Colleges enrolling the most National Merit Scholarship winners

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re-orderd with undergraduate size taken into consideration

1.(9) MIT 154 [1,136 Freshmen, 13.5%]
2. (7) Vanderbilt 185 [1,624 Freshmen, 11.3%]
3. (8) Harvard 160 [1,644 Freshmen, 9.7%]
4. (13) Yale 127 [1,554 Freshmen, 8%]
5. (14) Princeton 116 [1,497 Freshmen, 7.7%]
6. (3) USC 262 [3,402 Freshmen, 7.7%]
7. (12) Stanford 129 [1,733 Freshmen, 7.4%]
8. (10) Penn 147 [2,415 Freshmen, 6%]
9. (5) UT Dallas 232 [4,218 Freshmen, 5.5%]
10. (16) Duke 94 [1,744 Freshmen, 5.3%]
11. (27) Columbia 75 [1,522 Freshmen, 4.9%]
12. (30) Emory 67 [1,424 Freshmen, 4.7%]
13. (41) Dartmouth 49 [1,124 Freshmen, 4.4%]
14. (2) Florida 297 [6,612 Freshmen 4.4%]
15. (40) Rice 51 [1,201 Freshmen, 4.3%]
16. (29) Brown 69 [1,717 Freshmen, 4%]
17. (1) Alabama 323 [8,279 Freshmen, 3.9%
18. (15) Northeastern 97 [2,519 Freshmen, 3.9%]
19. (28) Northwestern 75 [2,038 Freshmen, 3.7%]
20. (33) Tufts 63 [1,694 Freshmen, 3.7%]
21. (38) Case Western 55 [1,553 Freshmen, 3.5%]
22. (37) Georgetown 56 [1,603 Freshmen, 3.5%]
23. (43) Johns Hopkins 48 [1,406 Freshmen 3.4%]
24. (45) Carnegie Mellon 47 [1,716 Freshmen, 2.7%]
25. (4) Purdue 260 [9,353 Freshmen, 2.7%]
26. (18) Georgia Tech 90 [3,646 Freshmen, 2.5%]
27. (11) UMD 144 [5,821 Freshmen, 2.5%]
28. (44) UChicago 48 [2,053 Freshmen, 2.3%]
29. (23) BU 77 [3,635 Freshmen, 2.1%]
30. (6) Texas A&M 219 [12,419 Freshmen, 1.7%]
31. (39) Cornell 54 [3,491 Freshmen, 1.5%]
32. (17) UC Berkeley 93 [6,707 Freshmen, 1.4%]
33. (49) Miss State 43 [3,367 Freshmen, 1.2%]
34. (24) UCLA 77 [6,461 Freshmen, 1.2%]
35. (19) UCF 85 [7,512 Freshmen, 1.1%]
36. (25) USF 77 [6,773 Freshmen, 1.1%]
37. (36) BYU 59 [5,567 Freshmen, 1%]
38. (35) Georgia 60 [6,250 Freshmen, 1%]
39. (26) Michigan 76 [7,050 Freshmen, 1%]
40. (20) UT Austin 85 [9,109 Freshmen, .9%]
41. (46) Clemson 45 [4,588 Freshmen, .99%]
42. (47) Missouri 45 [4,983 Freshmen, .9%]
43. (55) UVA 35 [4,020 Freshmen, .9%]
44. (51) UNC 40 [4,689 Freshmen, .8%]
45. (31) Indiana 67 [9,736 Freshmen, .7%]
46. (32) Arizona 65 [9,069 Freshmen, .7%]
47. (53) Oklahoma State 36 [4,643 Freshmen, .7%]
48. (48) NYU 44 [6,184 Freshmen, .7%]
49. (34) ASU 62 [10,022 Freshmen, .6%]
50. (52) Illinois 39 [8,297 Freshmen, .5%]
51. (42) Michigan State 49 [9,829 Freshmen .5%]
52. (500 Rutgers 43 [7,780 Freshmen, .5%]

Now do SLACs. My alma mater usually has about 6% NMF per class but isn't listed.

