<p>There are 450 honors scholarships and less than 200 students are NM scholars. I don’t think there are 450 students with better overall stats than my son. When I look at the admission stats over the last several years, I don’t get that picture at all.</p>
<p>All I am going to say is please please please do not think that it is any sort of a lock that you will receive a scholarship here. I had two friends from my school who received nothing from this school who were 11 and 15/1000 in the class with high test scores and extracurriculars. Just because you are even above average compared to the minimum requirements does not mean you will receive the scholarship. Like said above, you are competing against >8000 freshman. If you do receive a high value scholarship from here and are not NMF, you must be a fairly impressive individual.
I wish everyone luck, but I just don’t want to see people shocked come scholarship time. I know many people who were, and it is not a fun feeling.</p>
<p>The gap between our savings and the total is only about $3K/year at A&M and $5K/year at UT, which is Son’s to figure out how he will cover (scholarships, jobs, etc). </p>
<p>We have saved for our sons’ college, which is why we can’t get need based aid. He’s applying for many merit based scholarships. </p>
<p>I noticed someone last year posted getting 10K from the academic scholarship and his ACT was 31 (S is 32). So… I don’t think I’m totally off point in hoping for $10K total over 4 years. Hoping and expecting are two very different verbs.</p>
<p>S won’t be making a decision until perhaps April when more will be known about all that UT is offering vs A&M. He’s admitted to both. Now he looks at cost, prestige in major, ability to research, matriculation rates to grad school, etc. NM SF, F and winners aren’t the only students who have a choice of institutions and are weighing their options. </p>
<p>Good luck and best wishes to all in making these important decisions and for a favorable outcome. :)</p>
<p>Yeah those are both great schools eaglemom. It will depend on his major too. UT is way more expensive then a&m. But also remember, starting sophomore year there are a lot more scholarships available! tell your boy good luck! I’m still deciding too, although its going to be impossible to choose lol</p>
<p>^Yes there are more available but none even close to the amount is incoming freshman scholarships.</p>
<p>eaglemom- The difference between a 31 and 32 is minimal and it will come down to much more than the scores, but you are right in saying that you can at least have a good hope for a scholarship. The optimum chances are that test score with near very top of class rank and tons of EC’s that show that you are more than just an one dimensional individual. Pretty sure the student below me in my HS that got no scholarship had a better test score than I did.</p>
<p>Regarding posts 11-14 on this thread …
I’m still not clear on when my son needs to declare TAMU as his first choice school for NMF. I know the deadline that NMSC requires. But does TAMU require an earlier deadline in order to receive all the goodies on the TAMU Scholarship website? Are you all saying it’s March 1 for TAMU?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>SimpleLife, for any questions at all, call the NMF office at TAMU. They are VERY helpful and will allay any of your concerns about the money. They are there to help you!</p>
<p>And Eaglemom, a 32 is a pretty standard ACT score for the Honors kids at TAMU. It may be high for your school, but not for the Lechner/McFadden crowd. I would say that if your son were to get a scholarship, it would be for the Eagle Scout designation. It is a lot less common than the 32. Good luck and Gig 'em!</p>
<p>Please report back Eaglemom. My son also had a 32 on the ACT and got nothing from A&M for academics (he did get a small award unrelated to academics), however, he made very good grades his first semester. We are hoping he gets a little money for next year. IMHO a difference as small as $2-3k shouldn’t be a determining factor - he could make that much in a good summer job. Maybe he can just choose one of the cheaper dorms and save that much off the “estimated costs” (which are rather high). </p>
<p>Good luck to your son!</p>
<p>Eagle Scout will be impressive for sure. More well rounded the better.</p>
<p>I am an incurable optimist! Best wishes to all of you.</p>
<p>^It does read a little like people are trying to discourage you (your son) a little bit. But I don’t really get the drive behind that. If you want to be an optimist, have at it! What’s the point of telling somebody that their kid isn’t “that” special and might not get a scholarship. Neither your positive thinking, nor anybody’s discouragement about your positive thinking, is going to change the outcome. If it turns out you had falsely high hopes, that’s totally your business. What have you lost by thinking positively?</p>
<p>It is true that many schools publish much lower stats than the actual cut-offs as “eligibility markers” for scholarships. So what might look like the top end of a scholarship range might, in reality, be the bottom end of the awarded range. But you all can cross that bridge if and when you come to it!</p>
<p>In reality he is deciding between A&M and that other school in Austin. 
