I’m not sure if this is the place to post this question but thought I would start here. My daughter just received high PSAT score and school counselor says she will likely become a NMSemi-finalist (her index was 223 and Maine this past year was 215). We have just started researching schools just for fun since the free tuition or full ride is extremely attractive for our situation. Am I right that there are no schools really in the Northeast that offer full tuition or free ride? We live in Maine so it is a little daunting to research the schools that are so far away but did stumble upon UCF which appears to offer a full ride if someone is a finalist? or am I missing something? Any guidance would be appreciated!
Check out the National Merit Scholarship forum: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/
And congratulations to your daughter! My daughter had the same selection index for the 2018 program. We’re waiting for notification that she has been selected as a National Merit Finalist now. 
It’s true that most of the best NM scholarships are in the south. But if your daughter wants an urban setting that’s still in the cold climate she’s used to, check out University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
Other Florida schools could also be affordable
iahomeschoolmom - congrats to you too!! I’m still trying to understand this all but so far the UCF full ride and access to the honors college seems like the best thing I have researched so far for us…if she is going to go far from Maine, she wants warmth so somewhere down south might just be fine…for me and my husband, free = really fine 
@FrozenMaineMom UCF is a full ride scholarship/ Cost of Attendence award, including tuition/fees, room and board, books, transportation, and personal fees. They allot I believe $33k per year. Anything over tuition/fees and room and board are given to the student as a reimbursement and can be spent has he/she chooses.
UCF is currently my first choice as a 2018 NMSF, however, I am going to visit UT Dallas next week so we will see what happens! I am from California, so I understand that the long trek across the country is daunting, but I think that it is totally worth it!! The opportunities that UCF has to offer are outstanding and I highly suggest that you pay them a visit sometime. Once you get named a semifinalist, I would suggest that you ask about covering the cost of a trip out to see UCF (Director’s Forum) because they are VERY generous.
I wrote a full report on my visit to UCF last November and it can be found here:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20965894#Comment_20965894
If you have any questions feel free to ask!! If you couldn’t tell I really REALLY love UCF and what it has to offer 
sewin2music did you tour UT Dallas yet? I would love to hear your thoughts after you do and how you compare your visit to UCF! Your description of your visit there was so helpful!
@FrozenMaineMom I am actually going to tour UT Dallas today! I will definitely be posting another trip review by Saturday. It will be posted in the same thread as the UCF review but I can post a link to it here too. I’m so glad that you found it helpful!
awesome – have a great time and I look forward to hearing all about it! no need to post here too if you do not want - I may be able to find it (I’m just learning how to use this forum though so maybe not!)
@sewin2music congratulations to you! Sounds like all great options! Was curious- did UCF do fast-tracked/expedited applications for NMSF?
@mountainmomof3 I believe they do. I think I got my acceptance a week later. Luke, the NM director, reviews the apps, not the admission dept.
@sewin2music thanks for the info!
@mountainmomof3 No problem! I believe the same is true for the honors college. It just takes a bit longer to get a decision since it’s by mail.
As @sewin2music said, UCF is a Full Ride Scholarship. My son is in Freshman Year and is really enjoying. He gets a set amount per semester (about $16K), his Tuition and on-campus (or campus affiliated) housing and food is then deducted. Anything left over is then credited to his bank account for he own use. I believe he can also pay for his books through the bookstore with his scholarship, but he has been buying his books from Amazon instead and then just “paying himself back.”
NMF also get some additional benefits including automatic acceptance to Burnett Honors and LEAD Scholars and (I think) the EXCEL program. My son joined both the Honors College and LEAD, but is going to drop LEAD. They also get a free computer before their freshman year.
Also, depending on your daughters preference, they are guaranteed housing for 4 years. Just read the comments about the Housing lottery this year and you can see how important that is. (We are trying to convince my son to, at least, use this for his sophomore year, before moving off campus.)
Also, it is possible to apply for an additional semester of scholarship for some harder majors. That can increase the award.
Just be aware that, if she chooses Towers, your housing commitment is for 11 1/2 months, but the scholarship only covers the Fall/Spring semesters. You will need to pay for the summer housing yourself. Also, I highly recommend that your daughter does NOT take the full meal plan. My son found out very quickly that the food options are not that great and often make his own meals in his dorm (it is great to have a kitchen in his dorm).
Tribuin, thank you so much for that info! Can I ask how large his classes are? I’m assuming that even if part of the Honors college that they still might have a few that are HUGE? My biggest fear about this school as a choice for my daughter (coming from a small town in ME) is that the size of the school and classes might just be way too overwhelming. But maybe being part of the Honors college would make it feel much different? I had no idea that the Towers commitment would be for 11 1/2 months and not just the school year. Any idea how much it costs to pay for that additional time in the Towers (although I guess if our kids have a free ride then that amount we have to pay will not feel like a big deal!?) That housing looked really appealing - especially having their own individual bedroom within a 4 person suite. Any other info. anyone wants to share I would love to hear - thank you
I can’t speak to closely about the class sizes. I know my son takes a couple of honors courses and a couple of “regular” corses. But, the honors course do have smaller class size.
It looks like housing costs for the summer term are about 2/3rd of a regular semester. ~$2200.
I think the single room is good for my son. He is fairly social person, but he likes his privacy as well. He and GF often just hang in his room and watch TV/Movies.
UCF is a great school! University of Alabama also offers a generous NMF scholarship. Actually, I think most of the SEC does. Be sure to check how hard it is to keep that scholarship at any school you are thinking about!
Texas Tech is also a full ride. The other nice ones are University of Oklahoma and Alabama. Huge list of schools are full tuition plus but not full rides.
^^ Neither the University of Alabama nor the University of Oklahoma offerd a full ride to National Merit Finalists.They’re both extremely generous but not full rides.
https://scholarships.ua.edu/nationalscholars/
http://www.ou.edu/content/admissions/nationalscholars/national-merit-scholarship.html
I suggest anyone reading this thread VERIFY scholarships each and every year. They often change, and the changes can be dramatic.
Also, check to see what the requirements are to MAINTAIN the scholarship. I’ve seen GPAs that range from 3.0 to 3.5.