Some colleges have a limited number of NM awards so they might be gone if you wait until the last minute.
@prodesse – okay, thanks. I seem to recall the colleges she’s applied to saying any NMF who is accepted gets the award (most are not large – $2k annually?) but I will double check. There’s a couple colleges in consideration that my daughter is waiting to see if she’s admitted before visiting so I’m not sure a quick decision will be made. We shall see – April could be a very interesting and busy month! Fort., our public flagship is great, affordable, and she’s excited about it. Waiting to hear about possible Honors College there which would put it even higher in her mind (though it’s extremely competitive to get a slot and by no means a sure bet.) So, we’ll see…
@AlmostThere2018 We are in similar circumstances, only in our case it’s UVa, not UNC. Most of the RD colleges we’re waiting for have no or very limited NM awards.
Vanderbilt, however, guarantees $5000 per year, or brings the total up to $5000 if the student receives a smaller corporate or NM award. I think that is very fair of them! For that reason, we listed Vanderbilt first on the NM form. Vandy will receive the official notification from NM instead of just an email from my kid saying “Hey, I am a NMF.” To which the admissions people might react, “Yeah, but we can tell we aren’t your first choice school.” We are hoping the NMF girst choice designation would be an admissions boost there. That’s our logic, anyway.
@prodesse – Ah, got it, that makes sense. I did a little more research and for the highly selective colleges that don’t have NM-linked merit aid it appears they just assume you’ll get the Finalist status b/c they see your GPA and test scores so it isn’t necessary to let them know. So I think I’ll just update the ones with NM money.
AND – drumroll – funny timing, after getting accepted on Friday my daughter JUST AN HOUR ago got invited to the Honors program at UNC!!! It only takes 400 out of 4000 first years and includes option to live in Honors housing. She’d love an immediate way to make a big college smaller – and so she’s absolutely thrilled. 40% also end up with some merit aid. . . I’m so proud that her hard work and passion for learning are being recognized! Now whatever rejections come her way – as they surely will – she’s in terrific shape. In fact, I think at the moment it’s her number one choice!!
Congratulations to her! I remember reading about Honors Carolina. UVa doesn’t have anything like that, though I hope my kid gets into their Echols Scholars program.
This thread has been very informational. Have lurked around for a while and very impressed with how folks have been helpful on this thread. My D has been accepted to UTD and has already received her AES/Honors scholarship. Not sure whether she will make it all the way to the top of the Eugene McDermott ladder, but she stands a chance. She is a CS major. She wants to be in the CS scholar’s program. She is a NMSF and I must admit that I am keeping my fingers crossed about not wanting to receive any rejection letters. So far she has not. Knock on wood!! The whole time, she is kinda disappointed that we would like her to go to UTD. We are from the neighborhood 
She is an autoadmit at UT but her preference is UC Berkeley. We felt she may need some help with her life skills since she is on the younger side of seventeen. We researched UTD and were pretty impressed with the strides that the school has made in the last few years. But D is still disappointed. I was wondering whether our thoughts that UTD is a great school for CS are misplaced. Insights are appreciated. Any recommendations on how she can make it into the CS scholar’s program? thanks
UTD is a great school for CS. NMFs and McDermotts will be treated very well, with lots of perks. Great dorms with her own , lockable bedroom and great food. If she hasn’t gotten a rejection letter, is is pretty certain to be NMF, and that’s very close to a full ride at UTD regardless of whether she gets the McDermott.
Thank you for confirming, DiotimaDM. Appreciate it. I guess the stick in her craw has been the high acceptance rate at UTD. She feels that companies may not show up to recruit from UTD because of the acceptance rate and that there would be fewer opportunities for her to intern at companies like google or facebook if her resume shows that she graduated from UTD. I am not sure whether she gets this from her peers at school or online discussions. We keep telling her that if she is not satisfied with this school after her BS, then she can apply to a masters program at a school of her choice. Her retort to that has been whether schools would be impressed with her BS in CS @ UTD. Every adult that I have spoken to says that UTD is a great school. Not so much her friends that she hangs out with!! I am amazed at how hyped up a college degree from a reputable school is!
@iAmACynic UC Berkeley and UTD are VERY different schools. Has she visited both? I think her issue may really be more about fit than quality. I think UTD is a great school and I’m thrilled that my son will be attending as a CS major but it’s not the place for everyone. I can’t imagen sending my child to a college where they would be ‘disapointed’ in attending. If she likes UC Berkeley I’d think that UT Austin might be a better fit for her than UT Dallas.
@iAmACynic I would definitely try to take a tour through the National Merit department! You get to sit in on a class, tour the campus, and speak with the students. It’s a great way to get a feel of the campus culture! As far a internships go, I really don’t see that as a problem at UTD. They have so many connections with big name companies and are centrally located amongst all the industry in Dallas.
