This discussion was created from comments split from: Getting Accepted does NOT mean that a Merit Scholarship will be forthcoming….
He is a corporate sponsored finalist through the company I work for. Which I can’t find anywhere that says there is any difference. We just realized two days ago that being nmf means something and there are college that accept you just because. But back to my whole story. WE were stupid. Didn’t do our homework and took the GC’s direction of letting my son be in the drivers seat. Big big mistakes for us through this whole process.
We are going to discuss UAH and look at that list today.
@aehshm Did he get any merit money from UMD-CP? He got into Honors, correct?
When will you find out about the corporate NM scholarship? Would it be enough to make a difference?
I think UAH might be a great option so I hope there is time to submit an application.
Another option might be for him to take a gap year and apply again in the fall to schools that are likely to provide large merit money for his stats. Then he could pursue numerous options instead of grasping at the few opportunities that remain at this late date in the admissions cycle.
What are his GPA/rank/test scores? That might be a good baseline for additional advice.
FWIW, I gave up Amherst to to go Rutgers because it was affordable for my family. I did well and got into prestigious private universities for graduate school with full fellowships. There are worse options than staying in state and working within the family budget. Whatever you do for S1, you will feel obliged to do for S2. And if you don’t or can’t, S2 could end up resenting S1 or the two of you.
Good luck, I know the prospect of disappointing a child is painful. But a college education is a gift, wherever it’s obtained.
If your DS is a NMF (you are not clear about that), UT Dallas is still accepting applications. Very good scholarship. Strong STEM programs.
@aehshm it might be worth while to contact some of those NM schools to see if they will extend the deadline for him. I’ll bet schools like UT Dallas and OU that are booth full tuition plus (UTD is almost full ride and on the list of great computer cyber security schools) would extend their dead line if asked. Anyway it’s worth a try.
What is a ‘corporate sponsored finalist’? Does that mean he is a finalist for a corporate sponsored scholarship for students who did relatively well on PSAT but did NOT achieve NMF status? Or is he an NMF? There is a difference. It may not matter to the corporate sponsors, but it will matter to all the colleges that give out huge merit awards for NMF status. If he is NMF, as others have mentioned, many of the colleges that give large merit for NMF extend their application deadlines for these students.
At UAH, for example, if he is NMF, he would get RM/BD + $1000 stipend on top of the full tuition, essentially a full ride.
@aehshm His number 1 priority tomorrow needs to be to find out if he qualifies as a NMF. if he is, he needs to find out which school with large awards are still accepting applications.
He also has to realize that a very large portion of top performing students do not attend expensive top schools. Most families do not have the ability to fund the cost. FWIW, I have a student who is gifted, took 5 of his undergrad in major physics courses at a university during high school who is attending Alabama on scholarship. He loves it there. It is what our budget could afford. He has been involved in undergrad research since his 2nd semester freshman yr. He has the ability to earn his masters while an undergrad. He has great professors. He is also surrounded by a wonderful group of peers who are equally gifted students who are serious students with goals that they plan on achieving. Those students are found on every campus, including the ones that don’t put parents in the poor house.
FWIW, not one of us believes his future is “dimmer” b/c he didn’t attend the schools that were going to put us $160,000 in debt. Debt-free is a much better position for all of us.
@mamaedefamilia
UMD didn’t send offer yet. It comes in March but they are pretty stingy from what I have read. . 2160 SAT ss, GPA 4.3. Corporate NMF $20k per year top 5 kids, 5k a year next ten kids. Yes would make a big difference. 5 AP’s so far w/ 5’s. Taking a few more this year. I am fuzzy on sat subject test. He took five but only reported two that had his best grades. I know his scores were good. 4 year letterman, nj boys state, nhs, English and language honor society, founding member and vp of a club (modeling), secretary for nhs, youth hockey coach, member of an nationally recognized charity organization (unico). Nominated for governors school but didn’t make the cut.
He would have heard from the national merit scholarship corporation last fall if he were a national merit semi finalist. He then would have been required to send his SAT score to them and write an additional essay. Finalists are just hearing this week for sure that they made NMF. That is the official NMF route. What was his PSAT score from junior year?
If he is NMF, he does have some choices with large scholarships (UAlabama for sure). But he can’t just transfer after freshman year and get those scholarships – they are only for incoming frosh. Most of the highly ranked schools give nothing for NMF. Some say they give $2K/year, but it does not stack with need based aid – so it just replaced a grant and your cost stays the same. Some NMFs get a corporate scholarship, but they are not large.
@inparent
Yes we were notified in December and he did all that. I have to look up psat scores.
@celesteroberts
@Mom2aphysicsgeek
On Friday I asked his gc and my hr what exactly what it meant. I need to get on the phone with NM tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be great if he could still apply to some of them, He had BU and Northeastern on his list and took them off as he was narrowing down…
UT Dallas’ deadline is March 1.
http://www.nationalmerit.org/faq_corporate.php
Corporate Sponsorship
NMSC conducts scholarship programs for corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. Most corporate-sponsored awards are designated for children of a sponsor’s employees or members. However, some are offered for residents of a community where a company has operations or for students with college major or career plans the sponsor wishes to encourage. NMSC services for sponsors include:
identifying candidates who meet a sponsor’s criteria and processing applications,
processing Entry Forms (online and hard copy) for scholarship program participants,
selecting scholarship winners from the candidate pool,
assisting with Scholar announcements,
providing certificates to present to Scholars,
distributing scholarship payments to Scholars, and
monitoring and reporting on the progress of Scholars toward completion of their undergraduate degrees.
