50-50 Highlights: 112 Overlooked Colleges for National Merit Scholarships

(Updated 2022) The National Merit Scholarship® Program seems like a great opportunity for test savvy high school students and their families to make a substantial dent in college costs. Well, it really all depends. Much to the surprise of many families, being a National Merit®  Finalist doesn’t mean a full-ride scholarship to the college of your choice.

Different Types of National Merit Scholarships®

There are three types of National Merit  Scholarships. There is the one-time $2,500 awarded by the National Merit Scholarship® Corporation to approximately 7,600 scholars. Corporations sponsor another 1,000 scholarships, mainly for children of employees but also for students living in certain areas or pursuing specific majors. These may or may not be renewable and range in value from $500 to $10,000.

The third type of scholarship is generally the most valuable–those sponsored by colleges. These scholarships may be only one time awards of only $2,500. However, many of them are renewable awards for much more and the most valuable offer the coveted “free ride.”

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is that only around half of all finalists will win any scholarship. According to the National Merit® Scholarship Corporation 2018-19 Annual Report, (the most recently available report) of the 15,148 finalists, only 7,642 received National Merit Scholarships. The awards totaled $31.2 million which averages to $4,082 per finalist.

Most Colleges Don’t Provide National Merit Scholarships®

Out of over 1,500 4-year institutions with 500 or more full-time undergraduates, less than 200 offer National Merit Scholarships®. Furthermore, these schools that sponsor such scholarships are generally not the same schools everyone wants to attend. In fact, very few of the most competitive colleges and universities sponsor National Merit Scholarships®. That doesn’t mean these schools don’t have National Merit Scholars®. In 2019, Stanford enrolled 124, Harvard 207, and MIT 134. None of these students received National Merit Scholarships® to attend these schools. These schools just don’t have to offer money as an incentive to attend.

And for those competitive colleges that do such as the University of Chicago, Carleton College, and Vanderbilt University, the amounts tend to be small relative to the actual cost of attendance. The University of Chicago expects to sponsor 60 National Merit Scholars® in 2022. The value of the scholarship is $2,500 and the expected total cost of attendance is over $80,000.

Sponsoring a large number of National Merit Scholarships® is one way schools’ improve their academic standing. By sponsoring National Merit Scholarships, the University of Texas at Austin could claim that it was only second to Harvard in the number of enrolled National Merit Scholars. It stopped participating in the program in 2009. New York University stopped around the same time after sponsoring 83 scholarships for its 2009-10 class. By 2015, Washington University in St. Louis joined those in withdrawing from providing National Merit Scholarships.

Oklahoma University may be next. In 2018, after years of participating in the program and funding four full-time staff members to recruiting scholars, the new president decided to cut back on the program. In 2018, the number of scholars had dropped to 155. This year OU expects to sponsor 75 scholars. This still ranks them in the top ten in the number of scholarships but is a significant drop from previous years.

Colleges with Incentives to Provide National Merit Scholarships®

If you want to get the most out of being a National Merit Scholar®, target a 50-50 school. These are schools that accept at least 50% of students and have at least a 50% graduation rate. Out of 158 schools or systems sponsoring National Merit Scholarships®, 112 of them are 50-50 schools.

This isn’t surprising since many of these colleges are interested in developing a national reputation. Colleges haven’t been shy about publicizing the number of National Merit Scholars® attending their institutions. They are also more likely to provide scholarships that significantly reduce tuition costs while being renewable. Some colleges include yearly stipends or funds for study abroad programs.

On top of waiving tuition for 5 years and providing 4-years of undergraduate housing, the University of Alabama National Merit Scholarship® includes a $3,500 per year stipend and  a one-time allowance of $2,000 for summer research or international travel.

The University of Oklahoma still waives 100% of tuition for out-of-state National Merit Scholars® for five years. Students can also use the waiver toward any graduate or professional program if any funds remain after completing their undergraduate degrees.

If you’re willing to attend a less prestigious college, being a National Merit Scholar® could result in an actual “free ride” to college.

The table below lists 50-50 colleges for National Merit Scholars®. All expect to sponsor National Merit Scholarships ®this past year. Texas has the most schools with eight on the list. Indiana is second with seven schools. Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and South Carolina all tied for third with 5 each.