[Anonymous]

What in the world should we do with this information? Who in their right mind would want to know this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:35 at UVA seems low.

Some states have considerably lower criteria for NMS -- VA, MD, DC always have very high bars--within the top 5.

+1 This.

Some schools sponsor winners. You need to factor that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re-orderd with undergraduate size taken into consideration

1.(9) MIT 154 [1,136 Freshmen, 13.5%]
2. (7) Vanderbilt 185 [1,624 Freshmen, 11.3%]
3. (8) Harvard 160 [1,644 Freshmen, 9.7%]
4. (13) Yale 127 [1,554 Freshmen, 8%]
5. (14) Princeton 116 [1,497 Freshmen, 7.7%]
6. (3) USC 262 [3,402 Freshmen, 7.7%]
7. (12) Stanford 129 [1,733 Freshmen, 7.4%]
8. (10) Penn 147 [2,415 Freshmen, 6%]
9. (5) UT Dallas 232 [4,218 Freshmen, 5.5%]
10. (16) Duke 94 [1,744 Freshmen, 5.3%]
11. (27) Columbia 75 [1,522 Freshmen, 4.9%]
12. (30) Emory 67 [1,424 Freshmen, 4.7%]
13. (41) Dartmouth 49 [1,124 Freshmen, 4.4%]
14. (2) Florida 297 [6,612 Freshmen 4.4%]
15. (40) Rice 51 [1,201 Freshmen, 4.3%]
16. (29) Brown 69 [1,717 Freshmen, 4%]
17. (1) Alabama 323 [8,279 Freshmen, 3.9%
18. (15) Northeastern 97 [2,519 Freshmen, 3.9%]
19. (28) Northwestern 75 [2,038 Freshmen, 3.7%]
20. (33) Tufts 63 [1,694 Freshmen, 3.7%]
21. (38) Case Western 55 [1,553 Freshmen, 3.5%]
22. (37) Georgetown 56 [1,603 Freshmen, 3.5%]
23. (43) Johns Hopkins 48 [1,406 Freshmen 3.4%]
24. (45) Carnegie Mellon 47 [1,716 Freshmen, 2.7%]
25. (4) Purdue 260 [9,353 Freshmen, 2.7%]
26. (18) Georgia Tech 90 [3,646 Freshmen, 2.5%]
27. (11) UMD 144 [5,821 Freshmen, 2.5%]
28. (44) UChicago 48 [2,053 Freshmen, 2.3%]
29. (23) BU 77 [3,635 Freshmen, 2.1%]
30. (6) Texas A&M 219 [12,419 Freshmen, 1.7%]
31. (39) Cornell 54 [3,491 Freshmen, 1.5%]
32. (17) UC Berkeley 93 [6,707 Freshmen, 1.4%]
33. (49) Miss State 43 [3,367 Freshmen, 1.2%]
34. (24) UCLA 77 [6,461 Freshmen, 1.2%]
35. (19) UCF 85 [7,512 Freshmen, 1.1%]
36. (25) USF 77 [6,773 Freshmen, 1.1%]
37. (36) BYU 59 [5,567 Freshmen, 1%]
38. (35) Georgia 60 [6,250 Freshmen, 1%]
39. (26) Michigan 76 [7,050 Freshmen, 1%]
40. (20) UT Austin 85 [9,109 Freshmen, .9%]
41. (46) Clemson 45 [4,588 Freshmen, .99%]
42. (47) Missouri 45 [4,983 Freshmen, .9%]
43. (55) UVA 35 [4,020 Freshmen, .9%]
44. (51) UNC 40 [4,689 Freshmen, .8%]
45. (31) Indiana 67 [9,736 Freshmen, .7%]
46. (32) Arizona 65 [9,069 Freshmen, .7%]
47. (53) Oklahoma State 36 [4,643 Freshmen, .7%]
48. (48) NYU 44 [6,184 Freshmen, .7%]
49. (34) ASU 62 [10,022 Freshmen, .6%]
50. (52) Illinois 39 [8,297 Freshmen, .5%]
51. (42) Michigan State 49 [9,829 Freshmen .5%]
52. (500 Rutgers 43 [7,780 Freshmen, .5%]

But you are excluding smaller schools that much have a higher percentage of winners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:35 at UVA seems low.

