Why are national merit scholarships so $$$?

<p>I've never really understood this. The SAT itself is known to be rather dubious in predicting college success, and it seems amazing to me that colleges would essentially bet thousands of dollars on one's success based on a test that's not even the real SAT.... What's up with this?</p>

<p>Please repost on the NMS forum under FA & Scholarships.</p>