<p>I finished the app for NMSF's and I see the thing on the app page to name a first choice college. I put undecided on the original application, and it's letting me change it. </p>
<p>Is this different than the thing where you name two colleges in May? A lot of colleges only give money if they're named as a first-choice institution (which seems stupid and unhelpful, but whatever), is this where you name the first-choice institution, and is it only one? I thought that you got to name two.</p>
<p>Basically, will I only be able to receive money from the school if I name it on this new first-choice page? And is the deadline a hard one on October 10th, or can I easily change it later?</p>
<p>You have a long time to name your first choice college. Don’t name one now. You have time later to figure out if any of the scholarship-awarding colleges you are interested in have an early deadline – but it seems that no college will hear about that first choice from National Merit until at least March 1st.
<a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_R&I_Leaflet.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_R&I_Leaflet.pdf</a>
"Schedule specific to college-sponsored awards:
“March 1 through May 31, 2013: 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.
May 1, 2013: 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 submitted
online at osa.nationalmerit.org before May 1. The Finalist can subsequently report a firm
college choice that NMSC receives by May 31.
May 31, 2013: Deadline date for NMSC to receive reports of a sponsor college as first choice. Because itis necessary to end the competition in a timely manner, only college choice reports that NMSC receives byMay 31 will be used to identify the final group of candidates to a college or university that sponsors awards.”</p>