<p>National Achievement gets more i think. I got 25,000 for 4 years. I heard also NMF and NAF get priority registration for classes.</p>
<p>As of 2011, there are no National Merit Scholarships for the University of Florida. The University stopped this in-state tuition plus 4K stipend deal in 2011. </p>
<p>My son is a National Merit Finalist / National Merit Scholar and he received nothing from the University of Florida. He was also accepted to CalTech, so Florida’s complete lack of scholarship opportunities has made his decision about where to attend very easy. </p>
<p>If you’re an athlete, UF is a great place to attend. If you’re a scholar, I think the UF is saying you should look elsewhere.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>@Chicago35</p>
<p>I can understand your disappointment in scholarship opportunities, but that’s not a fair statement. UF gives far more in in-state financial Aid, than it does in merit based scholarships; thats the school (state sponsored) policy. UF’s low in-state cost make it very appealing to in-state students, but it’s high OOS cost, makes it much less appealing for OOS students (unless you can get one of the limited OOS scholarships). </p>
<p>At UF, 32% of the freshmen class receive Pell Grants; that’s 1 in 3 that would qualify as low SES (socioeconomic status). At Caltech (a fantastic school), its 11% or 1 in 9. UF is putting more funds into grants (that go to lower SES students) than merit scholarships. </p>
<p>UF’s lack of merit scholarships has nothing to do with athletics. UF has one of the few (about 20 some odd programs) athletic Division I programs that’s profitable. It’s doesn’t pull resources from the Universities budget (and hence reduce student aid).</p>
<p>Every school my daughter applied too offered her merit scholarships, except UF. We did choose to look at several other schools because we knew UF wouldn’t likely would not offer a merit scholarship. We’re choosing UF anyway, since we feel it’s worth the extra cost (and we’re in-state, have bright futures, etc., so it’s still affordable for us, even without any scholarships or grants).</p>
<p>I would say good luck at Caltech, but it’s CALTECH! Likely the best engineering school in the world (IMHO)! I’m sure your son will do great. :)</p>
<p>Thanks Gator88NE, I was just venting because we really wanted him to attend UF, but feel like UF doesn’t really want him. It is expensive OOS, but our daughter attends there and loves it & I’d hoped they’d be together. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what the parents want, and I know he’ll do great in California. Go Gators! </p>