Ummm. Did you notice some of the lower ranked schools have a higher percentage than the one rank numbered one. Total number doesn’t mean much when you have schools with 30k-40k and some with 1,400. Percentage does though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:35 at UVA seems low.

Ummm. Did you notice some of the lower ranked schools have a higher percentage than the one rank numbered one. Total number doesn’t mean much when you have schools with 30k-40k and some with 1,400. Percentage does though.

That’s why the other pp corrected the order.

[Anonymous]

To the person who turned 55 and got the letter asking for money for NMFs.. I think thats new this year. I’m 52 and got that letter this year- never had gotten anything before. I wondered how they found me after so long. And sheesh no thanks. Let the colleges do that. I need to worry about my own kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the person who turned 55 and got the letter asking for money for NMFs.. I think thats new this year. I’m 52 and got that letter this year- never had gotten anything before. I wondered how they found me after so long. And sheesh no thanks. Let the colleges do that. I need to worry about my own kids!

Thanks. I wonder if they kept our social security numbers all these years. Or just purchased the best list they could assemble from credit agencies.

I kept my maiden name but also gave up my scholarship after freshman year. I didn't like the first university I picked, and the NMF scholarship was sponsored by the school. So NMSC would have lost track of my school affiliation after I transferred. So it isn't like they got info from my first undergrad.

[Anonymous]

oh I got a letter too. but that was me signing up for their website because I couldn't remember if I was a NMS winner (I was).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:35 at UVA seems low.

Yeah. Dammmmmn!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An interesting list. Why is UVA so low?

Because Virginia’s cutoff for NMF is very high

But also, UVA is a relatively small school, is one of three public colleges in Virginia are targets for NMF-calibre students, and most importantly, does not automatically convert NMSF=> NMF. Taking Alabama as an example, they will not only turn every NMSF matriculator into an NMF, but will shower money on them -- five years of tuition, $3500/y supplemental for four years, $2,000 for study abroad... It's a terrific deal, and what's more is that matriculants will be grouped with a couple hundred other high-SAT scorers in their freshman class. Success breeds itself.

Kid made the cut for NMSF and we are strongly considering Alabama because of this amazing package.

PP back with an update. Kid has started to receive decisions and merit packages:

Accepted
ASU $12k/year
Arizona $17k/year
Alabama full ride
Oklahoma full tuition + (not quite full ride)
UT Dallas full ride
U South Florida full ride (incl waiver)
U Central Florida full ride (incl waiver)
Minnesota - in state tuition waiver + $15k

Waiting on decisions from U South Carolina and U Tulsa (both offer full rides)

Also waiting for RD decisions (Ivies and T30)

Thanks all! Feeling very excited for the kid - he’ll have so many great options to consider.


Nice. Alabama, UT Dallas, and USF are all a little more than $50,000 a year OOS. So scholarships worth $200,000+.

A pretty good return for three hours taking the PSAT.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, didn’t post correctly

Thanks all! Feeling very excited for the kid - he’ll have so many great options to consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First is the raw number; then adjusted for percentage of enrolled freshmen to account for undergraduate size. Some schools like Alabama and ASU offer full scholarships to winners so you will see a large number at these institutions.


