<p>billcsho, I think that what Wolverine86 was saying is that if you are OFFERED the $2500, you will not be offered the $2000/year. If you decline the $2500, then you have nothing.</p>
<p>^ Oh yeah. I misunderstand his post.</p>
<p>So if offered the $2500 from NM you can’t turn it down to accept a better college sponsored award? For example turn down the $2500 and accept the $2000 per year from Northwestern?</p>
<p>^^^ 15,000 NMFs </p>
<p>Approx 8,000 will win one of these three awards:</p>
<p>THREE TYPES OF NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS</p>
<p>(listed in order of them being given out)</p>
<p>1) Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners (approx 1000 winners)</p>
<p>2) National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners (approx 2500 winners)</p>
<p>3) College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners (approx 4500 winners)</p>
<p>FINALISTS CAN ONLY BE OFFERED ONE AWARD
(you can’t decline #2 & get #3)</p>
<p>Thanks! Don’t know why it has to be so confusing! </p>
<p>Don’t decline any of the NMSC coordinated awards! They are (1) NMSC direct one-time $2500, (2) corporate-sponsored, and (3) college-sponsored. You can only receive one of these, they come in that order, and once one is offered … THAT’S IT - no further offers! Now, while I can’t say definitively that someone somewhere hasn’t somehow received less overall by getting the one-time $2500 award, in every case I have first hand knowledge, the school has done precisely what @Confucious shared regard Vandy.</p>
<p>And also, as @Confucious staes regarding USC, don’t confuse the big-direct-from-school awards with NMSC coordinated awards. Just because a school gives “the such-and-such scholarship to NM finalists” does not mean it is an official NMSC award.</p>
<p>If you are receiving need-based aid, the college will likely not stack the awards. In other words, the best you can reasonable hope for is to replace 2500 from loans to a scholarship. I am certain there are exceptions, but it sounds like stacking is not all that common.</p>
<p>I actually just received notification of winning a $2500 NM sponsored scholarship, which I was very surprised to see, seeing as I checked online last week or so and it didn’t say I had received one then. I did just update my college choice a few days ago, after finally deciding to attend the University of Kentucky, so that I could be eligible for their official college-sponsored award through National Merit. </p>
<p>Do you think that my recent submission of a first choice college is why I didn’t receive notification of the scholarship until now? I was very confused, seeing as all the other $2500 winners seemed to have been notified earlier.</p>
<p>@mreeshiemoo No, $2500 winners are selected completely independently of First Choice. </p>
<p>Also the award has to be accepted no later than April 9. @meeshiemoo, if yours is indeed the NMS sponsored award, I hope you accepted it before the deadline.</p>
<p>Where are you all finding out about the NMS awards? We haven’t heard squat, nothing on their website, zilch. If my D didn’t get it, that’s fine - but how about a “Thanks for playing” email or letter or something…?</p>
<p>^ If do not received the notice nor it showed on the web login, you do not get. Most scholarships my D applied also did not send a notice for not being selected.</p>
<p>I’m extremely confused by all this. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if I didn’t receive the award, but the NMSC site clearly says that decisions are sent out as follows: “Beginning in March and continuing to mid-June, NMSC notifies approximately 8,000 Finalists at their home addresses that they have been selected to receive a Merit Scholarship® award.” </p>
<p>It also says somewhere else on the site that letters are sent out ON MAY 7th…so 1) which is it, when do we find out? and 2) can I just assume that I didn’t get the award and stop dealing with this ridiculously confusing organization? I live overseas and any mail sent to me will take forever to arrive, so the May 7th date doesn’t really help me predict the outcome.</p>
<p>I received a letter from NMSC dated May 1, but I think this was the college sponsor letter—anyway, if you go online and log-in, if you are going to receive something there will be a step 4 for you to accept a scholarship regardless of when/if you receive your letter. Just check it daily.</p>
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<p>The press release announcing $2500 NMSC scholarship winners is what went out on May 7th.</p>
<p>My D got her ‘thanks for playing’ letter in the mail the other day. </p>