Full Merit Scholarships

JL50ish
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:07:49 +0000

hope4freeride >>>> D just got an offer from University of Alabama in the mail today giving her the full ride plus a laptop plus a$1000 National Merit scholarship and a$2000 stipend to be used for either an internship or international study after her freshman year. It also gets you into the Honors College with smaller classes,priority registration, guaranteed housing,etc. The requirement is that you are invited by being a National Merit Semifinalist, then you must advance to Finalist and list Bama as your first choice with NMSC. Even though this school isn’t on her radar screen she had not planned on applying, at least my username did come true after all-hope4freeride! <<<

Congrats to your D regarding NMSF. When my son was an NMSF, he was contacted by University of Alabama. Since we are originally from California, my son was a bit “snobbish” about “southern schools,” so it wasn’t on his “radar schreen” either. Well, we went for a visit, and we were VERY impressed. The school is run very well, the buildings and grounds are beautiful, the professors are smart and helpful(!), the honors dorms are AWESOME (each student has his OWN private room in a suite with 4 bedrooms), and the recreation facilities are first class, AND the football team is, well, currently #2 in the nation, so school spirit is “sky-high.”

The Honors College is the best thing going. There are three different Honors programs (visit the website at ua.edu fo more details.) There are several reasons to be in one or more of the honors programs - 1) the honors res hall; 2) the classes are SMALL - limited to 15 students; the classes are taught by the best profs; 3) priority registration - a big help when trying to set up your schedule, and 4) many of the honors classes fulfill “core education” (aka Gen Ed). Honors Colleges, especially those with Honors Res Halls, give a “small college feel” while still having the resources and choices that usually only larger colleges can offer.

Lastly, my son was able to essentially accept two NMF awards. He was able to accept my hubby’s company’s one for $10k, and still accept all from UA (except the annual $1k stipend - which is the “official” NMF award). That way, my son got the “best of both worlds” - a great scholarship from UA + the cash (the “official” NMF scholarship administered by NM corp).

So… the point of all of this is… tell your daughter to “keep an open mind.” If you live too far away to comtemplate a “campus visit,” then at least go to the website and do the “virtual tour.”

I’ve also posted info about UA’s generous Out-of-state scholarships for those who are not National Merit.