Came back to my house in VA from a trip back home to London to find my finalist letter waiting for me on the kitchen table! So happy that the weight is finally off my shoulders and I don’t have to worry anymore.
Now comes the wait for actual scholarships and college letters…
@STEMFamily, I’m afraid you give me too much credit for my abilities to navigate an ice storm! I don’t drive in conditions like that, so I stayed back at the hotel (w/our car) while DS went on to OU in one of their very nice chartered buses. They pushed everything back in the morning, so the students were not being transported during the actual storm. But I waited until late morning before heading out in my car and meeting up w/DS. By the time I ventured out, the roads were fine and the sun was out!
@Wolverine86, thanks for the info on UKy. DS has been accepted there, and accepted into Honors & the Global Scholars Program. What we see online looks amazing and we were/might-still-be planning DS’s Spring Break around a trip there - but he hasn’t put down an enrollment or dorm deposit. It’s so busy right now, but we need to sit down as a family to discuss whether or not to put resources toward the trip. I still think we should go, but DS is lukewarm at this point simply due to the distance. I just wish our state flagship offered a bit more for NMF, but it sounds greedy to say that because full tuition is still fantastic. And, on the whole, many of our state universities are generous w/NM scholarships, as @albert69 has seen in WSU. I may PM you with some questions about UKy, though. What we’ve read about their scholarship is definitely appealing.
And then, of course, there’s UA. Do we have any NMFs here who are planning to attend UA?
We just got the finalist letter at home in VT yesterday. Nothing from school yet. DS has applied to some ivies and other schools that have nice NMF scholarships. His school choice is “undecided” as he wants to wait until he hears from all schools (end of March). Should he scan his letter and email it to the admissions offices of all the colleges to which he has applied? Will it make a difference for admission to go from a semi-finalist to a finalist?
@GoAskDad my DD has been invited to Bama Computer Based Honors finalist weekend so we will have more to report later but Bama truly rolled out the red carpet and made her feel very welcome when we did our general/honors tour this past summer.
Our school has yet to even say anything to the NMF even though they must have the letter by now???
Received my notification yesterday in GA! Letter says a certificate has been mailed to my school.
@GoAskDad I’m a NMF who’s attending UA in the fall. I visited in August and was sold on it even before I found out I was a semi finalist. I was also wary about the distance at first, but once I saw the school (and the scholarships) it was too good to pass up. I also admittedly thought of it as a party school, but their Honors College proved me wrong. Great resources, connections, and social events, to boot. I would definitely recommend visiting.
Finally got email last night from his school saying he made it! They said to go and change his first choice school but I think it is okay to leave it undecided till May 1st, right?
@1203southview Yes, that is probably fine, but make sure you know the specific deadlines from the schools in consideration.
DD’s letter states that a finalist needs to declare their 1st choice school by MARCH 1 to be in the first round of scholarship consideration and distribution. If we don’t expect to hear from several schools until late March/early April, how can she declare her 1st choice before knowing to which schools she’s been accepted? And how negatively does not making it into this “first round” affect one’s scholarship chances? That requirement seems a little aggressive. But at the other end of the spectrum, the letter states that the absolute latest date to declare a 1st choice is May 31. Considering that national day to declare intent is May 1, lettering it go until May 31 seems ridiculously late. Thoughts anyone?
I’ve already declared my 1st choice, but I’m not waiting for any other acceptances. @MinneMom2 I think that the letter means what it says… that to be considered FIRST, then you have to name the school by March 1. I don’t think that you’re out of the running if you don’t name the school until later though. Which school or schools is it relavant for and about how many NMF go there?
@barfly I think that I’m going to recommend donut day for our school. This might be THE thing that does it for DS2 next year. Gotta work on the donut angle.
S received his letter (Miami FL) on Sat! He wants to go OOS (Duke, Gtown, Penn, UVA, UNC, Vandy) but has already been accepted at FSU and their honors prog. Unless one of these offers a bunch of merit $$, FSU will be hard to pass up, what with FL tuition program and Bright Futures scholarship… guess we’ll see. FSU is an 8 hour drive so it’s like being out of state.
So do you guys recommend that he send the schools on his list a copy of the letter?
@subtropicus do you know about the FL Incentive Scholarship?
DS got his letter Saturday in New Mexico, no word from high school. I stopped asking.
@oomyzus Congrats from a fellow New Mexican! My “principal’s” (I’m home schooled) letter came on the previous Saturday and I got my personal letter last Saturday as well, exactly one week apart. The school probably has it, they just aren’t paying attention to it.
Could someone speak to a comparision of Biology programs at OU, Arizona State, Texas A & M, University of New Mexico, and/or U Colorado Boulder? I get the impression that the Texas A & M programs for biology/bioengineering are mostly geared toward pre-med majors but could be wrong. DS is looking for a traditional biology degree, wide in scope not just focused on the molecular level. Hope its ok to ask on this thread.
Also is there any place that has a good comparision of the detailed NMF offers from these Universities (minus U Colorado which doesn’t seem to have anything special for NMF) I didn’t realize that OU doesn’t pay for room and board after first year until @albert69 mentioned it.
@cshecmia, thanks!
Louisiana received finalist status home today, found out at school today as well, turns out they received letter last Thursday
@oomyzus, you say @albert69 said the OU package for NMFs doesn’t pay for room and board after the first year? That’s not accurate. There is plenty for room and board, and even though OU will tell you the NM package is not a 'full ride", it does pretty much cover everything and some kids we have met say they have money left over. Is there perhaps confusion over the letter to parents which states that some students use their NM money to pay for off-campus housing after freshman year? All OU students live on-campus the first year. After that, it is up to the student if he/she wants to live on or off campus. Either way, they NM money is there to pay for room and board, whether that is a dorm and meal plan or an apartment and groceries.