Not related to the topic of this thread but how much of a difference does National Merit Scholarship make on college applications? I sort of screwed myself by not studying extensively for the PSAT/NMSQT (got a 1410) and only began studying for the SAT after I took it.
^ @clipper1301 it can help with many schools and even get you a sizable scholarship at some, but at the top it’s not that much of a factor, if at all. Both my kids were admitted ED2 to UChi. My D - NM - because she switched to ED after getting deferred EA. My son - Commended but not NM but with a great SAT - as a new applicant. The son of some good friends (parent is an alum, as are we) just got deferred EA despite being NM and having stellar stats. He was urged by the counselor to switch to ED2. Not sure what he decided. More and more I am noticing that NM isn’t as much of a big deal over there as it used to be, even though they remain a college sponsor. Despite that, a lot of NM kids continue to be attracted to the place and attend, and not just for the $2k/year scholarship. It’s just a great fit for many academically-oriented kids (many of whom also end up being NM).
@JBStillFlying Do you know if UChicago stopped the NMF scholarship? My DS is sitting on a likely letter with a scholarship. Your post gave me a vague recollection of a NMF scholarship. Looking at the website, I don’t see anything. I always assumed that UChicago gave the NSF money so that it would make their NMF Scholarship winner numbers larger than the Ivy’s.
@Eeyore123 They say they do:
“Exemplary students are selected to receive University merit scholarships on the basis of outstanding academic achievement (including recognition as a National Merit Finalist or through the National Hispanic Recognition Program), extracurricular achievement, demonstrated leadership, and commitment to their communities.”
https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/cost-aid/scholarships/merit-scholarships
Once upon a time UChicago guaranteed $4k/year to NMF’s but they scaled that back just to the College-Sponsored portion (at most) beginning pretty much with the Class of '21 - the first ED class. Those NM’s who are admitted EA/RD and receive scholarship money or those who are eligible for the other specialized funding (first gen, Police and Fire, etc) might receive significant funding and hopefully the NM is tacked on to that. When my D receive the $2k/yr award, they didn’t reduce a penny of her need-based which made us very happy.
Anyone getting a LL from UChicago is on the high priority list for scholarships! Congrats to your DS!
This. The importance of applying ED if UChicago is your first choice can not be overstated.
Most competitive applicants to the top universities commonly list more significant accomplishments on their application (where there are only five slots for honors) than being a National Merit Semifinalist (of which there are 16,000 every year).
Being NMS does not really communicate anything that a (near-)perfect SAT/ACT score already doesn’t.
Like everything in college admissions, ‘it depends.’ For the Ivies, National Merit apps are a dime-a-dozen as my dad used to day. In other words, they could care less.
OTOH, many colleges down the food chain love to brag about how many NM scholars they have, so for them, it matters. (Such colleges may also give automatic merit scholarships to NM winners. As an example, for years, USC gave auto merit money to NM winners, to raise their Frosh test scores to move up the rankings.)
USC still gives auto merit money to NM winners