<p>Hi, I was wondering if USC gave the half-tuition award to every National Merit Finalist who designates USC as first-choice and is accepted. Because USC's website says qualifying freshmen "will be considered." Also, if you do receive half-tuition, is it renewable each year or is it one-time? Finally, is it rude to contact USC to ask these sorts of questions if you haven't applied/been accepted yet?
Thank you!</p>
<p>No, it is not rude to contact your admissions counselor and ask questions. You can find your specific counselor here:</p>
<p><a href=“https://camel2.usc.edu/admceebsearch/ugappfindcounselor.aspx[/url]”>https://camel2.usc.edu/admceebsearch/ugappfindcounselor.aspx</a></p>
<p>In the past, every NMF accepted received the NMF Presidential scholarship which IS renewable for 4 years (with minimum GPA requirement).</p>
<p>It is an honor to be a National Merit Scholar. However, with the huge number of applicants every NMS is not admitted. There have been threads in the past listing NMScholars who did not receive a letter of admittance.</p>
<p>IF a NMS is admitted, places USC 1st with the NMS Foundation and accepts the invitation to enroll he/she will receive the NMS USC half tuition scholarship. This is renewable each year with satisfactory academic progress. No interview is required.</p>
<p>In addition, the NMFoundation awards a $1,000 scholarship per year to each enrolled NMScholar at SC.</p>
<p>The good news is the scholarship amount increases if tuition increases. Also, a scholar MAY qualify for smaller merit scholarships given by the various schools such as Viterbi, Dornsife, Marshall or Annenberg.</p>
<p>An outstanding student should also apply for local scholarships such as Kiwanis, corporate, ethnic, religious, talent or civic.</p>
<p>I’d confirm with your USC admissions counselor to see whether it still holds true that ALL NMFs admitted to USC are still given 1/2 tuition renewable scholarships. That was the case when S attended in 2006 but USC has gotten a LOT more applicants now that they have the “common application.” They’ve been turning down increasing #s of students, including NMFs and other highly qualified folks because they have such a huge volume to choose among.</p>
<p>It is appropriate to contact your admissions counselor & ask him/her questions so you can make an informed choice about whether to apply. Merit aid is definitely an important factor for many students. The counselor should provide the answer & point you to where the info is listed in print and/or on the web.</p>
<p>You are right that the usc.edu website has changed its language from when our S was awarded his NMF Presidential Scholarship at USC. It now says that NMFs admitted will be CONSIDERED (no guarantee as in some prior years):</p>
<p>Selected on the basis of PSAT performance. Entering freshmen are considered if they have been designated National Merit Finalists and name USC as their first-choice college with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.</p>
<p>Good luck–both our kids have loved their time at USC!</p>
<p>This afternoon I had a discussion with a senior member of the USC admissions committee. He confirmed there has been NO CHANGE in the National Merit Scholarship policy. This is the procedure:</p>
<p>A NMScholar applies to SC and the application is reviewed </p>
<p>A NMScholar is ADMITTED</p>
<p>The applicant places USC 1st on the NMFoundation form (This can be after April 1st)</p>
<p>The NMScholar enrolls at USC</p>
<p>No interview is necessary</p>
<p>NMScholar receives the NMScholarshp which can be renewed each year, if academic progress is satisfactory</p>
<p>Thanks GG for going to the source. I’ll just add that in the above scenario, there is no guarantee, of course, that any applicant will go from step 1 (application reviewed) to step 2 (NMS admitted). It, of course, happens often, but no student is guaranteed admission to USC and we’ve seen former posters on this board in years past who were somehow under that erroneous impression.</p>
<p>Do all the NMF accept to USC will get the National Merit Scholarship College-Sponsor?</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone! You cleared up so much confusion I had on the topic :)</p>