My daughter chose University of Southern California, biochemistry. She really wanted to attend a school in a large city and not be that close to home. We live in the Midwest, so I’d say she met her goals.
One takeaway: pay attention to all that college mail. Some of it is targeted for NMSFs and includes up-to-date information about NM scholarships and other benefits, such as waived application fees. Also, pay attention to merit scholarship deadlines, which are often earlier than regular college deadlines. For instance, at USC, it’s Dec. 1.
Being a NMSF and then finalist got us looking on CC about the benefits and reading about schools that offer NM scholarships. My d wasn’t interested in most of the schools with the full tuition or full rides. USC appealed to her greatly and offers 1/2 tuition scholarships to NMFs who are admitted (not all are) and who list USC as first-choice school. It pays to investigate options and see what appeals to your son or daughter.