<p>I received a letter from my principal back in spring telling me that I made it into round one of the National Merit competition. If selected as a finalist in the fall, I was wondering if I should designate Bucknell as my #1 college choice. What I mean is that Bucknell is clearly my #1 college choice. However, the scholarship they give to National Merit finalists is only about $1,000-$2,000 a year. Meanwhile, WPI, #3 on my college list, offers a guarenteed minimum $17,000 a year to anyone who designates WPI as their #1 choice after being selected as a finalist.</p>
<p>So, even though Bucknell is my number 1 school, would you recommend telling the National Merit people that WPI is my first choice, on the chance of me becoming a finalist, because the award is worth a lot more money? Does designating a college as your first choice through the National Merit competition really have any input on the admissions process? </p>
<p>I would assume applying early decision would get the same message across. Thanks in advance to any comments.</p>
<p>I am admittedly biased in favor of Bucknell, but my bias has a logic behind it. I would still apply to Bucknell, and here is why: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Go to the school that you feel is the right place for you. If Bucknell is your number 1 choice, I assume that it gave you a good feeling! </p></li>
<li><p>Statistically speaking, your salary prospects at Bucknell are superior to most other schools in the country. Check this out: [News:</a> Alumni salary potential No. 3 among U.S. liberal arts schools || Bucknell University](<a href=“http://www.bucknell.edu/x63500.xml]News:”>http://www.bucknell.edu/x63500.xml) </p></li>
<li><p>Bucknell will surely give you a good financial aid package. I know a girl who was in your position, and she has attended on a full ride. In fact, I know several other national merit scholars (in addition to a few people who got close), and they all have received some significant aid. </p></li>
<li><p>If the other school Really Really wants you, they will do what they need to in order to get you there. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>In the end, you may receive more aid from Bucknell than your other choices, and you may not. But, I hope that you join us as a fellow Bison sometime in the next year or so! </p>
<p>Good luck, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>NMF designation should go to one of your top choices, but it definitely makes sense to put down the school that will give out the bigger scholarship. Bucknell will still see that you got NMF, so it’s not like you’ll be hurting yourself by not putting them down as #1.</p>
<p>Hi,
My son might also be a Natl Merit (Semi-)Finalist so I’ve been asking other parents about this. What I’ve been told is that you are allowed to leave the #1 selection blank until you know that you’ve gotten into a particular school and the awards they’re offering you. Or, you can change your #1 selection using this form: <a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/Col_Ch_Mer.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/Col_Ch_Mer.pdf</a> </p>
<p>It’s great that WPI tells prospective students up front that they will award $17K+ to Natl Merit Finalists. However, many other schools give awards MUCH high than the $2K that the National Merit org describes in their documentation - colleges want Natl Merit scholars!</p>
<p>In my opinion, you should go ahead and put Bucknell as #1 and see what awards they offer you with admittance. If it’s not enough, then change your #1 choice to WPI.</p>