@LMHS73 It wouldn’t be in addition to the full ride, so no, I wouldn’t get any extra money. It would just be included as part of full ride. Basically there would be $1000 per year that would have an “NMSC” tag on it. The scholarship is estimated at $28000 per year (depending on tuition rates, etc.), so (for example) $27000 would be paid by WSU and $1000 would be paid by NMSC. If I don’t get the college-sponsored award, then WSU would pay the $28000. Either way, I get the same amount of money.
@LMHS73, for the colleges, is the number listed supposed to be the max they can offer, or is it just what they offered last year? In other words, does WSU only offer 5, even if they have 7 NMFs enrolling? Or is it just that they happened to have 5 NMFs enroll last year so that’s what they offered? Some schools (OU, TAMU, UH, CFU, Baylor, etc.) give them to every NMF who enrolls and notifies NMSC by May 1. But when you look at the NMSC list, it shows 126 or 155 or whatever for number of NM scholarships, which is every NMS enrolled as a freshman that year, but it is not the max they can offer. Perhaps some schools have a limit and some do not?
Also, NMSC’s publication states that the universities select which students get the university’s sponsored scholarships, which are then administered by NMSC.
The “you only get one” rule seems to cause the most confusion, especially for students going to schools where they are guaranteed a NM package. But it’s not that confusing if you just think of it like @albert69 stated: “there would be $X per year that would have an ‘NMSC’ tag on it”. That is a good way to look at it. If you get the NMSC or corporate award, the school will not give you the part of their scholarship with the NMSC tag on it (the “official” part of their NM package). You end up with the same $.
Probably the same for my son then. Won’t get any additional money, but will earn the NMS distinction for getting the college sponsored award. Absolutely no complaints; his scholarship includes everything: books/supplies; room; board; transportation; tuition/fees; personal stipend; & study abroad package; plus the possibility of additional scholarship money from the honors college & engineering dept.
I’ve learned something through every step of this process; I have a daughter in 9th grade & when her time comes around, I’m going to be so smart about all of this!!
@Barfly, I don’t know if the 5 means that they can only sponsor 5, but if their isn’t any additional money involved in getting the college-sponsored scholarship, I don’t see why they couldn’t sponsor 5 or 50 or 500… Seems like the more NMS’s they can brag about would be a good thing for the school.
I liked one of your previous comments on how we (NMF parents/students) all almost speak a different language now from the rest of the world on this subject. I didn’t feel like I knew much of anything, but when I spoke with my son’s scholarship coordinator, I knew more than he did!
Yep @LMHS73! I think we all know more about this process than the school counselors and others! Round 3 for me, and I still have questions! But I think I should give the HS administration a powerpoint presentation about the NM process after #3 graduates.
The numbers for the colleges are the minimum they offer.
I received the $2500 scholarship. UW GPA: 4.12/4.3, SAT: 2370, 800 M, 800 W, 770 CR. I listed “Undecided” for my first choice college.
What is the portal to find your decision? I went on the osa site and my website hasn’t changed. Does it mean that I didn’t get a scholarship? Berkeley is going to cost a lot of money then…
@Radbg74 This is only for the one-time $2500 awards. If you’re talking about a National Merit scholarship offered through Berkeley, then you’ll hear through them, not the NMSC’s osa website.
@bamagirls that is exactly what they told us at UA. Any NMF scholarship or NAF would be subtracted and not stacked on the university’s offer. I think most colleges do it that way.
If my D didn’t have any update on her osa site, then does that mean no NMF $2500 scholarship for her? she will be attending a school that does not offer merit scholarships which she had down as her 1st choice college.
My D also has no update on her osa site. From what others are posting, if you got the $2500 scholarship it was on the main page when you logged in. I’m confused about the stacking/not stacking of the college sponsored NMSC award. My D had WashU as her first choice but NMSC sent a letter saying they were no longer giving out NMSC scholarships so she listed Tulane (her second choice) instead. Tulane gave her a the Presidential Scholars scholarship and from what I see on the website the NM scholarship ($2000) can be added on. But now I’m not sure. I guess I’ll have to consult with the financial aid office. Every penny is needed here and D did not even apply for additional scholarships. Why does NM have to be so confusing? ~X(
@nolamere…The main instance for “stacking” that was previously discussed was regarding large “unofficial” NM packages from certain schools with the smaller “official” school-sponsored NM award. In your case, the Presidential scholarship is completely separate from Tulane’s $2K/yr NM scholarship. From their website’s description of the Presidential scholarship:
Based on this, if your D chooses to attend Tulane she will receive both the Presidential scholarship and the $2K/yr NM award. Congratulation to you and your D on her accomplishments!!
Thank you, @Wolverine86. That’s what I read on the Tulane website but just got confused after reading the other posts about stacking.
@Barfly, did I read correctly that you’ve had 3 kids go through this process and all 3 made NMF? If so, I just wanted to say that you have very intelligent children and (don’t be humble now) that you are a very involved and supportive parent. Congratulations to your family!!!
I have a daughter (currently in 9th grade) who hopes to join her brother as a NMF in a couple of years.
@LMHS73 My oldest sister was a NMS. She got a 1600 SAT (back when it was on a 1600 scale) on her first try, single sitting. She was very bright, academically at least. She didn’t use any NM scholarships though, except for the $2500 award that she got. She was insistent on going to Yale or Harvard, thought that a perfect SAT would get her in anywhere. She found out differently… ended up going to a southwestern state flagship where we moved.
@albert69, I glad you learned from your sister’s experience & that you’re taking advantage of your opportunity. You’ll be able to get a quality education and complete your undergraduate degree debt-free (or pretty close to it). That’s huge in this economy. You’ll be way ahead of the game when you start your professional career!
@LMHS73 Yeah. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t made NMF … things would have been very different.
Quote from @albert69 referring to his sister: “She was very bright, academically at least”. 
Oh that is such a sibling thing to say! I can hear that exact same sentiment coming out of the mouths of any of my kids or my own siblings, or out of my own mouth referring to my own siblings. LOL!
Thanks, @LMHS73! Yes, all 3! I can hear my dad saying intelligence “skips a generation” The self-imposed stress on S3 was tough, but he worked hard and we are really proud of his effort! If I had another one coming up (and I really wish I did!), I think I would look into paying for an SAT prep class in person or online the summer before sophomore year,. We thought it was a good idea for our boys to take the sophomore year PSAT “cold”, but in hindsight, I think it would have been better to take it after doing some prep. Then it might be easier to gauge what exactly needs work prior to the junior year PSAT.
Our S1 made NM out of the clear blue! But after seeing all the blessings he got from it, S2 and S3 were motivated and worked to make NM. They did not go crazy studying or anything, and we didn’t push them, but we did certainly encourage them. They definitely made more effort than most kids, and we were willing to pay for any study aids they needed. That was money well spent!