National Merit Scholars

Parent Cafe
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<p>What offers beyond the scholarship $$$ do universities make to compete for NMF students or any highly sought after student? Do they offer premium housing, dorms, meal plans, academic programs BS/Masters, BS/M.D., BS/MS/Ph.D. internships or research positions, honor programs, season tickets, parking passes. What do schools offer highly competitive students NMF or not? Respond only if your contributing toward building a list.</p>

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<p>[University</a> of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/nationalscholars/][b]University”>National Merit Scholars – Scholarships | The University of Alabama)

  • Value of tuition for up to five years or 10 semesters
  • One year of on-campus housing at regular room rate
  • A $3,500 per year Merit/Achievement Scholarship stipend for four years.
  • One-time allowance of $2,000 for use in summer research or international study
    -iPad</p>
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<p>bob wallace already made a list</p>

<p><a href=“http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com”>http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com</a></p>

<p>i dont think any accept for bs/md.</p>

<p>however, at least a couple pay for a fifth year of tuition which can be used for grad school.</p>

<p>many include honors programs.</p>

<p>University of Alabama

  • Value of tuition for up to five years or 10 semesters
  • One year of on-campus housing at regular room rate
  • A $3,500 per year Merit/Achievement Scholarship stipend for four years.
  • One-time allowance of $2,000 for use in summer research or international study
    -iPad</p>

<p>the above one year housing includes the pricey honors housing at no extra charge.</p>

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<p>Do not limit yourself to schools bribing good students with merit aid. That’s a blunt way of saying you should look beyond being given merit money to the quality of the school and how it suits you. Many of the more highly ranked public U’s, for example, do not need to offer money to attract top students such as NMF’s. Do you want the best education for you or the cheapest? Look closely at any Honors colleges and programs. Compare the actual courses available to you all four years. </p>

<p>The University of Wisconsin does not offer automatic merit money but has an excellent Honors Program and opportunities to take grad level classes and do work in world class fields while an undergrad. Choose your school on more than money. Many of the better schools don’t need to compete for top students- those students choose them and make for a great peer group.</p>

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<p>Fixed that. :-)</p>

<p>OP, there’s an entire National Merit subforum under Financial Aid which is filled with knowledgeable folks. <a href=“National Merit Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>“Bribing”?</p>

<p>If your family income is too high to qualify for FA, but not wealthy, then focusing on good schools that offer merit aid is a rational path. Many of us moderately-high earning 50 yr olds would like to retire before 90.</p>

<p>Try this
<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php”>http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>LACs & private 4-years are in separate lists.</p>

<p>Don’t exclude public schools that do not give automatic NMF pkgs. There are many good ones that have competitive merit scholarships. </p>

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<p>@wis75</p>

<p>You may have a different perspective since both you and your H are physicians and you only have one child…so very likely, money was no object. great!</p>

<p>The OP may be looking for safeties. Other posts suggest that they are looking at other schools.</p>

<p>BTW…some folks on CC do need to look for cheaper/cheapest options. They may have unaffordable EFCs, so they need to identify schools that will give enough merit so that they can afford the balance.</p>

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<p>I went to college on a shoestring, including a onetime NMS and borrowed for medical school. Was lucky to have a top flagship. I caution people to look beyond just the money when considering schools for the NMS caliber student. Consider the caliber of the student body relative to your credentials and the offerings of any Honors colleges/programs.</p>

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<p>Since u were a student, cost of college has risen at the rate of 4x the cost of living. Back then, private college did not cost more than the median family income. </p>

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<p>^As an example, Bucknell had a comprehensive fee (tuition, fees, room, board) of $2600 when I started college. Our family income was about $12000, above average but still solidly middle-class in the mid-60’s. With my National Merit Scholarship covering about half of that amount, the remainder was quite affordable to my family. Even without the scholarship, it might have been doable. Compare that to Bucknell’s current >$60000 price tag relative to current middle-class incomes.</p>

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<p>The University of Texas - Dallas and University of Alabama offer stunningly generous packages to NMF’s and do not appear to have a residency requirement. Both offer cash stipends in addition to full tuition. Anyone know what these University’s areas of strength are?</p>

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<p>didnt most of us? tuition at my state school was about 150 a quarter, and UWisc was probably similarly cheap (maybe even less if you were a 75 grad).</p>

<p>we worked our way thru, since many of us didnt have parents to pay.</p>

<p>but, it was doable back then. I could pay that $150 with a couple of paychecks.</p>

<p><<<
The University of Texas - Dallas and University of Alabama offer stunningly generous packages to NMF’s and do not appear to have a residency requirement. Both offer cash stipends in addition to full tuition. Anyone know what these University’s areas of strength are?
<<<</p>

<p>UT-dallas seems (to me) to be strong in the bio/chem areas. It may have others as well.</p>

