<p>So I've been reading many university pages that offer full rides if you are a National Merit *** (replace *** with Finalist or Scholar). My question is, is there such a thing as a National Merit <em>Scholar</em>? Or is it just the same as National Merit <em>Finalist</em>?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your responses!</p>
<p>National Merit scholars are a subset of National Merit Finalists who receive scholarships. See the National Merit Scholarship Corporation website </p>
<p>National</a> Merit Scholarship Corporation </p>
<p>and browse around on all the pages to get a clearer picture of what the different terms mean.</p>
<p>Thank you. So about 8,200 out of 15,000 finalists get the National Merit Scholar recognition.</p>
<p>No, they are not the same. NM "Scholars" are the ones who actually get $$$$, which is only about half of the NM Finalists. The other half just get a certificate.</p>
<p>There are 3 types of NM scholarships: those sponsored by NMSC itself, those that are sponsored by corporations, and those that are sponsored by certain schools. When a school sponsors NM scholarships (usually full or partial tuition, although there may be some full rides out there), by accepting that scholarship, the Finalist becomes a school-sponsored NM Scholar.</p>
<p>A National Merit Finalist can always become a National Merit Scholar if he/she accepts one of the guarantee National Merit scholarships from schools that offer them.</p>
<p>^^Never thought about it that way. S definitely got a better deal from his participating university ($4k vs $2.5k--could have been $8k if he had qualified for FA) and, of course, I was more annoyed that he didn't make Scholar than he was. By the way, you can't double dip: if he had gotten the $2.5k Scholar award the school would have only given him $1.5k.</p>