I found out through my own research that University of South Carolina is ranked number 1 in the area of International Business. They also have one of the best Honors College and a new Darla Moore business school building and offers several scholarships that may reduce all costs to maybe $10K per year if your kid has good grades and ACT/SAT scores. My only concern is that even though my kid IS interested in International Business, he may change his mind during college that he wants to major in other areas, and frankly, Univ of South Carolina may not be high in other majors. Also, I am not sure South Carolina region has many employers looking for a kid with an Intâl Business degree who can speak multiple languages. We are from CA.
on the NPC, how do you tell how much is merit vs need? Sometimes it says school scholarship and gift aid but it does not separate the two. Is it separate when they get in and receive a letter with details? Sorry if this is a silly question.
USC- University of Southern Calif- offers 1/2 tuition scholarships to NMFâs that it accepts.
@menloparkmom I was also looking at the USC 1/2 tuition scholarships to NMFs. Is this an automatic thing as long as you are a NMF and designate USC as the number 1 choice school? Their tuition is so expensive that even a half reduction will mean you have to pay $26K tuition + 10K room and board + additional money for living expenses. Thatâs equivalent to going to UCLA or UC Berkeley as an in-state student. I wish USC would offer a full tuition for in-state kids with NMF status and good grades etc. That would seal the deal for us.
UCLA and UC Berkeleyâs costs are not small for CA resident statements. Total costs come out to $35K.
@mtrosemom Tx for your response. One thing I did not know is that schools generally (?) defer scholarships awarded when they defer admission due to a gap year. That would be nice.
âIs this an automatic thing as long as you are a NMF and designate USC as the number 1 choice school?â
yes, at this point it is.
BUT first the student has to be ACCEPTED to USC. There is no need to designate USC as the #1 choice school until May. Doing so earlier does not increase your chances at USC, as admissions does not even look to see which students are NMFâs until they receive the official first choice list from National Merit in early Summer. Then they match up names with the list of students who have committed to enrolling.
USC turns down MANY NMFâs.
The most important thing for Hi Stat students to do is to show GENUINE interest in going to USC.
Sending in an application will not cut it.
" I wish USC would offer a full tuition for in-state kids with NMF status and good grades etc"
NO private college is going to offer thousands of full tuition scholarships just because students are NMFâs and have good grades.
Would you ask this of STANFORD?.
@menloparkmom - Does USC still guarantee the 1/2 tuition scholarship to the NMFs it accepts? I thought that was no longer a given, but that they are âconsideredâ for this scholarship when the put USC as their first choice school.
@menloparkmom Honestly, I would not ask this of Stanford primarily because I consider Stanford to have a much greater advantage in terms of âbrandâ name. 
But this is precisely the reason why I would consider not going to Stanford even if I were accepted and instead attend UC Berkeley/UCLA which are cheaper for CA resident students. In my mind, USC is on par with UCLA/UC Berkeley or slightly below overall in terms of kids wanting to attend.
@jym626 If a NMF is merely âconsideredâ for NMF merit scholarship, they should say so on their website. Their website did not say this, so I am thinking it must be an automatic thing for NMF half tuition off merit scholarship.
@websensation - The do say so on their website. Where have you read otherwise?
This is what it says on USC website on their Scholarship PDF for 2017-2018 under the National Merit Finalist Presidential Scholarship: âSelected on the basis of PSAT performance. Entering first-year students are considered if they have been designated National Merit Finalists and name USC as their first-choice college with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.â Note the word âŠare considered ifâŠ. Nowhere does it say that itâs automatic.
@LoveTheBard You are correct; I was wrong. But for some reason I read that âconsideredâ to mean âwill be generally givenâ. Also, in my defense, the other poster said the NMF merit scholarship was âautomaticâ; I guess it is NOT automatic. I guess you can always apply and if they donât give you the NMF merit scholarship, not go there. Fair enough. I think this is one reason why you should apply to many colleges and see how much merit-based aid schools give you. Your first choice or dream school choice may change based on the amount of merit aid.
" I thought that was no longer a given, but they are âconsideredâ for this scholarship when the put USC as their first choice school. "
the USC website has ALWAYS said they are âconsideredâ.The national merit scholarships have always, in fact, been awarded,.
But in conversations with my senior USC source recently, he said although it was still automatic as of 2015, that many change in the future.
A list of full and partial NM scholarships can be seen here: http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/. The first list is at least full tuition scholarships. The second list is partial tuition scholarships.
Looks like others have already addressed this, @websensation. USCâs site says that NMFâs are âconsideredâ for 1/2 tuition scholarships. @menloparkmom is indicating that it is still automatic, but I had heard otherwise. In fact, I think it was discussed in past years (recently) on cc.
^what was discussed was some posters mis-conception/ assumption that ADMISSION to USC was automatic IF the applicant was a NMF.
That is not and never has been the case.
This is a good list to start but one must still confirm with each school as to the accuracy as schools do change their policies. For instance, this list shows Northeastern offers $30,000 to NMF but now they offer âup toâ $30,000. It is not automatic, just as USC is not automatic. At NU, NMF used to get full tuition, then $30,000 guaranteed and now âup to.â Just be aware when you apply.
My son is interested in OU, but missed NMSF cutoff by one point (216 in a 217 state). Do you happen to know if they do anything for commended scholars (209+)
ASU gives good merit aid for NMF . . . Go Devils!
OU gives lots of money. I would think commended would get a significant amount. Look also at Baylor - they give lots of aid.
Go here to get an estimate of the money offered at OU
https://genius.ou.edu/#/?_k=go7kcp