NMF just doesn’t mean as much as it used to - and isn’t worth as much. I predict all but the corp scholarships will dry up within the next decade. Just 5-6 years ago, there were still many colleges offering full rides or near full rides to NMF. Few still do and it will accelerate.
Yeah, with the general de-emphasis on standardized test scores, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if there are no COA or near-COA National Merit scholarships by the time my youngest kid (class of 2028) is looking at colleges. Or maybe by that point NM will reinvent itself into an award that isn’t nearly entirely based on the score from one practice standardized test.
NM is what it is, and what it is NOT is a full COA scholarship. The National Merit scholarship awarded by NMSC is a relatively modest $2500. The big money scholarships are awarded by the schools, not NMSC. Individual schools are already free to spend their scholarship dollars however they see fit.
To the extent they are shying away from the NM credential, it’s not only due to a deemphasis on standardized tests, but more because they are choosing not to give big scholarships to high achievers without demonstrated financial need. NM reinventing itself won’t change that.
There is huge trend away from merit aid across the board.
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Yup.
Schools are still using merit aid to pull in top students and lure them away from higher ranking full-pay schools. You may see less “huge” merit aid (ex. full COA) based on one metric. Schools are likely evaluating the full application and may make “less huge” merit offers (ex. full tuition) to pull in the students they want.
I think that you misunderstood what I wrote. I did not say that merit aid does not exist. I said that there is a huge trend away from it. There has been a seismic shift from merit aid to financial need-based awards, and I suspect in a few years that merit aid will be extremely difficult to find in any form.
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I absolutely agree. I have been keeping track of the big awards (full tuition and full rides) for the past 10 years or so. They are evaporating quickly.
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FSU has updated their NMF scholarship page to add the following:
#### Out-of-State Resident
Out-of-state National Merit Finalists are eligible for a 100% out-of-state tuition waiver scholarship, a university freshman scholarship, and a $500 NMSC stipend (if college sponsored) for a total value of approximately $69,300 distributed across four years.
All National Merit Finalists are guaranteed admission into FSU’s University Honors Program.
It’s no Benacquisto deal, but is still a great value as it brings tuition and housing in under $10,000 a year, and estimated COA under $20,000.
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Its a little late in the process to finally announce this. Is FSU still accepting applications?
Not sure when they changed. I just noticed it. The same deal was available before but through more competitive application.
Students who complete an application and submit all supporting documents by November 1, 2021 will receive an admission decision online on February 17, 2022. Students who complete an application after November 1, 2021 will receive an admission decision on a rolling basis starting in March. The final application deadline is March 1, 2022. November 1, 2021 is the priority deadline for admission and merit scholarship consideration.