I just wanted to pass along that it appears WUSTL is no longer providing university-sponsored scholarships for National Merit finalists. I think this is a very recent change as Wash U is listed as a “College Sponsor” in the booklet for 2015 National Merit finalists, but their website now says they do not offer any national merit scholarships.
Are you serious?
Not sure how to interpret what WashU is saying, but this last question of the FA faq says:
“The type of National Merit Scholarship you receive is determined by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). If you receive scholarship funds from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, Washington University will accept the award as an outside scholarship to help cover part of the cost of attendance. However, Washington University does not offer University-funded scholarships based on a student’s standing with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. If you are interested in applying for merit-based scholarships at Washington University, you must submit a separate application to the WU-specific scholarship programs.”
copied from http://admissions.wustl.edu/scholarships-financial-aid/Financial-Aid/Pages/Financial-Aid-FAQs.aspx
“Washington University does not offer University-funded scholarships.” So, unless you obtain one from NMSC itself or a corporate sponsored award, you will not be getting any money. Disappointed they made this change during our year.
They have a reputation as being stingy with the bucks. One more college to check off the list.
I thought it was only $1000.
It was 2000/year. Of its peers, many also don’t sponsor NMF awards. Shouldn’t be a significant enough to “check off the list for.” Though that money would have been nice…
Well this is just dumb.
Bye bye Wash U. Hello state U!
The National Merit Scholarship is affecting most of the colleges - not just Wash U.
Definitely try getting merit scholarships or FA. That may end up costing less than a state university.
What you can do is check out the net price calculators to see what it will cost your family and try to get those scholarships too. It can be an accurate tool for some schools. Wash U was on target for us.
We checked WashU off a couple of weeks ago. Seemed like they had tons of scholarships, son wrote a TON of essays and none of them panned out!
^ DD did the same thing. I guess everyone applied to the small number of scholarships hoping that they would be the one.
Sorry they are letting that scholarship go. My S is a senior at Wash U and did receive the $2,000 per year NM scholarship. Still, most top schools did not offer a NM scholarship even four years ago. At the time Vanderbilt did offer $5,000 a year, and USC, the best school I am aware of with a large NM scholarship, offered 1/2 tuition to NM finalists. I know they still offered that for the current freshman class, so may still next year. (My S turned it done, but did really enjoy his time at Wash U).
This is likely connected to the school’s new focus on Pell Grant recipient % (there have been several articles in NYT and elsewhere going into this) and distance from merit aid in favor of need-based aid. Students in particular have been campaigning for this change for at least several years, and the change reflects Wash U’s change from a regional school that needed money to attract high achieving kids from the East and West Coasts to a university whose reputation stands alone.