<p>I know that Northwestern is a National Merit Scholarship sponsor. Does this increase your chances of getting in? In other words, would it be advantageous for me to have my name reported to Northwestern through the option given to me by the NMSC?</p>
<p>It definitely wouldn’t hurt. I wouldn’t say the advantage is too significant but I feel it does help if only slightly. And of course, the 2k a year the school year gives you is nice to have as well. ;)</p>
<p>The “scholarship” is a nice add-on, but the bigger value is your demonstrated interest in NU. If I remember correctly, you can only report your scholarship to one school. So if you pick NU this is analogous to applying ED. Not in the sense that you are bound to go to NU but this is a truly objective, verifiable way of demonstrating that NU is your top choice.</p>