<p>Bama is strong in business, STEM, nursing, music, and a variety of the liberal arts and foreign languages.</p>

<p>the OP seems to have an interest in med school, so either school would be fine for that. My son (chemE major) graduated last year from Bama and just finished his first year of med school. </p>

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<p>Hmm- did most of you have NO money for clothes and even McDonalds back when? Did you scrimp on textbooks? Not get tickets for most campus concert series you wanted because of your budget? Was your family just a bit too rich for free lunch but your parents couldn’t afford for you to take hot lunch ? On a budget and being on a shoestring budget are different.</p>

<p>Any college will suffice for medical school. It can be the state non flagships- look at where the students come from in your state’s medical schools. The odds of getting in are higher with the state flagship, but not limited to them.</p>

<p>Yes, college was so much more affordable in my day. But- one didn’t even consider applying to many schools because applications/acceptances were NOT need blind in those days. I suspect many IVY league graduates of yesteryear would not have had a chance in today’s world. Gasp- women and minorities are getting in- and without beaucoup bucks to pay for it.</p>

<p>The elite caliber HS student needs to consider not only the cheapest upper echelon schools but discriminate among them for the best in the chosen field. Headed to a PhD in field X? Choose the school where you can get the advantages of the field as an undergrad (eg working in grad labs for some classes or taking grad classes as an undergrad). Your professors will have name recognition when it comes to those grad school recommendations and you will have dabbled in the top notch research in your chosen major.</p>

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<p><<<
Hmm- did most of you have NO money for clothes and even McDonalds back when? Did you scrimp on textbooks? Not get tickets for most campus concert series you wanted because of your budget? Was your family just a bit too rich for free lunch but your parents couldn’t afford for you to take hot lunch ? On a budget and being on a shoestring budget are different.
<<<<</p>

<p>@wis75‌ </p>

<p>I think many could say yes. many of us bought used textbooks or borrowed from friends/siblings. Money for campus concerts? I bet many of us didnt have money for those things.</p>

<p>I lived in a community where many/most people had several children (H did as well). I only knew a couple kids whose parents were paying and the kids had extra money…most were doctors’ kids.</p>

<p>I dont know why you think that others didnt have it as rough as you did. i think you would be surprised…many of us were surviving on Ramen noodles. Some of us never had a meal plan. I know a mom who posts here on CC that said she was always hungry because she had no money for food or meal plan.</p>

<p>anyway…none of this is relevant to the OP. the OP is looking at top schools, but also looking for large merit…likely as safeties.</p>

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<p>And women and minorities (who for some reason sound like they must be separate categories in your post) weren’t getting into Ivies in your day? My black mother, who lived in an all-black dorm at Cornell in the 70s, would say otherwise.</p>

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<p>^^
the dorms were segregated in the 70s at cornell?</p>

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<p>OU has two outstanding options for housing for NMF kids. They have a floor of one dorm that is exclusively NMFs (though possible to room with a friend that is not) and another dorm that is for all Honors program students (again, roommates may not be in that group). </p>

<p>The scholarship covers the vast majority of costs and can be carried over into grad school. (so if like many high performing students they bring in AP credits they can still use the scholarship).</p>

<p>As many have mentioned earlier, there is quite a bit of info on these schools in the Scholarships section.</p>

<p>Ignore the elitists that think that you can only get a great education if you shell out cash for a ‘name’. The reality does not match that mythology. </p>

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<p>@wis, </p>

<p>I dont think anyone here is advising OP to choose the cheapest school. I don’t think it unreasonable to want value for money. So why shell out full-freight for Georgetown if you can win a substantial merit award at GWU?</p>

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<p>The early '70’s were very different than the later '70’s. Those were watershed years when things were rapidly changing. Technically many schools had become coed (talking schools here, not dorms, which also evolved) but the information did not get around as it does in today’s computer world. I had many middle class friends who were better off than I was.</p>

<p>You do want a “name” school in your field if you can. For example- Chemistry at a top 5 or 10 school in the field for grad school will more likely have better classes for undergrads and opportunities. It doesn’t have to be one of the top 10 overall elite schools. Not all flagships are equal in academics. And not all top tier private schools are as good as some publics in some fields. As a chemistry major undergrad I have looked at recent college offerings in chemistry at various schools. Some only offer one series of general chemistry for all!</p>

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<p>“the dorms were segregated in the 70s at cornell?”</p>

<p>There are various “theme” dorms that students may express a preference for, and one of them is:
"Ujamaa (pronounced “OO-juh-muh”) celebrates the rich and diverse heritage of Black people in the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, and other regions of the world. "
It was founded in 1972, and still exists today.
<a href=“Residential Life | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University”>Residential Life | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University;
To the extent the theme dorms are segregated at the selection end, it is by interest in the theme, not race. But unsurprisingly the applicants interested in this particular theme tend to share a relevant racial heritage.</p>