National Merit Finalists

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Received letter in snail mail today confirming National Merit Finalist. DC school (Ivy) doesn’t give scholarship for this though, so perhaps some other scholarship.

I hope your DC gets selected by the merit foundation for their stand alone scholarships which aren't college dependent. Small amount but big accivement as they only select 2,500 scholars from millions of high-school graduates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Received letter in snail mail today confirming National Merit Finalist. DC school (Ivy) doesn’t give scholarship for this though, so perhaps some other scholarship.

Same here. DC got in ED so designated it as the first choice, although the school has no scholarship for national merits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Received letter in snail mail today confirming National Merit Finalist. DC school (Ivy) doesn’t give scholarship for this though, so perhaps some other scholarship.

I hope your DC gets selected by the merit foundation for their stand alone scholarships which aren't college dependent. Small amount but big accivement as they only select 2,500 scholars from millions of high-school graduates.

They select 2,500 from the 15,000 finalists. But, I don't think they can have that and college/corporate based nm scholarships. About 8,000 get some scholarship money.

[Anonymous]

May not still be the case, but it used to be that the actual foundation scholarships only went to those who did not get other scholarships - i.e., you were only eligible if you were ineligible for a corporate scholarship because of parents' job or other qualification.

[Anonymous]

Basically all NMSF who submit the corroborating paperwork become NMF, correct? Is an NMF the same as a National Merit Scholar?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Basically all NMSF who submit the corroborating paperwork become NMF, correct? Is an NMF the same as a National Merit Scholar?

Not everyone becomes NMF. A relatively small percentage of NMSF gets a rejection because they didn’t have consistently high grades throughout high school or maybe they bombed SAT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Basically all NMSF who submit the corroborating paperwork become NMF, correct? Is an NMF the same as a National Merit Scholar?

I suppose opinions could vary, but I'd say being NMSF checks the box in terms of prestige. Whether a student actually gets a scholarship depends on some variables that don't necessarily hinge on the student's qualifications. For example, whether they going to a school that participates or associated with a corporation that participates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:May not still be the case, but it used to be that the actual foundation scholarships only went to those who did not get other scholarships - i.e., you were only eligible if you were ineligible for a corporate scholarship because of parents' job or other qualification.

Interesting. I was under the impression that NMSC took first picks of who they wanted as NMS, and the corporate and school sponsored filled in afterwards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone received a letter yet confirming NMF designation?

Yes. Today. Kid confirmed a finalist. We can send that info to RD colleges that we are still waiting from and deferred ones too. I guess?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basically all NMSF who submit the corroborating paperwork become NMF, correct? Is an NMF the same as a National Merit Scholar?

I suppose opinions could vary, but I'd say being NMSF checks the box in terms of prestige. Whether a student actually gets a scholarship depends on some variables that don't necessarily hinge on the student's qualifications. For example, whether they going to a school that participates or associated with a corporation that participates.

Yes, being the Semi-Finalist and then a Finalist is prestigious. Most are not trying for NM scholarship as that is pretty puny. However, there are many colleges that will give you a full ride IF you are choosing them and choosing the major they want to boost in their college. There is a lot of prestige for colleges to have a bunch of NMSF or NMF come to their college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Basically all NMSF who submit the corroborating paperwork become NMF, correct? Is an NMF the same as a National Merit Scholar?

Paperwork is somewhat laborious, but an excellent practice for college applications. Resume, Common app kind of details, one long essay, recommendation from counselor, list of ECs, Transcript, GPA, school report, proof SAT. There is a part that the student fills and submits and then the school/counselor has to fill a part.

I think they will limit it to 15K students, which is around 1% of seniors - so it is pretty prestigious. I think most students who are NMSF will get it if they fill the application because usually these students also have a great GPA and ECs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basically all NMSF who submit the corroborating paperwork become NMF, correct? Is an NMF the same as a National Merit Scholar?

I suppose opinions could vary, but I'd say being NMSF checks the box in terms of prestige. Whether a student actually gets a scholarship depends on some variables that don't necessarily hinge on the student's qualifications. For example, whether they going to a school that participates or associated with a corporation that participates.

Yes, being the Semi-Finalist and then a Finalist is prestigious. Most are not trying for NM scholarship as that is pretty puny. However, there are many colleges that will give you a full ride IF you are choosing them and choosing the major they want to boost in their college. There is a lot of prestige for colleges to have a bunch of NMSF or NMF come to their college.

Many colleges that will give you a full ride? I don’t think so, maybe 2 or 3 offer a full ride plus maybe another 5 offer full tuition. Probably all of them ranked 100+

[Anonymous]

^ You are incorrect. There are many colleges that offer full tuition or full ride scholarships to NMF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ You are incorrect. There are many colleges that offer full tuition or full ride scholarships to NMF.

Name more than 3 that offer a full ride

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basically all NMSF who submit the corroborating paperwork become NMF, correct? Is an NMF the same as a National Merit Scholar?

I suppose opinions could vary, but I'd say being NMSF checks the box in terms of prestige. Whether a student actually gets a scholarship depends on some variables that don't necessarily hinge on the student's qualifications. For example, whether they going to a school that participates or associated with a corporation that participates.

Top 2,500 candidates get a stand alone scholar designation with $2,500 scholarship that's not tied to selecting participating college or having connection with participating corporations though they are still eligible to puck one of those if its a bigger amount. All the other NMF can only become scholars if college they are attending or corporation where their parents/grandparents work participates in the program and can make them scholar with a scholarship. Those scholarships can be as small as $1k to full ride depending on sponsor's budget.