National Merit School Choice

[Racer33]

Hi, I am a NMSF and have been looking at the rules and regulations for the NMSC. Obviously, there are a lot of schools that offer incredible financial aid to NMF. I don’t know which one I would want to attend quite yet, so I want to leave my top choice as undecided. I can leave it as undecided until May 31, right? Are there any benefits to deciding immediately?

[3scoutsmom]

Check with the schools some have earlier deadlines to be named first choice. You can always change your choice up until May 1st.

Schedule specific to college-sponsored awards:
March 1 through May 31, 2016: A Finalist who has reported a sponsor college as first choice by
March 1 will be included in the first group referred to that institution for scholarship consideration. Only
the sponsoring college you have listed as your first choice will be notified. Periodically NMSC will notify
sponsors of additional Finalists who have reported (by May 31) the college or university as their first choice.
May 1, 2016: NMSC will begin mailing college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offers.
NOTE: If NMSC receives notification of a change in college choice from a Finalist after mailing
a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offer to that student, the change in college choice
will not be processed and the Finalist cannot be offered another college-sponsored Merit
Scholarship award. This applies even if the new choice of college is one that also sponsors
Merit Scholarship awards. Therefore, a Finalist who has previously reported a sponsor
college as first choice but is uncertain about it may choose to notify NMSC that he or she is
now “undecided” to prevent being made an offer from a school he or she is uncertain about
attending; such notification must be submitted online at osa.nationalmerit.org before May 1.
The Finalist can subsequently report a firm college choice that NMSC receives by May 31.
May 31, 2016: Deadline date for NMSC to receive reports of a sponsor college as first choice. Because it
is necessary to end the competition in a timely manner, only college choice reports that NMSC receives by
May 31 will be used to identify the final group of candidates to a college or university that sponsors awards.

So if you want to “show interest” in a school it’s best to name a first choice school by March 1st but you can change it to another school, or undecided any time until May 1st. If you change back to undecided this gives you another month to make up your mind so long as that fits with your school’s deadlines.

[3puppies]

Leave it undecided - lots of winners do.

[mom2collegekids]

Some schools require you to name a first choice by May 1st. I wouldn’t trust a later date.

[Racer33]

Sounds great, thanks!

[patsmom]

@Racer33,

Not sure if you noticed, but there’s a National Merit Scholarship subforum here that might help answer some more of your questions. Good luck!
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/

[jym626]

Both s’s left it “undecided” until they decided.

[Erin_s_Dad]

D1 changed it to her school of choice (and that school EMed her to remind her to do so).

[Barfly]

Mine all left it as undecided until the last minute. Just be certain you know what the last minute is since some schools have different deadlines,