<p>How much does sending your name and saying its your first choice help you at top-tier schools? What about at good schools that you are just a little above the norms? Does sending your name get you courted?</p>
<p>Does putting a school that I'm only considering as my top choice ruin, should they want me, my chances at a NMS that could be used at any school? Like, should i decide I don't want to attend, that's it, no national scholarship available?</p>
<p>THANK YOU</p>
<p>I’m finishing up the process now, so I now how stressful it can all be.</p>
<p>First of all, choosing a college as your first choice has no impact on whether you will receive the national scholarship or not. It is completely independent.</p>
<p>Also, selecting a school as your first-choice school has very little, if any, influence on your acceptance to the school. They will care more that you were selected as a national merit finalist than the fact that you chose them as your first-choice school (simply because many students mark undecided in the beginning or will change their college choice before it’s all over). In fact, many of the upper eschelon of schools (e.g. the Ivies, MIT, Caltech, Amherst, etc.) do not sponsor National Merit Scholarships, so you will want to check to make sure that the school you’re considering does, in fact, sponsor a scholarship.</p>
<p>Do not worry what you name right now. It means NOTHING really in the long run.</p>