50-50 Colleges for National Merit Scholars®

 

Name	Type	State	NMSC Expected Count for 22	Full-time Under-grads	Total price for in-state students 2020-21	Total price for out-of-state students 2020-21
The University of Alabama	Pub	AL	115	27,750	$31,050	$50,520
Texas A & M University-College Station	Pub	TX	110	49,442	$31,467	$58,024
The University of Texas at Dallas	Pub	TX	100	17,979	$30,744	$55,722
Arizona State University	Pub	AZ	85	57,485	$29,578	$47,668
University of Oklahoma	Pub	OK	75	18,564	$30,374	$45,755
University of Kentucky	Pub	KY	60	20,239	$31,546	$50,356
University of Arizona	Pub	AZ	55	28,556	$30,416	$54,443
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Pub	MN	36	28,989	$28,827	$47,125
Auburn University	Pub	AL	35	22,458	$32,678	$52,838
Michigan State University	Pub	MI	35	34,588	$29,230	$54,536
University of Arkansas	Pub	AR	30	20,252	$26,176	$42,664
Purdue University-Main Campus	Pub	IN	30	33,575	$22,782	$41,584
Iowa State University	Pub	IA	25	25,271	$21,940	$37,128
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	Pub	LA	25	24,097	$33,394	$50,071
Clemson University	Pub	SC	25	20,021	$32,880	$55,872
University of Iowa	Pub	IA	20	20,227	$25,376	$47,339
Wheaton College	Pri	IL	20	2,195	$52,940	$52,940
University of Kansas	Pub	KS	20	16,439	$25,476	$42,344
University of Missouri-Columbia	Pub	MO	20	21,344	$27,711	$45,993
University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Pub	NE	20	18,949	$26,250	$43,380
University of Utah	Pub	UT	20	18,749	$24,278	$42,883
University of Idaho	Pub	ID	15	6,323	$21,820	$41,056
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	Pri	IN	15	1,952	$71,664	$71,664
University of Maryland-College Park	Pub	MD	15	28,160	$27,807	$53,919
Rutgers University-New Brunswick	Pub	NJ	15	33,788	$33,002	$49,784
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	Pri	NY	15	6,262	$75,824	$75,824
Miami University-Oxford	Pub	OH	15	16,079	$34,499	$54,926
University of Tulsa	Pri	OK	15	2,819	$63,807	$63,807
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	Pub	TN	15	22,914	$32,498	$50,898
Southern Methodist University	Pri	TX	15	6,616	$79,050	$79,050
University of South Florida	Pub	FL	12	29,650	$23,866	$34,780
University of Louisville	Pub	KY	12	11,598	$29,678	$46,024
West Virginia University	Pub	WV	12	18,726	$24,124	$40,468
Rhodes College	Pri	TN	11	1,788	$66,470	$66,470
Calvin University	Pri	MI	10	2,914	$52,606	$52,606
St Olaf College	Pri	MN	10	2,916	$65,010	$65,010
Mississippi State University	Pub	MS	10	17,089	$25,904	$40,944
University of Mississippi	Pub	MS	10	14,839	$25,762	$42,034
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	Pub	OH	10	24,301	$28,150	$43,484
Oklahoma State Universit	Pub	OK	10	17,624	$24,239	$39,759
University of Dallas	Pri	TX	10	1,424	$62,400	$62,400
University of Houston	Pub	TX	10	28,966	$24,631	$36,847
University of Wisconsin-Madison	Pub	WI	10	30,063	$27,158	$55,046
Missouri University of Science and Technology	Pub	MO	9	5,412	$23,887	$41,838
University of South Carolina-Columbia	Pub	SC	8	26,174	$29,121	$50,361
Indiana University-Bloomington	Pub	IN	6	31,632	$26,187	$52,566
University of Oregon	Pub	OR	6	16,400	$30,312	$55,764
University of Alabama at Birmingham	Pub	AL	5	10,402	$27,630	$39,462
University of Alabama in Huntsville	Pub	AL	5	6,730	$28,266	$40,662
Harding University	Pri	AR	5	3,294	$33,480	$33,480
Hendrix College	Pri	AR	5	1,061	$66,310	$66,310
