<p>ctl987, Yale and USC are not on the list of Natl Merit associated schools (the ones on the list usually give 1500 to 2000/year) and I’m almost certain that they are not in the small list of schools that give a lot more if you are a NMF–ie schools like u of Oklahoma, U of Alabama, U of Dallas, etc. (the latter, these schools that give the large amts, almost full rides, do it on their own, not through NM, although the kid gets it by being a NMF). Yale, like most of the highly selective schools, does not give money for being a NMF. They figure that the majority of their accepted students are indeed finalists, and the look at it like this: your benefit or “prize” for being such a good student that you made NMF is that we will accept you. That is how Amherst is, too. My son is a NMF this yr and will be going to Amherst in the fall. So he won’t get a NM scholarship through Amherst, since Amherst does not link up w/ NM. However, he got the NM Award, a one-time $2500 scholarship that 2500 kids out of the 15,000 finalists get (chosen by a committee of teachers; based on grades, SAT, and portfolio–ie essays, teacher recs).</p>