NMS $2500 vs. college-sponsored scholarships

Meliora
Sat, 09 Feb 2013 05:15:41 +0000

This is for the NM finalists who are NOT committed to the schools that offer full ride or tuition-free benefit for all admitted NMSFs, nor eligible for the corporate-sponsored scholarships.

Post #20 BobWallace says: “The $2,500 awards are selected without regard to school choice. It doesn’t matter if you have listed a first choice or not.”

Post #27 shows the quote from the NMSC website.

According to this view, the best strategy of the finalists seems to report their first choice schools as early as possible. They can be considered for the $2500 scholarship, which seems to be the best award for those who intend to go to the colleges that are not on the college sponsor list. If they are not chosen for the $2500 scholarship, they still can be considered for the college-sponsored scholarship with their first choice school reported, which may serve as a backup choice if they do not get admitted to their preferred non-NM schools. Since most sponsor colleges have limited scholarships for NMSFs, it makes sense to report first choice as early as possible.

But this strategy seems to contradict what is said here (http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_R&I_Leaflet.pdf):

“March 1 through May 31, 2013: A Finalist who has reported a sponsor college as first choice by March 1 will be included in the first group referred to that institution for scholarship consideration. Periodically NMSC will notify sponsors of additional Finalists who have reported (by May 31) the college or university as their first choice.” (quote from page 3)

So it makes sense to accept what Longhaul’s post #14 points out: reporting first choice school early (like by March 1) blocks the finalist from receiving the $2500 scholarship from NMSC.

Look at the schedule of National Merit Competition (same source as the above, on page 4):

“March 1 Finalists who have reported a sponsor college as first choice by this date will be included in the first group referred to the institution for scholarship consideration
March 13 NMSC begins mailing corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship offers to winners at their home addresses
March 28 NMSC mails offers of National Merit $2500 Scholarships
May 1 NMSC begins mailing offers of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards”

NMSC seems to have a specific timetable and procedure to differentiate the finalists into 3 pools for the 3 types of awards. Will NMSC really take the trouble to consider every finalist for their “top” award of $2500 while differentiating them first? Does that mean NMSC will notify the corporate and the sponsor colleges not to select the 2500 finalists it has chosen (after sending them the lists of those eligible) or it will just withhold those 2500 finalists with the highest stats in their states?

Is it better to report the first choice later (in late March after the $2500 decisions are made) if you want to get the $2500? Should you report your first choice by March 1 if you only want to get the college-sponsored scholarship? Or nothing matters for the NMSC will decide your lot? This discussion may be just much ado for those who will not get any kind of National Merit scholarships eventually.

It may be simpler and wiser to choose a guaranteed free ride school like Bama.