Will marking any of these schools help me financially?

Paying for College National Merit Aid
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<p>This week, I was invited to apply for status of one of the class of 2011's NMFs. I intend to do so, but I'm a little bit confused about the part of the forms that reads, "First Choice College" or something similar. I've read that certain colleges will give you special scholarships or other perks if you do mark them as a top choice on your NMF forms. If this is true, will any of these schools do so?</p>

<p>Deep Springs College
Emory University
Johns Hopkins University
Michigan State University*
Northwestern University
Tufts University
Tulane University
University of Chicago
University of Michigan*
University of Southern California
Washington and Lee University
Washington University in St. Louis
Williams College</p>

<p>*If it's relevant, I am a Michigan resident.</p>

<p>I realize that these are all decently or extremely competitive schools and that getting aid, and even getting in, can be tough. But besides a few other top-notch institutions where I know that scholarships are unlikely for NMFs, these are the places that I'm interested in. Please let me know if you have any recommendations as to what I should do in my NMS application.</p>

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<p>USC gives a “half-tuition” scholarship to NMFs. </p>

<p>I think USC is the highest ranked school that gives a decent NMF scholarship. </p>

<p>Other schools that give bigger NMF scholarships (such as free tuition and free housing) are good schools, but they are ranked below USC.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the information. To qualify for the half-tuition scholarship, does an NMF need to have marked USC as his/her first choice? Additionally, do any other schools I’ve listed offer anything similar?</p>

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<p>check with USC’s website for details and dates. USC probably does need to be named at first choice by a certain date.</p>

<p>As for your other schools…MSU offers a small NMF scholarship BASED ON NEED. The range is $750-2000 per year…not much at all!</p>

<p>Don’t think any of the others offer much if anything. Chicago may offer $1k per year or something like that.</p>

<p>I’m a little shocked that Mich State offers sooooo little. Bama is ranked equal to Mich State, yet Bama gives free tuition, free housing, and other goodies to NMFs. Bama’s NMF scholarship is worth $120k.</p>

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<p>Tulane is $2,000 per year. My D gets it.</p>

<p>And isn’t Deep Springs free if you get in? If so, NMF scholarship would be irrelevant.</p>

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<p>For now, just get the finalist application in, and mark “undecided” for choice of school. You have lots of time to change it later, and they even put a post card in the packet for you to designate/change later.</p>

<p>Read the thread started/managed by Keilaxandra on NMF scholarships; it is the best compendium that I know of.</p>

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<p>fallenchemist: My bad. Oddly, I forgot about Deep Springs being free.</p>

<p>Thank you all for the advice. Unless I learn of some vastly better option, I think I’ll either mark USC or undecided.</p>

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<p>Here’s what I would do if I were you…</p>

<p>Name USC as your first choice, but I would also apply to a school that gives a huge NMF scholarship as a financial safety (a school that doesn’t require being named #1 until spring). </p>

<p>Then, if for some reason your other choices won’t work for whatever reasons…didn’t get accepted, didn’t get a good FA package, have an unaffordable family contribution, etc…you will still have an affordable financial safety with a big NMF scholarship. :)</p>

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<p>Follow the advice of Mom2collegekids – makes the most financial sense, if you are not directly interested in school that offers you a BIG NM scholarship.</p>

<p>I am surprised MSU doesn’t give a better award to NMFs. Didn’t they used to award full tuition?</p>

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<p>In the New York Times, is there a series that follows students through the college selection process (possibly called “The Choice”?) – students chronicle their journey through blog-like entries? Anyway, reason I mention this is I think one of the students was from Michigan, and was faced with choosing between good scholarship money at the in-state U, vs. spending big $$ at his first choice HSC. You may want to see if this series is still around. (I think it ended in Spring of '10 after each student had ultimately decided.)</p>

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<p>

The state of Michigan has a few budget issues these days.</p>

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<p>mom2collegekids: Thanks again for the tips. I think I’ll mark USC or undecided for now and change my status if needed after some more research and discussion with my family.</p>

<p>audellmom: I actually used to follow The Choice’s segment called “The Envelope, Please” and I think I know the piece you’re talking about. At [Hold</a> the Advice, However Well-Intended - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/envelope-bates-4/]Hold”>Hold the Advice, However Well-Intended - The New York Times), one of the students blogs about choosing MSU over UMich and Oklahoma State.</p>

<p>Sorry if the answer is obvious, but I’m having a brain fart after having written my NMS essay. What does HSC mean?</p>

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<p>I just got a letter from MSU stating I would get 18k + 12K per year if I applied. Plus a 2500 research grant and Professorial Assistant status…seemed like a good deal to me and it must be close to a full ride.</p>

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<p>Ismailcc – yes, it was the segment called “The Envelope, Please” – I wonder if they will resurrect it again this year.
Anyway, HSC = highly selective college.</p>

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<p>*I just got a letter from MSU stating I would get 18k + 12K per year if I applied. Plus a 2500 research grant and Professorial Assistant status…seemed like a good deal to me and it must be close to a full ride. *</p>

<p>Cost of attendance is about $43k for non-residents…tuition is $30k. </p>

<p>BTW…do the scholarship amounts increase as tuition and housing increase each year?</p>

<p>Is that for being NMF or for more than NMF? That is a LOT more than the website says it gives for NMFs.</p>

<p>(I don’t know why I didn’t notice the extra paragraphs before…)</p>

<p>MSU National Merit Scholarship</p>

<pre><code>Awarded to National Merit Finalists who name MSU as their first-choice institution; $750 to $2,000 annually, depending on financial need; those receiving $2,000 nonrenewable awards are guaranteed supplemental awards from $250 to $1,500 annually, renewable for eight semesters**.
</code></pre>

<p>Merit Recognition Scholarship - Non-Michigan Residents</p>

<pre><code>Awarded to non-Michigan residents who are National Merit Finalists and name MSU as their first-choice institution; includes $4,000 annually plus room and board in an MSU residence hall (double occupancy in an MSU residence hall and silver meal plan; students with sophomore academic standing or higher, who have lived for a minimum of one year in an MSU residence hall, are eligible to live in an on-campus apartment and receive the residence hall double occupancy award plus the silver meal plan, based on space and class standing; off-campus housing is not included in this award), renewable for eight semesters**.
</code></pre>

<p>MSU Special Merit Scholarship - Michigan residents</p>

<pre><code>Awarded to Michigan residents who are National Merit Finalists and name MSU as their first-choice institution; $2,000 annually, renewable for eight consecutive semesters of undergraduate enrollment.
</code></pre>

<p>From the above, it doesn’t look like full tuition is covered. It looks like just about $4k-$6k is given towards tuition, so I wonder if Dumbitdown is being offered more than just their NMF scholarship.</p>

<p>What exactly did the letter say…does it say cash amounts or value? </p>

<p>The non-resident tuition is $30k per year. Total Cost of Attendance is about $43k per year.</p>

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<p>Here is the message, a bit abridged:</p>

<p>…all out-of-state resident who are NMSF and who are eligible for Honors college are awarded Professorial Assistantships. PA’s work on research for 10 hours a week…PA’s recieve the Tuition Grant (valued at $18,000 a year for four years) as well as a annual research stipend ($2500 a year)</p>

<p>Merit Recognition award: all NMF who choose MSU as first choice provides full cost of room and board plus a annual stipend worth about $12000 per year. </p>

<p>The combination of Tuition grant and Merit Recognition can grant significant scholarship support to an OOS NMF who attends MSU</p>

<p>So maybe not as much as I first thought because the 12000 is room and board mainly. what do you think? is MSU a decent school right?</p>