<p>I think it is a very misleading statistic. Any finalist who got money from anywhere as a result of NMF status becomes a scholar. So at schools that do not “participate” (most of the very top schools), the NM Scholars are the recipients of the $2,500 NM scholarship, and the recipients of the corporate scholarships. At slightly “lesser” schools that give some money to NMFs (usually $500-2000/year), every NMF attending that school counts as “NM Scholar”. These schools usually end up with more “scholars” than their more selective peers that do not give merit aid.</p>