOW RIGHT ? my daughter said its 85 and gorgeous today.

@Phlipper, we can’t wait to visit UCF. Does your D like the Honor dorm? D will most likely major in engineering there.

@Phlipper , I remember you said your older D is at Tech. Final Four baby!

@Phlipper , it was everything you said it would be! My daughter left there wishing she could start college immediately instead of waiting until fall. I really feared the size of the school until I got to spend some time there walking everywhere and exploring and realized it is totally manageable and just offers so much right on campus. The Honors College is what sets it apart though from every other school we looked into to. Talk about being treated special!

@BingeWatcher Yes, its very quiet and saves a lot of money with the full kitchen. Every time I visit I get jealous walking up to the dorm. She’s moving off campus this next year so she can sock away even more money. Dad would live there himself if they’d let him. And yes …WRECK EM !