NMS $2500 vs. college-sponsored scholarships

STEMFamily
Sat, 09 Feb 2013 18:56:41 +0000

My daughter just today received her NMF notification letter. From that letter:

May 1, 2013: NMSC will begin mailing college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offers.

NOTE: If NMSC receives notification of a change in college choice from a Finalist after mailing a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship offer to that student, the Finalist cannot be offered another college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award. This applies even if the new choice of college is one that also sponsors Merit Scholarship awards. Therefore, a Finalist who has previously reported a sponsor college as first choice but is uncertain about it may choose to notify NMSC that her/she is now “undecided”; such notification must be submitted online as osa.nationalmerit.org before May 1. The Finalist can subsequently report a firm college choice that NMSC receives by May 31.



Note that the key event that precludes being able to change choice is after NMSC has mailed a college-sponsored offer to the student which they clearly state will not begin until May 1. It has nothing to do with the college’s own schedule of when they want first choice names or when the college would award their part of an NMF package. I think this pretty clearly states a Finalist can choose a first choice so their name would go out in the first batch but are in no danger of getting a National Merit Scholarship offer from that school such that they can’t later designate a different school as long as they change before May 1. (as long as they aren’t past the deadline for the second school.)