<p>From "Requirements and Instructions for Semifinalists"
[quote]
Consideration for a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award is limited to Semifinalists who qualify as Finalists and who also
1. Report the NMSC that a sponsor college is their first choice [...];
2. Have applied for admission to the sponsor college; and
3. Have not been offered any other National Merit Scholarship (corporate-sponsored, National, or another college-sponsored award). No student will receive more than one scholarship offer from NMSC.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Is it possible to be awarded BOTH a $2500 scholarship and a scholarship from a sponsor college? Or are college-sponsored awards still considered a "scholarship offer from NMSC," making the two mutually exclusive?</p>
<p>They are mutually exclusive. Certainly many colleges give merit awards that are not officially related to your NMF status. But if the award is specific to your NMF status, then you can’t get both.</p>
<p>Thanks muchly, intparent!</p>
<p>I believe that generally, a school’s big package includes the NMSC portion. Check each school if that amount makes a difference for you financially. I believe that UCF has what you get from NMSC be in addition to what they offer.</p>
<p>So confused about this. The colleges that have an award that consists of a tuition waiver – that does <em>not</em> come from NMC. So, the student should be able to receive a $2,500 award from NMC. </p>
<p>I think what I have seen elsewhere is that some colleges will stack, others split it 50/50, and yet others require the entire amount to go to it and be deducted from the college’s award. </p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>KvotheFan…You are correct in that the large $$ NMF scholarships from schools like UKentucky, Bama, OK State, UCF, etc. are “unofficial” Nat’l Merit scholarships and do not fall under the “only can be offered one” rule. HOWEVER, most (probably all) of those schools are NM sponsor universities, and will offer an “official” college-sponsored award (usually in the range of $1K-$2K per year) either as a separate scholarship or contained within their large $$ “unofficial” NMF scholarship. It is the smaller “official” college-sponsored award that falls under the “only can be offered one” rule.</p>
<p>If the student is awarded a $2500 one-time award from NMSC (an “official” award) they would not be eligible to be offered the $1K-$2K award from a sponsoring university, but they would still be able to receive everything else in that school’s “unofficial” NMF package.</p>
<p>You are correct that different universities handle that situation in their own way. Some schools (like OK State) specifically state that they will augment the scholarship package of any $2500 scholarship recipients to ensure that all NMFs receive the same overall $$ amount. Others (I believe Northwestern is one) state that if the student is awarded a $2500 one-time, that will replace Northwestern’s $1K/year “official” scholarship and the student basically “loses” $1500 over the course of 4 years.</p>
<p>If a student is in a position to receive a corporate scholarship I assume the same process would apply, but asking the school directly is your best bet to see how they’d handle the situation. The bottom line is that NMFs will not lose an opportunity for the large $$ “unofficial” scholarship based on which “official” scholarship they’re offered. In a worst case scenario they could “lose” $1500-$5500 over the course of 4 years ($2500 one-time replacing a $1K-$2K/year for 4 years) which is nothing to sneeze at, but they’re still receiving up to six-figures in “unofficial” scholarships.</p>
<p>KvotheFan, I believe that you have it! Schools offer what they want to offer.
The NMSC offers some students a scholarship. It can be variable, fixed, or a single payment. It can be anywhere from $500/yearly (corporate) to $2,500 yearly to $5,000 yearly (corporate). Some students are awarded these. Some students are not.
Some colleges also offer their own scholarships to students who bedome National Merit Finalists. It can be from the above category, or something larger. Students may receive tuition waivers, room and board, and stipends. These are not NMSC scholarships, but are awarded to students who have become a NMF. These can be very large (full ride). Of the schools that offer amounts sufficient to cover most expenses, a few will allow you to keep the NMSC on top of their stipend, but most seem to reduce their stipend by the amount you have been awarded by NMSC.
At these schools, your package would be similar whether or not you were awarded the NMSC amount as a stipend. It is nice, in my opinion, that they do that. They, in essence, make it equal for the NMF students that attend there. If you have not received a scholarship from NMSC, they are matching what NMSC has awarded to the other students.
Likewise, some schools offer nothing based on NM status. One really has to look at the schools they are considering and determine what is offered at those schools. There is a great link on CC with a spreadsheet that lists the schools with bigger packages that are offered to NMFs and NMSFs. If I am wrong on any of this, I apologize. I am sure that someone will correct me.</p>
<p>A little more info on the $1,000-$2,000 NMF scholarships some colleges offer. I have heard that some students who get the $2,500 from NMSC call NMSC and discuss this with them to figure out how to get to take advantage of the higher amount (total $4,000-$8,000 from the college). NMSC may allow them to take the higher amount from the college sometimes, I think, and give up the $2,500 scholarship – even though there is a timing issue as you may not know where you have been accepted yet or where you will attend, but I feel like I heard someone was allowed to see what their results were and then decide about the NMSC portion. But call NMSC if you run into this and see what they say about it. Maybe someone who has done this can chime in.</p>
<p>Also, the $1,000-$2000 can be a bit disingenuous. A couple of the schools D was accepted to last year gave you $1,000 if you did NOT get need based aid, and $2,000 if you DID get need based aid – then knocked the $2,000 right off the need based aid they had already granted. So COA was the same whether you were NMF or not if you were offered need based aid. A parent at one of the colleges we were considering tipped me off that this is what would happen, so I was not surprised. But I know other parents were. I guess if you are borderline for needing aid (as we are, depending on the whims of my small business), you might get $2,000 in a future year. I did ask her college about that (“So she has been awarded $2,000 this year – what if she does not qualify for need based aid in a future year, will her award be $1,000 or $2,000?” They said $2,000.)</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me that if you have done well enough to meet program entry requirements, but are not a semifinalist, you will be a “commended” student? In other words, if your score doesn’t have an asterisk next to it, but you don’t make semifinalist, can you count on being a commended student?</p>
<p>Does anyone know what the cutoffs are this year for commended students?</p>
<p>I’ve heard that, too. If you receive scholarships, they reduce your grants. Doesn’t seem right, but I guess they figure that scholarship just reduced your need. Hopefully somebody who needs and will use that money gets it.</p>
<p>Knucklehead61…The commended cutoff for this year is 203. If you scored at or above 203 but below your state’s cutoff for NMSF status then you are a commended student.</p>