<p>Is the first choice college I report to the NMSC on the sf application in anyway binding? Would I be expected to go to it if I were to become a finalist and be accepted to that school and receive an award? I ask this because I intend to apply to some schools that offer national merit scholarships, but they are not my first choice schools, and so I may be applying to a different school first through early action (and if accepted go there).</p>
<p>Your college choice for NMSC is not a binding decision for enrollment in that college.</p>
<p>You can change your NMS first choice all the way out to July. We did.</p>
<p>I am a National Merit semifinalist wanting to make a decision about listing a first choic institution too. can anyone let me know which schools are most generous with the amount of money they offer to people who list them as first choice?
thanks.</p>
<p>Do a search. There is a thread that lists full rides for NMSF.</p>
<p>Please clarify how you continued changing first choice through July. NM says once you receive an offer through National Merit, you can no longer match with any other National Merit. Example: daughter receives notice of $2500 award from her first choice school; she is then prohibited from changing her first choice school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
College choice is not considered in determining whether a Semifinalist qualifies as a Finalist. However, it
is requested because every Merit Scholarship award can only be used for attendance at a college or university
in the United States that holds accredited status with a regional accrediting commission on higher
education. All National Merit $2500 Scholarships and almost all corporate-sponsored awards (explained in
the accompanying gray leaflet) are transferable from one regionally accredited U.S. institution to another,
but college-sponsored awards are not (as explained in the next section).
You are asked to report your first-choice college (to which you are applying for admission) in Section A
on your Merit Scholarship Application. However, if you are undecided, write “undecided” on your application
and report your first-choice college to NMSC as soon as possible. You can report your college choice
or a change in it by mailing the postcard provided in your Semifinalist Packet, or by faxing a copy of it to
NMSC at (847) 866-5113. It is your responsibility to apply and be admitted to the college you plan to attend.
REPORT OF A SPONSOR COLLEGE AS FIRST CHOICE
Consideration for a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award is limited to Semifinalists who qualify as
Finalists and who also
1. report to NMSC that a sponsor college is their first choice (see the list of college sponsors enclosed
with your materials);
2. have applied for admission to the sponsor college; and
3. have not been offered any Merit Scholarship award (corporate-sponsored, National, or another collegesponsored
award). No student will receive more than one scholarship offer from NMSC.
A college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award can be used only at the institution financing it and therefore is
canceled if the winner changes college choice.
See the SCHEDULE on the reverse.
-3-
Schedule specific to college-sponsored awards:
March 1 through May 31, 2007: A Finalist who has reported a sponsor college as first choice by
March 1 will be included in the first group referred to that institution for scholarship consideration.
Periodically NMSC will notify sponsors of additional Finalists who have reported (by May 31) the college
or university as their first choice.
April 25, 2007: NMSC will begin mailing college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offers.
NOTE: If NMSC receives notification of a change in college choice from a Finalist after
mailing a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offer to that student, the Finalist cannot be
offered another college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award. This applies even if the new
choice of college is one that also sponsors Merit Scholarship awards. Therefore, a Finalist
who has previously reported a sponsor college as first choice but is uncertain about it may
choose to notify NMSC that he/she is now “undecided”; such notification must be received
at NMSC, via mail or fax (847-866-5113), before April 25. The Finalist can subsequently
report a firm college choice that NMSC receives by May 31.
May 31, 2007: Deadline date for NMSC to receive reports of a sponsor college as first choice. Because it
is necessary to end the competition in a timely manner, only college choice reports that NMSC receives by
May 31 will be used to identify the final group of candidates to a college or university that sponsors awards.
[/quote]
Because D received a NMS Scholarship, not a school sponsored scholarship, it was movable to whatever college she eventually attended. It seems that school sponsored scholarships must be finalized by 31 May. You cannot get both the NMS scholarship and a school or corporate scholarship, so in our case there was no real deadline. It sounds like "undecided" maybe the best solution for most people, up to 31 May. As most schools require an acceptance by 01 May, that shouldn't be a problem. Be aware that many NMS awards from schools are not administered by NMS and therefore don't fall under this rule. They simply make their own award to students that qualify as finalist. Those schools may or maynot have their own deadlines.</p>
<p>My daughter looked at the options for NMS choice and put down one on her list. She then filed the paperwork at her high school</p>
<p>She really does like the school, but was that a mistake?</p>
<p>Should we change it to undecided -- What if she wants to go somewhere else where they also give aid based on NMSC, particularly if based on first choice?</p>
<p>I am so confused about this....If no place if first choice and she gets accepted at a NMSC school, is that when one indicates which one is first choice? How does the timing work?</p>
<p>momfromme, I would ask her high school if it's too late to change to "undecided" since they probably haven't sent the paperwork in to NMSC yet. In my opinion, it's best to leave the options open.</p>
<p>Some schools will only give $ if for NMS Finalists if students list as first choice by some date, say Feb 1. But regular decisions will not be known by then, right? </p>
<p>My d finds one of those schools (BU) acceptable, but it is not her first choice among schools that offer $ for finalists.</p>
<p>This sets up tension - since she wouldn't want to commit to BU when she hasn't heard yet from preferred schools.</p>
<p>Crazy system, eh?</p>
<p>You can change it up to 31 May according to the website quoted above.</p>
<p>If I put in "undecided" for 1st choice college, will it be more likely for me to get the NMSC $2500 scholarship? Don't they match up people with a first choice college for the college sponsored scholarship?</p>
<p>No................</p>
<p>
[quote]
A Finalist who has reported a sponsor college as first choice by
March 1 will be included in the first group referred to that institution for scholarship consideration.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Thus, if you change it by March 1, you'll still be in the first group the college is considering, just as if you had originally put that school down in September.</p>
<p>The issue is that I am wondering about the possibility of putting down as my first choice college something that is not my first choice college but that offers NMSs.</p>
<p>No, it's in no way binding, even if you do get a scholarship there. Here's what I said in another thread:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Oh, I'd suggest putting down your number 1 school that gives NM money. That way, you can see if that school will give you a scholarship. If you end up getting the NMSC-sponsered $2500, you can always change which school it applies to. College-sponsored scholarships, on the other hand, won't.</p>
<p>For example, I put Baylor as my first choice, even though at the time it wasn't, as I knew that Baylor gives all NM Scholar who puts it as their first choice a full tuition scholarship. Some schools will give you a scholarship if you become a NM finalist, even if you don't put them as your first choice, others may or may not give you a scholarship even if you are a finalist, and some do not give NM money at all. So research, and figure out what would be the best college to put down. I put down Baylor even ahead of some of the other schools that I preferred, even though some of those schools may have given me a NM award. That way, Baylor was both a financial and academic safety. (And yes, I'm at Baylor now, and the full-tuition scholarship I got definitely played a role in my decision.)
[/quote]
</p>