National Merit $2500 award

spenier
Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:29:59 +0000

Yes, $500 isn’t a lot, but there are two things to note about the the $2500 NM award. It can be used at any college and it is a one-time award. What it is actually worth to the student depends on what college they end up going to. We are looking at 4 colleges that are not NM sponsors so the $2500 NM award would be worth $2500 at any of those. We are looking at 4 other colleges that limit the number of NMF’s that they give money to and/or they vary the amount based on financial need. The $2500 NM Award would not be subject to those limits, but its hard to say whether it would be better than taking the college’s offer until you actually know their final offer. WashU actually has one of the better NMF policies. All NM finalists get $2,000 per year. And if the student gets the one-time $2500 NM award, then WashU gives the student $2500 per year for the next 3 years. Which brings us back to it being only a $500 per year difference, but if I can string enough $500 amounts together it could bring more schools into the financially viable category.

The reason I am looking for confirmation about the selection process is because if the NMSC people actually do use the students 1st choice college to determine who gets the $2500 NM awards, then I gave my D bad advice and perhaps cost her $2500.