<p>S got a very nice letter from Alabama yesterday telling S as a NMSF UA recognizes him as a Presidential Scholar who would receive a full tuition scholarship. To obtain the award he must be admitted by December 1, 2010 with a 3.5 GPA. He will be notified of the other awards available should he attain NMF status.</p>
<p>It is very nicely done. I wish other schools would put their money where their mouth is for kids like my S-who unfortunately isn’t good at any sports.</p>
<p>We had gotten some info that UMass-Amherst gave competitive full rides for NMF’s-but I found out Friday that is only for in-state.</p>
<p>I spoke with an SD State representative today. IIRC, she said that they offer $8,500 per year to NMFs plus a one-time, one-semester housing subsidy of uncertain value. The total COA for OOS students is ~$14,620. The award sounded guaranteed to me, but I don’t have anything in writing so you should contact them directly if you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity:</p>
<p>Today my son received a letter from University of Maryland to waive application fee for NMSF. I usually don’t read the mail carefully enough - does anyone know if there are other application fee waivers for NMSF? Application fees add up so quickly! UMD requires the application be submitted by November 1st - not much notice. Thank you.</p>
<p>Pepper03: Our 2 sons are both NMFinalists and took the tours at Auburn and Alabama. They are extremely impressive schools. The older son took the Presidential scholarship at Auburn because he felt the engineering program was a better match. Younger son is undecided. However, you will not find a better Honors Program in my view than Alabama’s. When you meet Dr. Jacqueline Morgan of the Honors College you will be swept away by her knowledge, caring, and enthusiasm. She is incredible. Best wishes.</p>
<p>RickUW: Is your son at Auburn now? Is he happy/challenged?</p>
<p>My son is considering Auburn for EE/Computer Engineering and is NMSF, so the money is a big consideration. I would love your feedback regarding Auburn.</p>
<p>Two of my S’s friends went to Auburn for Engineering this fall. They are both very happy. They were Presidential Scholars through their ACT scores and live in an Honors dorm. One of them is applying for NASA internships this week.</p>
<p>The opportunities for internships and co-ops in Alabama are great because of NASA, the US Army, Mercedes Benz, Cummings Research Park, as well as numerous other opportunities.</p>
<p>My son got his first internship as a freshman. Got great pay, too. They bumped up his offered salary by 25% when they learned he was a NMF. LOL Totally unexpected…son almost didn’t want to mention it.</p>
<p>givings-- just saw your post. Our oldest son is a freshman in the engineering program, probably Civil Engineering. Presidential Scholar, lives in Honors Dorm, which is beautiful and accessible (Auburn is a pretty compact campus compared to our local college, UW Madison!). He loves the school and has a job with the athletic department. He’s very involved with a campus ministry organization, and he has made many friends in a short time. The classes are a mixed bag–one’s taught by a disinterested, research oriented professor, but most are challenging and interesting enough. He came from a very high-achieving HS with college-prep quality teachers. 32 NMF last year, in fact. So, his high school sets a pretty high bar which has proved very valuable prep for college.</p>
<p>Son #2 is a NMSemifinalist, and has also been accepted to AU. He’s visited a couple times, been to two great football games (South Carolina and LSU), and really was made to feel welcomed. However, he’s set his sights pretty high and far-- 11 other colleges, including 2 Ivies, Duke, Vanderbilt, Georgetown and others. </p>
<p>Auburn is not his first choice–Georgetown, with adequate financial aid is tops–but he’s perfectly good with going to Auburn. Thanks for asking… Hope your son takes a serious look at AU.</p>
<p>Thanks, RickUW. Good info. I’d love to get son out there for a visit, but Auburn isn’t exactly on the way to anything, ya’know? He’s looking all over too – MIT, Rice, been accepted to UT – but per my suggestion he’s considering a “free ride” school. We told him he could pocket the $$ we have set aside for him if he’s interested.</p>
<p>I just sent you a PM with another question since I feel like I’m hijacking this thread…</p>
<p>M2collegekids: re where our son will live next year… that’s a great question that no one can answer. He will probably be doing Co-op next Fall (tried to talk him out of missing football season!) and I’m still not clear how that all works out when you rotate semesters with work (Co-op), how the living situation works out. Auburn has taken good care of our son so far, so we’ll trust things will work out. They usually do! Thanks for asking.</p>
<p>I don’t know whether anybody’s thinking about keeping the list updated, but I had a letter from the University of Arizona yesterday that was more generous than what it was last listed as here. If you’re NMSF, you’re eligible for 14k and an iPad. If you’re a finalist, you get 30k and an iPad. It’s not quite a full ride, but their tuition, room, and board are only $3500 or so more, and the estimate cost of attendance listed on their website is about $38,500. Sounds like the finalist award is guaranteed.</p>
<p>Academic Excellence Scholarship National Merit/Achievement Semifinalist/Finalist Award</p>
<p>Award Amount: Currently valued at $36,944 ($9,236 per year–includes average cost of double-occupancy room in a campus residence hall currently valued at $3,800 per year). Finalist may receive additional awards. This scholarship is awarded in lieu of the Academic Excellence Scholarship.</p>
<p>Eligibility: Entering freshmen with National Merit/Achievement Semifinalist/Finalist status and a 3.0 or higher GPA. </p>
<p>How to Apply: Gain admission to The University of Mississippi. Provide documentation of National Merit/Achievement standing. </p>
<p>Deadline: Follows National Merit/Achievement announcement timeline.</p>
<p>For More Information: Office of Financial Aid, 800-891-4596
E-mail: <a href=“mailto:finaid@olemiss.edu”>finaid@olemiss.edu</a></p>
<p>National Merit/Achievement Finalist Award</p>
<p>Award Amount: $4,000 ($1000 per year)</p>
<p>Eligibility: Entering freshman with finalist status and selection of Ole Miss as first choice</p>
<p>How to Apply: Gain admission to The University of Mississippi. Select Ole Miss as first-choice school with National Merit office. </p>
<p>Deadline: Follows National Merit/Achievement announcement timeline. </p>
<p>For More Information: Office of Financial Aid, 800-891-4596
E-mail: <a href=“mailto:finaid@olemiss.edu”>finaid@olemiss.edu</a></p>
<p>The above scholarships are good examples of an “unofficial NMF scholarship” and an “official NMF scholarship.” The second scholarship is the “official” one.</p>
<p>The scholarships list on this thread shows UMass as “in-state, full-ride, competitive” but the UMass website doesn’t say anything to limiting the full ride to in-state applicants:</p>
<p>“UMass Amherst will award scholarships up to the full amount of tuition, fees, room, and board to a select number of National Merit and National Achievement finalists. If recipients maintain a GPA of 3.2 or higher, the scholarships will be renewable for up to a maximum of eight consecutive full-time terms, or until completion of the degree program, whichever comes first.”</p>
<p>Do we know where we got the information that the UMass NMF scholarship was only for in-state students?</p>
<p>Regarding the University of Mississippi, having a son at Ole Miss, I can confirm that whether official or unofficial, the National Merit awards total nearly a full ride (tuition, room, and board minus about $1500).</p>
<p>And I believe the Ole Miss NMF scholarships are stackable, which means that it should be fairly easy to make up that minimal amount for a full ride. Added to that the Honors College is well-regarded.</p>