College-Sponsered National Merit Scholarship Awards - Who Provides What?

Paying for College
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<p>I received notice from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation that I was a finalist, but I’m having a hard time determining which colleges provide what kind of scholarships. For most that I’ve applied to, I’ve been able to find whether they absolutely provide half tuition or may provide $500-$2000. For some colleges, though, I’m having a hard time determining whether they participate in the program at all. Does anyone know whether Duke, Georgetown, or UVA gives National Merit scholarships? Thanks!</p>

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<p>I know that the University of Southern California awards half-tuition scholarships for four years if you’re a NMF</p>

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<p>thank you! if it helps anyone else, this is the information i’ve found so far.
<em>USC: Amount: Half tuition (approximately $16,750)
*Tufts: Entering first-year students who are National Merit finalists are eligible for scholarships of $500 to $2,000 per year for up to four undergraduate years for any semester in which the student is charged Tufts tuition. To enter the program, students must name Tufts as first choice in the National Merit competition. Honorary awards of $500 per year for four years may be made to successful applicants who do not demonstrate financial need. Merit awards up to $2,000 per year may be offered to applicants with demonstrated financial need.
*SMU: Minimum of half tuition plus $2000.00, inclusive of all SMU sources, renewable for four years or until graduation, whichever comes first.
*Vanderbilt: Finalists who indicate Vanderbilt as their first choice school will receive a minimum of $5000 per year in total merit scholarships at Vanderbilt, from all sources. If a National Merit Finalist receives another Vanderbilt merit scholarship that exceeds the $5,000 minimum guarantee, they will still receive a National Merit award of $2,000 above and beyond the amount of any other scholarship.
*UT: Scholarship Package for Texas Residents
$13,000 Total Four-Year Package; $4000 for the Freshman year</em>; $3000/year for three years
The annual award offer includes the $750 stipend if named a college-sponsored scholar or includes the National Merit Scholarship Corporation annual stipend if named a national, one-time or corporate-sponsored winner.
*Boston College: Varies from $500 to $2,000
*Pomona: (from another discussion board, not the actual site) A pretty modest scholarship and not every National Merit Finalist who enrolls at Pomona is offered one of these scholarships, so the Admissions Office selects the few winners out of the pool of enrolled National Merit Finalists who indicated on their National Merit college choice card that Pomona is their first choice school.</p>

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<p>My senior D is a NMF and the process IS very confusing. Please check this link for some information. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=301078&page=3[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=301078&page=3&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>Also if you do a search on the CC site for National Merit, lots and lots of information will come up about which schools provide what. As the lady at the NMSC told me, “check your creamed colored Requirements and Instructions sheet - all of the participating schools are listed there”. If you are interested in one of the schools, go to their web site and see what they offer NMFs. The most important and most interesting thing we have learned during this process is that the LARGEST National Merit Award a school is allowed to give is $2,000 a year. If they offer more than that, it is coming from the school itself. Many offer full rides, but only $2,000 a year is an actual “National Merit Scholarship”.</p>

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<p>From the University of Oklahoma website (<a href=“Admissions & Recruitment):”>Admissions & Recruitment):</a></p>

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<p>It also includes a $1,500 laptop allowance for your freshman year. I think it leaves you with about $6,000 a year left over, but if you get Pell Grant, or any other type of scholarship (EXCEPT the $2,500 NM scholarship), they will add it to that total. It’s a pretty good deal.</p>

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<p>Go to the website of each college you’re interested in an search for National Merit. Also, some schools (like University of Rochester) combine scholarships for NMFs. For instance, you would receive a $2,000 per year NM grant and also another grant worth $10,000 (named something else), and maybe more. It’s up to the school how much it wants to provide.</p>

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<p>ASU and UofA give full ride.</p>

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<p>You might check out this link. It’s from last year and school’s sometimes change. <a href=“http://homepage.mac.com/l_j/secondhome/National_Merit.html[/url]”>http://homepage.mac.com/l_j/secondhome/National_Merit.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;