That other school sent him an invite to a VIP session and a handwritten congrats card from his admissions rep. Feeling the love from that other school on Valentine’s day. A&M is welcome to show the love at any time. Bring it!</p>
<p>I am just wondering… I keep recieving merit-based scholarships from other schools that I’ve been accepted to and most of them allow me to have the equivalent of in-state tuition and then some. however, A&M hasn’t given me anything and I’m nervous because I don’t want to pay out-of-state tuition (it is so much compared to in-state!). I’ve read all the posts and it basically sounds like I shouldn’t get my hopes up on getting a scholarship which may or may not put in jeporady my chance to go to A&M. so I would have to agree with eaglemom that any time A&M wants to show the love, I would welcome it greatly as well</p>
<p>One of my son’s top-choice schools, which advertises its top, most prestigious scholarship as its highest “academic merit award” and says it is used “to attract and serve high-achieving students” (all published info addresses ONLY academic achievement) has not shown the love to my son. His older brother got TONS of love from them a few years ago, and that son’s academic stats were slightly less than this son’s.</p>
<p>My current college applicant has several stats that can’t be beat … they can be matched, but not beat. Statistically, he’s got to be towards the very top of their applicant pool, academically. It’s not an ivy. Great EC’s, leadership, letters of rec, etc. And yet, he hasn’t felt the love from that particular school.</p>
<p>I’ve read similar stories from other kids on other threads. There has got to be some “magic” to it. 
I am pretty sure it’s not personal, but rather a reflection of two basic concepts (at least in my son’s case; I would think others’ as well) – 1) what they’re looking for and what their published statement SAYS they’re looking for are actually two different things, and 2) they are recruiting “a class,” not an individual. Though my son’s stats are super high, there might be a bunch of people that effectively “look” just like him on paper, with close enough stats to his. Maybe they need more history or poli sci majors this year, not engineers. Or maybe they need to round out their class with more cultural diversity. Or maybe it’s marching band or athletes or stronger community service records they’re looking for. Who knows?! But it just can’t be personal … because my son’s application looks very good and, like you nasagirl, all the other schools so far seem VERY interested in him and are lovin’ him up! Oh well.</p>
<p>This process is mysterious at times! Good luck, nasagirl! And eaglemom!</p>
<p>First, I don’t think anyone is trying to discourage anyone. People on this board ask for opinions from others, especially people who have been through what they are going through. If someone is highly anticipating a package that doesn’t come through for puzzling reasons, it is good if they have a realistic view of their chances. It’s not pessimism, it is reality. We have all looked at Financial Aid packages and thought, “you’ve got to be kidding me!”
I agree with SimpleLife that it isn’t the numbers that necessarily will get you $$, but the whole package. They don’t need to recruit gifted English/History/PoliSci/whatever majors. They have a lot of those and can award the highest of the high. However, if you are a Petroleum Engineer wanting to minor in Oceanography(or substitute any major that is very unusual), they may be VERY interested in recruiting you. Your pool of candidates is a lot smaller and statistically your chances go up.
Having said all that, I wish all Aggies good luck with their scholarships. Being an Aggie is worth an extra $2000 IMHO. Good luck and Gig 'em!</p>
<p>I just qualified for NMF status and A&M offers up quite a bit of scholarships for that. When i talked to them they said most of their money goes to National Merits and then the next outstanding OVERALL applicants are chosen for scholarships like Lechner/Mcfadden. Does anyone know when a final package will be sent if i just submitted my fafsa?</p>
<p>Well my mom just called (LOL) and asked when a final MERIT scholarship offer will be made and they said letters will start going out next week and the week after.</p>
<p>^good to know. Thanks!</p>
<p>If you found my input discouraging, I’m sorry, but I am a realist and tend to take the side that expectations are often destined to fail. The reality of the situation is that there are people with worse stats than me who got more than I did, and people with better stats than me who got absolutely nothing. If you take anything away from what I have said, then understand one thing: There is no sure way of getting a scholarship to this university unless you are National Merit, and after this it is truly an objective desicion by certain committees who gets the rest of the money. I do wish everyone luck in the process, and I hope I just gave people a realistic view of how things have gone down before.</p>
<p>Does anyone know who to contact for NMSF questions regarding scholarships etc., Basically I am looking for someone who is coordinating or in charge of recruiting NMSF students?</p>