Kansas State University	Pub	KS	5	14,497	$25,890	$41,766
North Dakota State University	Pub	ND	5	9,339	$23,246	$27,549
The Pennsylvania State University	Pub	PA	5	64,607	$37,396	$54,460
Furman University	Pri	SC	5	2,294	$68,234	$68,234
Santa Clara University	Pri	CA	4	5,478	$72,984	$72,984
Samford University	Pri	AL	3	3,501	$51,314	$51,314
Ouachita Baptist University	Pri	AR	3	1,502	$41,650	$41,650
Colorado State University-Fort Collins	Pub	CO	3	19,944	$25,466	$44,187
Florida Atlantic University	Pub	FL	3	16,617	$24,775	$37,220
Florida International University	Pub	FL	3	27,551	$23,803	$36,201
New College of Florida	Pub	FL	3	646	$21,048	$44,076
Drake University	Pri	IA	3	2,731	$60,328	$60,328
Luther College	Pri	IA	3	1,775	$59,775	$59,775
Bradley University	Pri	IL	3	4,450	$50,200	$50,200
Illinois Wesleyan University	Pri	IL	3	1,622	$65,676	$65,676
Loyola University Chicago	Pri	IL	3	10,924	$63,640	$63,640
DePauw University	Pri	IN	3	1,719	$68,898	$68,898
Goshen College	Pri	IN	3	753	$49,690	$49,690
University of Evansville	Pri	IN	3	1,716	$55,196	$55,196
Valparaiso University	Pri	IN	3	2,678	$58,726	$58,726
Centre College	Pri	KY	3	1,333	$58,710	$58,710
Louisiana Tech University	Pub	LA	3	7,854	$23,847	$30,589
Gordon College	Pri	MA	3	1,390	$52,850	$52,850
University of Maine	Pub	ME	3	7,847	$26,230	$47,020
Hope College	Pri	MI	3	2,908	$50,360	$50,360
Kalamazoo College	Pri	MI	3	1,426	$66,268	$66,268
Michigan Technological University	Pub	MI	3	5,294	$31,349	$51,651
Bethel University	Pri	MN	3	2,313	$53,990	$53,990
Gustavus Adolphus College	Pri	MN	3	2,220	$61,299	$61,299
University of St Thomas	Pri	MN	3	6,126	$62,476	$62,476
Saint Louis University	Pri	MO	3	6,847	$64,892	$64,892
Truman State University	Pub	MO	3	3,687	$22,284	$29,644
Montana State University	Pub	MT	3	12,026	$23,059	$42,789
University of North Dakota	Pub	ND	3	7,173	$24,498	$28,768
Creighton University	Pri	NE	3	4,330	$58,618	$58,618
University of New Mexico	Pub	NM	3	12,124	$23,865	$40,203
University of Nevada-Reno	Pub	NV	3	14,323	$26,252	$41,906
Fordham University	Pri	NY	3	8,887	$79,216	$79,216
Stony Brook University	Pub	NY	3	16,586	$27,743	$45,413
Ohio University-Main Campus	Pub	OH	3	14,676	$30,764	$40,558
The College of Wooster	Pri	OH	3	1,921	$68,650	$68,650
University of Dayton	Pri	OH	3	8,314	$62,220	$62,220
Lewis & Clark College	Pri	OR	3	1,812	$71,692	$71,692
Willamette University	Pri	OR	3	1,264	$69,598	$69,598
Lehigh University	Pri	PA	3	5,070	$72,065	$72,065
University of Pittsburgh	Pub	PA	3	18,298	$35,147	$49,174
College of Charleston	Pub	SC	3	8,466	$31,153	$51,483
Wofford College	Pri	SC	3	1,753	$65,183	$65,183
Belmont University	Pri	TN	3	6,330	$56,450	$56,450
Tennessee Technological University	Pub	TN	3	7,834	$25,166	$35,198
Abilene Christian University	Pri	TX	3	3,297	$53,672	$53,672
Texas Tech University	Pub	TX	3	29,010	$27,156	$39,426
University of North Texas	Pub	TX	3	26,353	$25,386	$35,202
Virginia Commonwealth University	Pub	VA	3	18,734	$32,997	$54,335
University of Puget Sound	Pri	WA	3	1,830	$69,661	$69,661
Washington State University	Pub	WA	3	22,315	$28,520	$43,463
Western Washington University	Pub	WA	3	12,622	$25,805	$42,563
Whitman College	Pri	WA	3	1,288	$66,408	$66,408
Lawrence University	Pri	WI	3	1,393	$64,260	$64,260
Marquette University	Pri	WI	3	7,715	$62,688	$62,688
University of Wyoming	Pub	WY	3	7,783	$20,790	$34,530