@iAmACynic I agree with @3scoutsmom. My son loves UTD and didn’t even want to apply anywhere else. I’m thrilled that he has found a school that he’s so happy to attend. BUT. It’s a very very different vibe from Berkeley or UT Austin and is not a fit for every student the way it is for my son or @3scoutsmom’s son. I know the huge NMF scholarship at UTD is a big draw but that’s not why my son chose it, and I wouldn’t push him to attend there if he really wanted a larger more “traditional” college (rah-rah sports, large campus, etc). I hear great things about UCF which also has a fantastic NMF scholarship package, is good for CS, and has that huge-flagship vibe. Is Berkeley affordable for your family? It is great for CS, as is UT Austin of course.
@iAmACynic I can speak as a parent of on OOS UTD applicant. My daughter went into UTD very unsure and we did a visit through the NMF office and she came out of it with UTD as one of her top choices. We were very impressed with nearly everything we saw. The culture is a real thing though - it is one of the selling points for my child but for one of my other children they would have just walked immediately off campus knowing it was not a fit. As for the “caliber” of the school I think we are only going to see it rise over the next few years. Remember UTD is young because it grew backwards. However, the amount of money being put into the school, the commitment to research, and the relationships with local and national businesses is strong. We felt like we stumbled into a “hidden gem” after leaving UTD. I think it can be hard when it is the school down the street. We found that with the U of MN she had to work really hard to keep an open mind and see all the good in the U of MN because she has been on that campus over the years for a lot of other things and it seems like everyone here goes to the U. I would try hard not to “force” a decision especially about something quirky like UTD. Our process has been guided by the “Can you honestly see yourself here and happy for 4 years” because transferring would have major financial repercussions for kids that take a NMF scholarship. It was for that reason that she did not even look at UCF or ASU because she knew she could not see herself at either of those schools for 4 years.
@Mnacttutor If I had to compare UTD and UMN as a proud alum I would say …SKI U MAH I loved my years at the U ! But as you say its really up to the student. Our D is fully committed to UCF after touring their campus. Hope your daughter chooses wisely ! I would say if engineering is her goal the U is hard to beat ! GOOOOOO GOPHERS !
@iAmACynic, can you afford the $62,000+ cost for OOS students at Berkeley? There won’t be any merit aid. And of course CS at Berkeley is insanely competitive, so being a NMF doesn’t in any way assure admission. As a California resident, I’d be hesitant to send a daughter I perceived as “young” (I assume you mean somewhat naive or unworldly) there. I don’t have any info on UTD, and I know my own daughter wouldn’t consider it. But I agree that there may be CS programs that might be better fits and more affordable if she doesn’t care for UTD or simply wants to go farther from home.
@Phlipper she is interested in Neuroscience and while U of MN has a great neuroscience program it does require daily travel to the St Paul campus which is a great turnoff to her.
All excellent points @3scoutsmom, @sewin2music. Thanks. Yes she has visited all campuses and found that she likes the UC Berkeley campus more than any of the other two. We asked her whether she would like to go to UT instead of UTD and she said if she is staying in TX, then she will got to UTD 
Go figure!
@sewin2music, that’s an excellent point you make about attending the scholar’s program preview. We will definitely register and that would be the opportunity to ask lots of questions. Thanks for the suggestion!
Thank you @traveler98, @Mnacttutor, @TTdd16. Appreciate your viewpoints. @TTdd16, we are somewhat blessed to be able to afford the $62K. “Naive and unworldly” - perfect guess and add to that - she is the only child! When we visited Berkeley, they laid it down like it is and I had strong doubts about how she would manage her coursework and the daily grind. She would be completely lost. Also, the poor thing has worked her butt off the past 12 years in school to maintain the grades she has. I can guarantee that was not our doing. She is insanely obsessed about grades. I’d like to think we earned our high school diplomas with her!
@Mnacttutor’s points match up exactly with my research! I kept saying that UTD is a little gem that is in the process of being found and the insane amount of money they are throwing at growing the university and the professors that they are attracting are very exciting. “UTD is young because it grew backwards” - like!
Thanks again for all the great points you folks make. They go a long way in helping convince the kid to see the several shining points of light.
@iAmACynic - your daughter sounds a bit like mine. We went round and round for a long time about her unwillingness to look at certain schools because “I haven’t heard of it so it must not be very good”. Do you think that could be part of the appeal of UCB? Lots of schools can be good fits, as we with some experience know. It is more difficult to convince our youngsters of this. It sounds like UTD and UCB have very different cultures - do you feel like your daughter would fit better in one over the other?
Oooo @Mnacttutor how can she not be in love with the joys of the Twin Cities transit system ? 
I remember riding those on a daily basis hee hee hee ! :))
@amominaz, could not have said that better myself! I was trying to say that exactly but you put it succinctly! What you and @Mnacttutor said is the state we find ourselves in. I doubt she can manage the daily grind and stay on top of the coursework at UCB.