Is NMF the last stop or is there one more threshold beyond that? Thought I read being an NM finalist does not mean one is an NM scholar?
@JBStillFlying that is helpful. Thanks everyone. This is our fourth child and we are further out on the ledge than previously. LOL our other two sons were commended. I am going to be stuck to this site like glue. And, in that same vane, I may need wood glue to secure my feet to the ledge. LOL
@yousee I think he is scheduled to take SAT again in Oct. I hope if he makes it he wants to go to a school that will pay off.
NM scholar means they were awarded a scholarship directly through NMSC, so its technically a step after NMF. @dowzerw
@amyandscott There are several true full rides available for NMFs, but Bama, UAB, UA Huntsville, etc. offer full tuition-plus, not a true full ride. They’re still great schools and great packages, but if you want a true full ride, you’ll need to look at schools like Texas Tech and University of New Mexico.
Re: NMF vs NM Scholar - There are several smaller scholarships awarded directly by the Nat’l Merit Corporation and/or some corporate sponsors. Small meaning $2500 or so. The students who are awarded those scholarships are called National Merit Scholars. The rest, having made the cutoff in their respective states and met the other requirements, are called National Merit Finalists.
The big scholarships people talk about, half tuition or more, come directly from the schools, not from the National Merit Corp.
Then make sure you re-examine the details. Tuscaloosa is not a full ride, particularly after freshman year.
Can’t comment on Huntsville/Birmingham.
Thanks, @flatKansas . Do NMFs get scholarships or only NM scholars?
Aren’t you considered a National Merit Scholar if you receive a college sponsored scholarship for your NM status, regardless if you receive the $2500 from the National Merit Corporation?
@amyandscott , UCF is pretty close to a full ride if you want to look there. We really liked our visit.
The NMSC site implies that the ~4000 finalists each year who receive college-sponsored NM scholarships are also considered NM Scholars, as are the ~1100 who receive corporate-sponsored awards. In fact schools that offer big packages will earmark a small amount as the actual NM Scholar award. The site refers to all these awards as capitalized Merit Scholarships (not generic merit scholarships) and explicitly defines them this way (copied from NMSC website):
College and University Sponsorship of Merit Scholarship® Awards
Each year colleges and universities support about 4,000 Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who have been admitted to and will attend their institutions. Only Finalists who notify NMSC by the published deadlines of their plans to attend a sponsor institution are considered for college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.
College-sponsored awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study at the sponsor institution and provide stipends that range between $500 and $2,000 per year. Officials of each sponsor college select winners for their awards and determine the amount of the annual stipend within the specified range. College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards are canceled if the winner decides not to attend the college financing the scholarship.
@crazy4info As far as I know (and it may not be right) you have to receive one of the NMSC-distributed scholarships to officially be “National Merit Scholar.” Those can be NMSC-, corporate-, or school-funded, but the money comes via NMSC.
@dowzerw Get scholarships from where? NMFs can get NMF scholarships directly from their schools. NMFs that get a scholarship via NMSC become NMScholars.
I’m just trying to understand what being NMF is. Is it just recognition of achievement which may or may not qualify one for scholarship funding? or if a student becomes an NMF, does that mean they are definitely receiving funding from somewhere?
As an example for the scholarship thing…
DS was offered Bama’s NMF package as soon as he had the letter in hand (February) from NMSC saying he was NMF. That $ comes directly from UA.
In June, NMSC told him he’d been awarded $1k/yr from UA (through NMSC), so he was then a NMScholar I guess. That money is distributed via NMSC (and last I checked it still hadn’t disbursed, lol).
@dowzerw "Is it just recognition of achievement which may or may not qualify one for scholarship funding? "
Yes, exactly. NMF would make a student eligibile for a college’s NMF scholarship (if they offer one, and not all are automatic if they do offer them). It also makes the student eligible to potentially get one of the small scholarships awarded by/through NMSC.
@dowzerw, NMF doesn’t mean the student will definitely get a scholarship even at a school that has automatic NM awards. Say an NMF plans to attend OU, and designates OU as his/her first choice with NMSC, and is awarded OU’s sponsored NM package. Then life happens and in July the student changes plans and decides to attend Bama instead. Since the NM competition is over by July, the student is no longer guaranteed Bama’s NMF package. Now I imagine that many colleges would try to work with the student and some might even end up awarding all or most of the NMF package, but there’s no guarantee.
I have asked this elsewhere but I’ll ask again, just in case I get a different answer:
If D becomes NMF but chooses to attend a Canadian university (which obviously does not provide NMF scholarships), is she eligible to receive NMF money from NMSC or a NMSC corporate sponsor?
@Winky1 We are stuck with a school that did not even tell the students they are commended.
@flatKansas @traveler98 Thank you. I think I finally get it. (and now I really wonder why folks put so much angst in to this process-the golden ring is lovely but seems very barely attainable). Thanks again.
@ShrimpBurrito, no, NM awards can only be used at US schools.
Well, as the day winds down it appears we are officially behind last year’s timeline for uncovering state cutoffs. By Saturday this time last year, a few states had “leaked” information. By Monday this time last year, the dam seemed to have broken.
Let’s hope we get some answers sooner than later and that bulk mail doesn’t go to maximum delivery times. :-w (sigh)