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<p>My understanding is that you are notified that you get the NMSC or corporate scholarship based on schedule. Again corporate comes first and you can choose to accept or decline it. You can designate a school before that or after that at any time. If the school offers you a scholarship, then you would have take only one of them. In other words, you work with the school to determine what is best for you. If the corporation gives a better scholarship than the school will give you, why would you want to take the school scholarship unless there are other benefits. I would assume most schools want students to get the best scholarship available, so the FA office can tell you the best if you know the school you are interested.</p>
<p>So first question is “are your parents employed by any corporation that offers NM scholarships?” (BTW IBM is not on the list of NM sponsors, my understanding is IBM offers their own scholarships and you do not have to be a NM finalist to qualify as they have their own process).</p>
<p>If yes, find out the terms of the corporate scholarship and go from there. </p>
<p>If not you have two choices, NMSC or the school. You know what NMSC will give and you can contact the schools that you are interested in and find out what they have to offer. They will help you decide. At this stage, I would suggest you put undecided for school choice and wait until the finalists are announced. Meanwhile look at schools that are on your list and find out what they offer. Some schools are very meager ($500 per year) some give full rides. Talk to them, you will get a better answer as to how each school deals with it.</p>