Each sponsor announces its program, confirms eligibility of award winners, and pays scholarship costs. Sponsors are billed annually for scholarship costs, which include stipend amounts paid to winners and nominal grants that are used to underwrite National Merit® $2500 Scholarships for which all Finalists are considered. These grants are provided to NMSC by the sponsor in lieu of paying any administrative fees. Additionally, some sponsors recognize Scholars at a special event and/or in company publications.
The number of scholarships a company, business, or foundation offers annually may range from one to more than 100. Within guidelines established by NMSC, corporate sponsors select the monetary arrangements for the scholarships they finance. They also decide whether to offer awards that may be renewed for up to four years of undergraduate study (renewable scholarships) or one-time scholarships.
Companies and other business organizations annually underwrite some 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship® awards for Finalists in the National Merit® Scholarship Program and about 1,200 Special Scholarships for program participants who are outstanding but are not Finalists. Sponsors that provide Special Scholarships in addition to their Merit Scholarship awards are able to offer a fixed number of awards in each competition, even though the number of Finalists eligible for their awards varies from year to year. More than two-thirds of corporate sponsors use NMSC’s services to complement their Merit Scholarship awards with Special Scholarships. A Special Scholarship candidate must meet a sponsor’s criteria and file the sponsor’s Entry Form, as well as meet entry requirements of the National Merit Program.
If he made Honors college at Umd a scholarship is likely, especially if he makes Acer. Now it all depends on what your budget is and whether your employer scholarship is 5or20k…
(the 49k coa is a bit inflated. By buying used books or renting them, living frugally, bookings tickets in advance/taking Megabus, etc, you can cut down to 45-46. Still a huge a chunk of change but it may make a difference.)
Nmf’s get $2500 a year if they nominate umd for their first choice and are in the running for all the big scholarships - did your son apply to them by Dec1st ?
He applied to UMD EA and was notified 2 weeks ago of his acceptance. And we didn’t find out about NMF until
Dec 15th but he didn’t indicate UMD as his first choice. He indicated BC…
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/
Surely, there are still some good options on that list. NJIT gives full ride to NMFs and rolling admissions deadline is March 1.
Can you clarify?
Was your son told that he was a NMSF last fall BY HIS HIGH SCHOOL? If so, did he fill out the forms and have his school submit to NMCorporation?
Was he told by his school this last week that he made NMF?
I think there’s some confusion.
It sounds like your son didn’t make NMSF, but instead is being considered for a “NMCorp Special Scholarship” from a parent’s corporation.
I think your son is being considered for this:
Every year some 1,200 National Merit® Program participants, who are outstanding but not Finalists, are awarded Special Scholarships provided by corporations and business organizations. To be considered for a Special Scholarship, students must meet the sponsor’s criteria and the entry requirements of the National Merit Scholarship Program. They also must submit an entry form to the sponsor organization. Subsequently, NMSC contacts a pool of high-scoring candidates through their respective high schools. These students and their school officials submit detailed scholarship applications. NMSC’s professional staff evaluates information about candidates’ abilities, skills, and accomplishments and chooses winners of the sponsor’s Special Scholarships. These scholarships may either be renewable for four years of undergraduate study or one-time awards.
Was your son contacted by HIS SCHOOL last Sept and told that he was a NMSF? If so, did he then do the NMSF paperwork, submit to his school, and the school submitted THEIR part. Also, Finalists were told this last week if they made NMF at their schools.
If UT Dallas is a possibility you should contact Amanda Ryder at amr072000@utdallas.edu she is the person that handles NM there and is very helpful! Here’s the info about their National Merit Scholarship
http://honors.utdallas.edu/nmsp
I’m not sure if they make a distinction between Corporate NM and NMF but it’s a great question to ask! Anyone know how schools like OU and UA handle this? I did the math on UTD’s NM scholarship and after the stipends, figuring living in the dorms, COA came out to be less than $100 a semester.
We have a visit scheduled for Tuesday for my DS and they even treat potential NMF very well.
Noon – Arrive to campus, meet with Amanda
12:30pm – Tour housing
1pm – Meet with Dr. Yvo Desmedt, Professor of Computer Science and Member of Cyber Security Research and Education Institute
2pm – Tour campus
3:30pm – Tour the Colligium V Honors Program student lounge
4pm – Meet with Michael Seeligson, Honors College and National Merit Scholars Program
Also, why put bc, which doesn’t really do anything with nmf 's ? O_0
(and with 2160ss he’s not getting gsps.)
He should change that asap.
Clarify the nmf situation asap.
Umd could be one, otherwise one if the nmf full tuition or full rides on the cyber security schools.
I’d pick uah over njit though, due to surroundings.