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>Because the title of national merit finalist sounds super impressive so colleges throw money at students in an effort to make themselves look like a magnet for bright students.</p>

<p>Most top colleges do not give large scholarships for NMF, and some don’t give any at all. Agree with whenhen that most colleges that give large scholarships are not magnets for bright students otherwise. Still, it is a blessing for students who need merit money to attend college that some colleges are giving large scholarships.</p>

<p>Colleges will pay for whatever they want–super smart students, top athletes, etc. to help improve their reputations in academics, sports, etc.</p>

<p>My kids have benefited (and they aren’t athletes), so I can’t complain. Think about the universities that give the biggest merit aid. What are the chances that a NM Scholar is going to succeed–compared to their average students? Betting on NMS seems like a good safe bet. (These students are top 1%–very accomplished already in high school. Not much chance of them flunking out.)</p>

<p>Actually the SAT is an outstanding predictor of college success, particularly in schools which accept a wide spectrum of students.</p>

<p>At Princeton, for example, the SAT isn’t all that important. All of the students have relatively high SATs. A score of 2100 will put one in the bottom quartile. An SAT score of 1800 would put one in the top quartile of all students nationally, but in the bottom percentile at Princeton if they even have anyone that limited. Pick 100 kids scoring 1800, put them in Princeton, and watch how crappy their grades will be. Just for fun admit 100 more with a 1500, roughly average, and let the fun begin.</p>

<p>Selective colleges already know the SAT is an outstanding predictor of college success. That’s why they use it to select their students, at which point it no longer matters very much. It doesn’t measure the ability to work hard, and a hard-worker with a 2200 might outperform a lazy student with a 2400. But that doesn’t mean the test doesn’t measure ability.</p>

<p>As a college professor with 20+ years experience, I can weigh in a little bit. I have access to my students’ scores, and from time to time I look them up. What I’ve found is a strong correlation between high scores and high performance, and also a strong correlation between terrible scores and terrible performance.</p>

<p>It’s the students with average scores who tend go either way.</p>

<p>Interesting perspective, WasatchWriter.</p>

<p>*As a college professor with 20+ years experience, I can weigh in a little bit. I have access to my students’ scores, and from time to time I look them up. What I’ve found is a strong correlation between high scores and high performance, and also a strong correlation between terrible scores and terrible performance.</p>

<p>It’s the students with average scores who tend go either way.*</p>

<p>While not perfect, the trends would certainly suggest this. There will always be a few top HS students (top GPA/top SAT) who go “hog wild” in college and drop out, but probably most of these kids do very well in college. </p>

<p>And, there will always be a few outliers who were crappy HS school students with lowish scores who then “grow up” and shine in college. </p>

<p>We had a deacon at our church who used to tell stories about how he was the flunkie in high school…never did homework, never studied, never cracked a book. He didn’t graduate from HS. </p>

<p>Then he went into the military, grew up, went back to school, and now has a PhD in Physics and earns a high 6 figure salary. He clearly was the exception to the rule. And, parents began telling him not to tell that story to impressionable young kids who might think they’ll be similarly successful if they follow that path.</p>

<p>In an age when OOS and private colleges cost $40,000+, the $2,000 NM Scholarship is a drop ok the bucket.</p>

<p>@pde54003 you are confused about the potential value of being named a NM finalist. Take a look at Alabama or Oklahoma or Northeastern and you will see the NM related scholarship can be worth $100k or more…</p>

<p>The school-sponsored scholarships are the big ones.
Here’s just one example: UT Dallas-- worth $150,000+ over 4 years for out-of-state students. This covers all tuition and fees (about 30K per year for OOS) plus $8K living expenses per year. Plus $2K for study abroad.
Plenty of others–UK, Central Florida, OK State are some other very generous ones. These are automatic for any NMF.</p>

<p>What KCtaxguy and atomom said. I think my children both have very good chances to snare NM finalist status in a couple of years because of our state of residence, so long as they don’t have a bad day. Both will start college with around 60 hours through advanced placement and dual enrollment (at a real school and not a junior college, so they should transfer).</p>

<p>If they were to take the Alabama offer, they would complete their undergraduate studies in four or five semesters and have the remaining semesters to get a grad degree; a medical degree if they were interested.</p>

<p>So we’re talking about a scholarship that could be worth more than $200,000.</p>

<p>Earl–get your kids to start prepping now.</p>

<p>It is a one shot test unlike SAT where one might try a few times to get better scores.</p>

<p>DD took it as a sophomore. That test doesn’t count. So she was somewhat prepped for the “real” test. Her GC set it up. Worth looking into.</p>

<p>Some schools have all sophomores take the PSAT (our public school does). Some also have freshman taking it. To prep, get the Official Guide to the SAT (use it to study for the PSAT–questions are the same type, only there are fewer of them and no essay on the PSAT). There are also some prep books specifically for the PSAT–Kaplan is a good one, imo.</p>

<p>Our local HS all students from 9-11 to take the PSAT. I agree that practice helps.</p>

<p>EarlVanDorn, I assume that you did not mean to offend anyone when you implied that Community Colleges are not real. Please be aware that the quality of a class can vary from institution to institution. Psychology 101 at a 2 year college can be more difficult than that same class at a 4 year school. Community college is a very viable option for many people who cannot afford to go directly to a 4 year college. Junior colleges also meet the needs of many returning students who work full time and cannot attend school during the day.
If a student takes Calculus or Differential Equations at any accredited college or university, it should transfer. If a person takes basket weaving anywhere, the credit probably will not transfer. I am hoping that my daughter’s Community College Korean credits will be able to transfer, as those classes were just as difficult as her AP Spanish class. If not, at least she was able to learn something that was of interest to her when no other 4 year institution in the area offered this as an option.</p>

<p>@ NaperMom, DD had an assignment in her Freshman year which required her to interview an actual college admissions counselor at the school of her choice. She chose Rice University. When she asked the admissions person how they regarded AP classes VS. Honors VS. dual enrollment at the local state college, the counselor clearly stated that unless the dual enrollment was taken at a major university or liberal arts college, the dual enrollment classes were considered at about the same level as a high school honors class. AP was clearly the “gold standard”. We did not ask about IB since it isn’t offered at her school.</p>

<p>I am in shock. Your schools must be much better than ours. Here, after AP Calc BC, if students want to take more Math, they participate in dual credit at the community college by taking Multivariable Calculus with Linear Algebra. I have never heard of one of our state schools not accepting the credit, but maybe schools in other states don’t. I hate to think that those students do all that work and risk their GPA for a class that colleges put on par with an Honors section.
Maybe our community college system here is different. Students can enroll in 2+2 or 3+1 programs, and be taught by University personnel here on campus. For example, UIUC Engineering offers this. Their Urbana campus can be very difficult to gain admissison (and expensive). Starting local saves in tuition as well as room and board for the first 3 years.</p>