NMSC College choice

bandit_TX
Fri, 15 Sep 2006 12:54:07 +0000

College choice is not considered in determining whether a Semifinalist qualifies as a Finalist. However, it
is requested because every Merit Scholarship award can only be used for attendance at a college or university
in the United States that holds accredited status with a regional accrediting commission on higher
education. All National Merit $2500 Scholarships and almost all corporate-sponsored awards (explained in
the accompanying gray leaflet) are transferable from one regionally accredited U.S. institution to another,
but college-sponsored awards are not (as explained in the next section).
You are asked to report your first-choice college (to which you are applying for admission) in Section A
on your Merit Scholarship Application. However, if you are undecided, write “undecided” on your application
and report your first-choice college to NMSC as soon as possible. You can report your college choice
or a change in it by mailing the postcard provided in your Semifinalist Packet, or by faxing a copy of it to
NMSC at (847) 866-5113. It is your responsibility to apply and be admitted to the college you plan to attend.
REPORT OF A SPONSOR COLLEGE AS FIRST CHOICE
Consideration for a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award is limited to Semifinalists who qualify as
Finalists and who also

1. report to NMSC that a sponsor college is their first choice (see the list of college sponsors enclosed
with your materials);

2. have applied for admission to the sponsor college; and

3. have not been offered any Merit Scholarship award (corporate-sponsored, National, or another collegesponsored
award). No student will receive more than one scholarship offer from NMSC.
A college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award can be used only at the institution financing it and therefore is
canceled if the winner changes college choice.
See the SCHEDULE on the reverse.
-3-
Schedule specific to college-sponsored awards:
March 1 through May 31, 2007: 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.
April 25, 2007: 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 he/she is now “undecided”; such notification must be received
at NMSC, via mail or fax (847-866-5113), before April 25. The Finalist can subsequently
report a firm college choice that NMSC receives by May 31.
May 31, 2007: Deadline date for NMSC to receive reports of a sponsor college as first choice. Because it
is necessary to end the competition in a timely manner, only college choice reports that NMSC receives by
May 31 will be used to identify the final group of candidates to a college or university that sponsors awards.

Because D received a NMS Scholarship, not a school sponsored scholarship, it was movable to whatever college she eventually attended. It seems that school sponsored scholarships must be finalized by 31 May. You cannot get both the NMS scholarship and a school or corporate scholarship, so in our case there was no real deadline. It sounds like “undecided” maybe the best solution for most people, up to 31 May. As most schools require an acceptance by 01 May, that shouldn’t be a problem. Be aware that many NMS awards from schools are not administered by NMS and therefore don’t fall under this rule. They simply make their own award to students that qualify as finalist. Those schools may or maynot have their own deadlines.