@kli586 Are you talking about the winners of the $2500 awards?
Anybody else hear about a college-sponsored award?
I know students who will be attending U of Chicago, Northwestern and University of Minnesota -Twin Cities who have been offered college-sponsored merit awards.
Our D2 received notification on her OSA page regarding the “official” portion of her UKy scholarship package and accepted the award. A few days later she received snail mail notification of the award as well.
Thanks, @Wolverine86 and @88jm19. Still waiting on WSU here…
Yes.
@albert69 yes, I meant final $2500 winners, how did they select?
Congratulations to all (students AND parents) who have made it this far! I was fortunate to win a corporate scholarship in 1974 and was even MORE fortunate to count TEN National Merit Scholars among the learners I met in my first career as a teacher. Take a deep breath and relax…everything has already been decided. Just making it to the top 3% for Commended Students and 1% for Semifinalists IS recognition for all your hard work in the pre-collegiate years. The dedication and passion you bring to your college years and your professional life beyond is what will make the rest of your life a success! The scholarship is a wonderful point of recognition for your promise, but PLEASE REMEMBER: everyone who made the initial cut-off has what it takes to build a successful life! Let us take a moment to celebrate the commendable coordination between families and schools in support of each students’ talents through the years that has brought you all to this place of honor!
@kli586 No one really knows. NMSC doesn’t really say. From what I’ve seen, most of the $2500 winners have been pretty high on the stats - high PSAT, high SAT, high GPA. Also the essay and ECs have been good, I’m guessing. I’m not really sure, though. At any rate, all the $2500 winners for this year have been chosen - they were selected back in March.
My D was one of the $2500 winners, and what helped us decide between 2 schools (one of many factors) was that one school was going to deduct it from the merit award they offered her while the other not only stacked it but also threw more money on top. It really is a mystery to me how different schools have such drastically different responses to this award.
@MinneMom2 Would you mind sharing what two schools your D was deciding between?
@4kids2graduate - UChicago and U of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Which one is your home state?
@dream2reality - Minnesota
@minniemom2, I have the same question about how schools decide to handle recipients of the $2,500 award. My student was awarded this, but her chosen school reduces a students official award by that amount. Although this is disclosed, I don’t understand why that decision was made. It doesn’t seem like an honor if nothing is gained by receiving it. After she accepted her offer she was told she could not receive any $ from the national or the local alumni association. Bummer. She’s the top stats student from our state to attend her school, and we aren’t really sure why these scholarship sources are not treated as any other source which would stack. We appreciate the opportunities the school provides with the NMF scholarship package it offers, but we are disappointed with these aspects.
Chelsea75: I hope you are looking ahead to a bright future. It is – unfortunately – not unusual for bright students to have less than stellar grades. You mentioned an adjustment to a new environment and a suboptimal level of support while taking online Spanish. I am sure the committee has seen this with previous candidates. A more significant cause is the mismatch between curriculum and the student’s ability. Underachievement is frequently the result when course offerings do not capture the interest of extremely capable students. As a former NMS and teacher of many NMSs, I hope you will enroll in a college – and program – that provides a level of challenge to engage your high potential and imagination. The scholarship IS a wonderful honor, but what matters now is that you understand how you fell off track for a while and that you need to take control to make full use of the next four years of your undergraduate studies. EVERYONE who made the initial cut-off has what it takes to make a successful life; you are the same YOU whether or not you find “the luck of a sponsor match.” All the qualities within you now, scholarship or no scholarship, are yours to use as you choose: Please “reach out” to your professors so they can see your passion for their subjects and your commitment to their fields. From the perspective of 30 years “after the scholarship,” I can tell you that it is only ONE of the things that makes for a satisfying life. I wish you all the best as you enter this next phase of yours. 
Typo! 40 years for me. My youngest NMS just turned 35, and all of them would agree with me…Have a wonderful LIFE…You are ALL already WINNERS!
Son got a letter today from NMSC saying congrats but sorry he is not among the scholarship recipients named to date. It goes on to say they are still awarding some additional scholarships, the majority of which are sponsored by colleges.
This is all good and well except that my son named his first choice school over a month ago and the letter kind of stressed me (not him) out. I checked on the NMSC website and it does still show his first choice school. So I feel confident (no not really) that everything is fine.
Here are some quotes from the letter. “We sincerely regret that you are not among the scholarship recipients named to date”. “Your accomplishments thus far have been outstanding, and we trust the future will provide many new avenues…… We wish you every success……” Hmmmm……….
I almost feel like NMSC told Jimmy the Intern to write a letter that is factually “true” but still leaves parents wondering if there could be some mixup and their kids somehow will not get their NMS scholarship from their first choice sponsoring university. Well done, Jimmy. I bet they’ll offer you full time employment after you finish your internship.
We got one also and S’s school has already confirmed NMS so hope that alleviates some stress. Reminded me of the rejection letters some colleges send out even though they’ve already released decisions on-line. Major buzz kill.
Oh goodness, you mean I might get a rejection letter “for the time being” in the mail today?