1. Alabama 323 [8,279 Freshmen, 3.9%]
2. Florida 297 [6,612 Freshmen 4.4%]
3. USC 262 [3,402 Freshmen, 7.7%]
4. Purdue 260 [9,353 Freshmen, 2.7%]
5. UT Dallas 232 [4,218 Freshmen, 5.5%]
6. Texas A&M 219 [12,419 Freshmen, 1.7%]
7. Vanderbilt 185 [1,624 Freshmen, 11.3%]
8. Harvard 160 [1,644 Freshmen, 9.7%]
9. MIT 154 [1,136 Freshmen, 13.5%]
10. Penn 147 [2,415 Freshmen, 6%]
11. UMD 144 [5,821 Freshmen, 2.5%]
12. Stanford 129 [1,733 Freshmen, 7.4%]
13. Yale 127 [1,554 Freshmen, 8%]
14. Princeton 116 [1,497 Freshmen, 7.7%]
15. Northeastern 97 [2,519 Freshmen, 3.9%]
16. Duke 94 [1,744 Freshmen, 5.3%]
17. UC Berkeley 93 [6,707 Freshmen, 1.4%]
18. Georgia Tech 90 [3,646 Freshmen, 2.5%]
19. UCF 85 [7,512 Freshmen, 1.1%]
20. UT Austin 85 [9,109 Freshmen, .9%]
21. Oklahoma 84
22. Minnesota 79
23. BU 77 [3,635 Freshmen, 2.1%]
24. UCLA 77 [6,461 Freshmen, 1.2%]
25. USF 77 [6,773 Freshmen, 1.1%]
26. Michigan 76 [7,050 Freshmen, 1%]
27. Columbia 75 [1,522 Freshmen, 4.9%]
28. Northwestern 75 [2,038 Freshmen, 3.7%]
29. Brown 69 [1,717 Freshmen, 4%]
30. Emory 67 [1,424 Freshmen, 4.7%]
31. Indiana 67 [9,736 Freshmen, .7%]
32. Arizona 65 [9,069 Freshmen, .7%]
33. Tufts 63 [1,694 Freshmen, 3.7%]
34. ASU 62 [10,022 Freshmen, .6%]
35. Georgia 60 [6,250 Freshmen, 1%]
36. BYU 59 [5,567 Freshmen, 1%]
37. Georgetown 56 [1,603 Freshmen, 3.5%]
38. Case Western 55 [1,553 Freshmen, 3.5%]
39. Cornell 54 [3,491 Freshmen, 1.5%]
40. Rice 51 [1,201 Freshmen, 4.3%]
41. Dartmouth 49 [1,124 Freshmen, 4.4%]
42. Michigan State 49 [9,829 Freshmen .5%]
43. Johns Hopkins 48 [1,406 Freshmen 3.4%]
44. UChicago 48 [2,053 Freshmen, 2.3%]
45. Carnegie Mellon 47 [1,716 Freshmen, 2.7%]
46. Clemson 45 [4,588 Freshmen, .99%]
47. Missouri 45 [4,983 Freshmen, .9%]
48. NYU 44 [6,184 Freshmen, .7%]
49. Miss State 43 [3,367 Freshmen, 1.2%]
50. Rutgers 43 [7,780 Freshmen, .5%]
51. UNC 40 [4,689 Freshmen, .8%]
52. Illinois 39 [8,297 Freshmen, .5%]
53. Oklahoma State 36 [4,643 Freshmen, .7%]
54. Iowa State 35
55. UVA 35 [4,020 Freshmen, .9%]


1.

Without context, this doesn't mean that much. UT Dallas is one of the highest with 232, but it sponsors (pays) 202 of those. UT Austin, the flagship of the UT System, has 85 but it does not sponsor any.

It is surprising to me that Vanderbilt and Emory sponsor so many. Generally, the most selective universities do not.

Emory only gives 2k for finalists, while Vandy gives up to 5k. Not a lot considering their costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Among publics that don't sponsor, the top 5 are:

93 Berkeley
90 Georgia Tech
85 UT Austin
77 UCLA
76 Michigan

Pretty much follows the prestige rankings...

How? It would be
Berkeley
UCLA
UMICH
GT
UT
If that was the case.

[Anonymous]

Who cares about PSAT scores in junior year of high school?