Super excited that our son got a letter today from NMSC that he got the $2,500 scholarship! We thought the process was over and we were out of luck. The letter was dated March 26 and we received it on the 31st. Good luck to everyone else! It was a nice surprise.
Congrats, @SATX53! Where is your son thinking to go to college? Is he considering any National Merit scholarships from colleges? And Welcome to CC.
@albert69 Thank you! I’ve gotten so much great information from CC. We are college admissions rookies so CC has saved the day many times. He is down to USC, UT, SMU and TAMU. He is considering NM scholarships from USC and TAMU.
By the way, my son’s NMSC portal has never changed. Should I be worried? Has everyone else’s changed or did some of you find out my snail mail like we did?
@SATX53 Now that is surprising! How does it say for you to accept the scholarship?
And what were your son’s stats, if you don’t mind sharing? He sounds like a great student to have gotten into those schools! Great choices all around.
@albert69 Operator error on our part!
When I logged on (multiple times) to the NMSC site from our main computer it never updated. But this morning I logged on from our laptop and it showed the congratulations. Not sure what went on with all that, but at least we’re good to go.
Is there any issue with accepting the NMSC scholarship? I saw the reply deadline is April 8 and he hasn’t picked his school, just yet. Will accepting it impact scholarships from the four universities? I guess it’s time to get on the phone.
No problem sharing - his test stats are SAT 2390 and ACT 35.
@SATX53 I see. I doubt that it would affect the scholarships from those schools much, though they might factor it into their awards and consider the $2500 as part of it. But call each of the schools to make sure. Congrats!
My son portal changed and we already recieved the letter in the mail as well. I called the NMSC and they said this 2500$ is on top of it and it is renewable for four years.
@SATX53 accepting the $2500 might lose your son $4000 from USC. Best to call USC admissions counselor first.
I talked to NMSC they said the $4000 should be on top of it but better to make sure to get the confirmation from your school.
So, just to be clear-the $2500 award does not take the place of a NMF award already offered by the university, correct? Also, how are the $2500 recipients chosen. I have twin sons, and one received the letter today, and one did not. The one that did not actually has better stats. Anyone have any insight? I was surprised to see the $2500 award 
@kmywest…The $2500 award will replace any “official” portion of a scholarship package offered by a particular school, but doesn’t affect any “unofficial” portion (the larger dollar amount for the schools with big NM packages).
For example, UKy offers the Patterson scholarship to NMFs who name them as a first choice school (the “unofficial” NM award) and then gives an additional $500/yr as the “official” NM sponsored award. Basically, UKy sends $500/yr to NMSC who then turns it around and administers it back to UKy in the student’s name making it an “official” school-sponsored NMSC award. The $2500 one-time award would replace the $500/yr portion since a student can only be offered one “official” NM scholarship. The Patterson scholarship remains unchanged.
The majority of “official” school-sponsored awards fall into the $500-$1000 per year range, so being awarded a $2500 scholarship could lead to “losing” $1500 over the course of 4 years if they university doesn’t choose to make up the difference through some other means. You’d have to contact the specific school in question and ask them directly how they’ll handle the situation. Congrats on having twin NMFs…and good luck to all of you!!
Thanks so much. This is very helpful!
My understanding is the $2500 award is renewable for 4 years. You just have to reapply again.
Um, no. The $2500 NMSC scholarship is a one-year award only.
The National Merit Finalist Package at Bama includes the following for students entering Fall 2015:
• Value of tuition for up to five years or 10 semesters for degree seeking undergraduate and
graduate studies
• One year of on-campus housing at regular room rate*
• A $3,500 per year Merit/Achievement Scholarship stipend for four years.
• One-time allowance of $2,000 for use in summer research or international study (after
completing one year of study at UA)
• iPad
Here’s how it works if the student receives the one time National Merit Corporate Scholarship for $2,500. This is the explanation I received from the Scholarship Office.
If a corporate-sponsored scholarship from the National Merit Corporation is received, the total value cannot exceed $3,500. (For example, if you receive a corporate-sponsored scholarship of $2,000 per year, UA will contribute $1,500 per year to reach the total stipend amount of $3,500.)
So at Bama, the stipend would be reduced only for the first year, and that would not affect the value of the scholarship package. The student would still be receiving a total stipend of $3,500 per year for each of the first four years as long as the student maintains a minimum 3.3 GPA. The stipend is not affected for years 2, 3, or 4. Any other scholarships the student receives would stack.
Finalists should name Bama as their first choice school and forward a copy of their finalist letter to the Scholarship Office.
S got the NMScholarship of $2500 and did NOT name a NM School as 1st choice.
It doesn’t matter whether a student selects a first choice to receive the $2,500, but it is required to receive the NMF scholarship package from the school. Sorry if that was unclear.
My son received a letter Thursday that his is a recipient of the $2500 NMSC award. We had stopped checking the portal because we did not expect it…but it is updated. His stats are 4.0UW/4.44 w, 2280 SAT. His essay was really good (I think). His EC’s are mostly athletics.
He plans on attending UCF for aerospace engineering…loved it there!
Good luck to everyone!