National Merit Scholarship Program

[okeydokey]

PSAT scores are out for the High School class of 2018. Does anyone here have a family member or friend who qualified as a semi-finalist? Did they make it to the finalist stage, and if so, what kind of scholarships did they earn. I think my son is in the running based on his score in our state, and anticipate he will need to get an application packet together. I don't have a lot of confidence in his school counselor.

 

[Tinijocaro]

DS21 made it through the first round but did not go on. I think even just having made it that far helped him to win a full ride (books, room, board, tuition) scholarship. That and a 34 on the ACT among many other things.

 

[DisneyOma]

The "national" part of this is a joke, IMO. Each state has a score, and some are so low it's crazy, some are so high it's crazy. DD#2 was a commended student in our state, would have won the prize if we moved to the next state over from us (which is less than a mile away from our house!)

 

[rwdavis2]

Based on our experience there is no such thing as a "merit scholarship". They almost all take income into account somewhere along the way.

 

[mnrose]

The "national" part of this is a joke, IMO. Each state has a score, and some are so low it's crazy, some are so high it's crazy. DD#2 was a commended student in our state, would have won the prize if we moved to the next state over from us (which is less than a mile away from our house!)

Same dilemma here. My son would qualify in several neighboring states, but unfortunately, our state has a very high bar. The disadvantage, I guess, in living in a state full of well-educated people. I'll still take our schools over theirs anyway, tyvm.

He will be a commended scholar though, which should still mean some scholarships I would think.

 

[mnrose]

PSAT scores are out for the High School class of 2018. Does anyone here have a family member or friend who qualified as a semi-finalist? Did they make it to the finalist stage, and if so, what kind of scholarships did they earn. I think my son is in the running based on his score in our state, and anticipate he will need to get an application packet together. I don't have a lot of confidence in his school counselor.

The answer is that it really depends on the school your child chooses to attend. Congrats to him for a good score.

 

[IDoDis]

Nope, not true in my state. National scholars get a full ride plus 14k extra plus an iPad. There is no income stipulation.
Other merit scholarships here are the same way. DD has a presidential scholarship based solely on merit.

 

[elgerber]

Same dilemma here. My son would qualify in several neighboring states, but unfortunately, our state has a very high bar. The disadvantage, I guess, in living in a state full of well-educated people. I'll still take our schools over theirs anyway, tyvm.

He will be a commended scholar though, which should still mean some scholarships I would think.

My daughter was commended, and it didn't get her anything at the schools she looked at.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

Nope, not true in my state. National scholars get a full ride plus 14k extra plus an iPad. There is no income stipulation.
Other merit scholarships here are the same way. DD has a presidential scholarship based solely on merit.

Here too, merit scholars get full ride. Definitely not true that most schools take income into account for merit awards.

 

[Allison]

Based on our experience there is no such thing as a "merit scholarship". They almost all take income into account somewhere along the way.

There are plenty of merit scholarships.

 

[Southernmiss]

PSAT scores are out for the High School class of 2018. Does anyone here have a family member or friend who qualified as a semi-finalist? Did they make it to the finalist stage, and if so, what kind of scholarships did they earn. I think my son is in the running based on his score in our state, and anticipate he will need to get an application packet together. I don't have a lot of confidence in his school counselor.

Ds is a semifinalist for 2017. Not sure about finalist- doesn't think his SAT score was good enough-we'll see.

He has accepted a scholarship at our state flagship university of about $12,000 a year offered to NMSF. We'll see if they offer more merit money. Other ds attends that school and was not NMSF, but his total scholarships are more than that.

Merit money is out there, but it is extremely competitive these days. A lot of great students working Hard. With 3 son's, our experience merit $ has been based on high ACT or SAT scores.

 

[Southernmiss]

duplicate post

 

[mnrose]

My daughter was commended, and it didn't get her anything at the schools she looked at.

Which is why I also said "depends on colleges." It really varies all over the map. The more competitive the school is, the less likely you are to get much. For example, since the AVERAGE SAT at Stanford is over 1500 on the new scale (an equivalent PSAT is almost certainly commended if not finalist material), it won't mean a whole lot since they are, so-to-speak, a dime a dozen. State school in medium size state with an average SAT under 1250? Merit aid is much more likely. And, Harvard? 25% of Harvard freshman are estimated to have a 1600 (new scale) and that is, of course, a perfect score. LOL.

 

[Poohforyou]

My dd is a senior and a national merit commended scholar. Her score would have earned her semi finalist status had we lived in any one of 39 other states besides nj. Our cutoff was the highest in the country.

I know one college she got accepted to early action would have given her $30,000 a year. She got 1/2 that. Still very nice but wish it were more.

Good luck to all those juniors out there.

 

[Poohforyou]

Nope, not true in my state. National scholars get a full ride plus 14k extra plus an iPad. There is no income stipulation.
Other merit scholarships here are the same way. DD has a presidential scholarship based solely on merit.

What state are you in? I know a lot of southern schools offer rides like that. Dd got an offer to apply to university of texas at dallas for some program that would basically pay her to attend. Several other schools in the south sent her similar offers. Northern schools don't seem to be as generous.

 

[okeydokey]

Based on our experience there is no such thing as a "merit scholarship". They almost all take income into account somewhere along the way.

My daughter received two merit scholarships, Florida Bright Futures and a University Scholarship. Income was not considered, just test scores and GPA and activities. She was not a National Merit person though.

My son is a Junior in HS and has a 221. I understand he has to take the SAT and write an essay. I discovered that In state Florida Universities will offer a free ride for kids that make it to the Finalist level. He is interested in U of Chicago amd I don't know if they give anything for Merit kids.

 

[mnrose]

Good luck on U Chicago....seriously expensive school! We got materials for that, and I just laughed and laughed. More expensive than Stanford!

Their website says they DO offer merit scholarships for exceptionally well qualified students, including National Merit winners, but no indication as to amounts.

 

[mom2rtk]

They more competitive schools can't offer merit aid. Everyone they accept would be eligible. In the first few years out of school I volunteered to do college fairs and interviews for my alma mater. I was instructed to answer the question of "do you offer merit aid?" with "We don't have to".

 

[WVMomof3]

I believe my daughter will also be a semifinalist based on her score. I was under the impression that you have to wait till September to find out for sure. Or is there something we should be doing soon?

 

[Southernmiss]

I believe my daughter will also be a semifinalist based on her score. I was under the impression that you have to wait till September to find out for sure. Or is there something we should be doing soon?

September is correct. There is speculation that happens between now and then--I mean 9 months for something so big is hard to wait! Until then people look at the scores from previous years to get an idea if they are in the ball park for scores of semifinalist or commended status. Lots of talk on places like college confidential and other websites.