I agree it is still a great deal. As a KY citizen/taxpayer, it is easy to agree with the changes. As a parent of class of 2018 NMSF and likely finalist, of course it is bad timing for us, but “thems the breaks”.
I remember a quote from the UK Provost where he said something like “We know we may lose a few National Merit finalists”. His wording (“a few”) seems right on target now. They will lose a few, but they will still get a decent number I think. A few more (but not all) KY NMFs will choose Louisville over Kentucky, or an out of state option. A few more (but not all) Ohio and Illinois NMF kids will choose Oklahoma or Alabama over Kentucky now that there is not much difference in cost.
If last year was 125, my wild prediction would be 75.