We only looked at the automatic ones. The other full COAs were highly competitive and not awarded until spring. My kids didn’t want to be bothered with that. They applied early, made their decision early, and enjoyed senior year with way less stress than their classmates. Mine are at UCF.
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I might have missed it, but University of North Texas (UNT) has a full COA scholarship: https://financialaid.unt.edu/unt-meritorious-scholarship-national-merit-finalists.html
They appear to punch above their weight in music and art.
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And FWIW, I have a kid there (in their media arts program, another one where they punch above their weight) who very much enjoys it. It has some of the usual problems of a regional public, but seems to be on much firmer footing than many others of its type.
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Thanks for this! I haven’t seen this on any other lists. It looks like they will stack scholarships, so full COA might be possible if they stack NMSF with their other big ones.
Thanks for sharing the extra $2500 from engineering honors. Is that a separate scholarship/program? Also, is it renewable for all of the 4 years?
Are the NMF scholarships at UCF open to OOS students?
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All instate students get them through a state program. UCF grants a certain number (30?) to OOS students each year.
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I don’t think it’s Honors - the $2500 is for having a 30 ACT.
So glad you posted this!
I found the link in case it’s helpful for others: https://eng.ua.edu/admissions/scholarships/
$2500/yr for 4 years
GPA 3.5+
ACT: 30-36
SAT: 1360-1600
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Yes, the first thirty OOS students to commit get the NMF scholarship at UCF. $20,000/yr for 4 years. Tuition (30 credits) and 12 months of housing in their nicest dorm (4br, 2ba apartments with kitchens and living rooms) will cost about $16,000. You can do a 9 month dorm for less. The extra money goes to the student for food/books/travel etc. Meal plans are not required. And on campus housing is guaranteed for 4 years (a huge dealthere). There’s fine print that I don’t k ow. My kids are in states.
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Wanted to add that the engineering scholarship does NOT stack if you are are a NMF: “Should a merit scholarship recipient be named a National Merit Finalist, their Engineering Leadership Scholarship will be replaced by the National Merit Finalist Scholarship Package.”
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This was an accident. I meant to reply to a PM.
For full ride NMF/NMSF schools, is there a limit to the amount of students they offer the full ride to and is there a cutoff date for NMS/NMSF recipients to apply for admission even if the schools have rolling admission? I’m sure it’s school dependent, but just wondering what first-hand experience might be.
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UTD accepts unlimited numbers of National Merit Applicants, you must list UTD as your first choice school by May 1st.
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For the Florida public schools there is no limit to the number of instate students the schools can accept and have the state pay for the full scholarship (Benacquisto). The schools can give their own scholarships to OOS NMF and set the terms. Last year UCF gave out 40 scholarships and this year is awarding 30.
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Not only are all parts of that (how many, application cutoff date, anything else you can imagine) school dependent, they’re dynamically so—colleges can change the rules up to the point that they send out the award letters if they want to. (And many of them don’t divulge such information in part, I am convinced, to more easily allow such shifting from initial plans if they need to.)
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Fordham offered DD24 Deans Scholarships ($25k + another 5k/year, which is equivalent to 1/2 tuition awards. DD is NMSF and going to STEM field.
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Yes, that’s what our student ended up being offered too. I do think NMSF mostly get something, it’s just no longer 70% getting a full ride.
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It’s still a nice safety school to go to with half tuition awards. It’s hard to beat our state flagship school.
It dropped off our son’s list (as an early action) as soon as he was accepted early to Rutgers which is just as well regarded, personally preferred of the two by him and still would have cost substantially less than Fordham even after accounting for their scholarship. Fordham is ridiculously expensive before the scholarships – can’t imagine someone there as full pay. Even other privates he was accepted to with scholarships, like Case Western, would have been cheaper… Though it was all academic in the end since he ended up going to a super expensive school where they didn’t offer any merit aid. 
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