50-50 Highlights: 105 Overlooked Colleges for National Merit Scholarships

(Updated 2023) 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.

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List of Colleges for National Merit Scholarships

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 2,500 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 $1.000 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 2019-20 Annual Report, (the most recently available report) of the 15,792 finalists, only 7,530 received National Merit Scholarships. The awards totaled $29.8 million which averages to $3,957 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 2020, Stanford enrolled 172, Harvard 183, and MIT 159. 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 Tulane, Carleton College, and Vanderbilt University, the amounts tend to be small relative to the actual cost of attendance. Carleton College expects to sponsor 40 National Merit Scholars® in 2023. The value of the scholarship is $2,000 and the expected total cost of attendance is almost $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 154 schools or systems sponsoring National Merit Scholarships®, 105 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 are expected to sponsor National Merit Scholarships ® based on this past year but are not obligated to. Texas has the most schools with eight on the list. Indiana is second with seven schools. Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, and South Carolina all tied for third with 5 each.

50-50 Colleges for National Merit Scholars®

(Click HERE for Easy Download List of Colleges for National Merit Scholarships)

Name	Type	State	Estimated Number of NMS Scholar-ships 23	Full-time Under-graduates	Total price for in-state students 2021-22	Total price for out-of-state students 2021-22
The University of Alabama	Public	AL	115	28,652	$31,024	$50,494
Texas A & M University-College Station	Public	TX	110	50,873	$31,703	$58,598
The University of Texas at Dallas	Public	TX	100	18,771	$31,696	$56,908
Arizona State University	Public	AZ	85	60,598	$29,774	$47,864
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	Public	OK	75	19,408	$31,293	$47,097
University of Kentucky	Public	KY	60	20,616	$31,690	$50,688
University of Arizona	Public	AZ	55	30,238	$30,686	$55,208
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Public	MN	36	28,587	$29,416	$47,980
Auburn University	Public	AL	35	23,131	$33,650	$53,810
Michigan State University	Public	MI	35	35,692	$29,734	$55,546
University of Arkansas	Public	AR	30	20,905	$26,978	$43,794
Purdue University-Main Campus	Public	IN	30	34,163	$22,812	$41,614
Iowa State University	Public	IA	25	25,912	$22,152	$37,964
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	Public	LA	25	24,778	$33,836	$50,513
Clemson University	Public	SC	25	20,978	$34,164	$57,156
Wheaton College	Private	IL	20	2,227	$54,700	$54,700
University of Iowa	Public	IA	20	20,732	$26,358	$48,321
University of Kansas	Public	KS	20	16,914	$25,520	$42,388
University of Missouri-Columbia	Public	MO	20	22,074	$28,653	$47,628
University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Public	NE	20	19,427	$26,316	$43,446
University of Utah	Public	UT	20	20,129	$24,263	$43,715
University of Idaho	Public	ID	15	6,416	$22,254	$41,490
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology	Private	IN	15	1,951	$72,651	$72,651
University of Maryland-College Park	Public	MD	15	29,809	$28,075	$55,756
Rutgers University-New Brunswick	Public	NJ	15	36,132	$34,130	$51,331
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	Private	NY	15	6,611	$77,763	$77,763
University of Tulsa	Private	OK	15	2,889	$66,265	$66,265
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	Public	TN	15	23,708	$32,658	$51,078
Southern Methodist University	Private	TX	15	6,894	$81,074	$81,074
University of South Florida	Public	FL	12	31,946	$24,178	$35,092
University of Louisville	Public	KY	12	12,244	$30,204	$46,550
West Virginia University	Public	WV	12	19,276	$24,124	$40,468
Rhodes College	Private	TN	11	1,850	$66,588	$66,588
Mississippi State University	Public	MS	10	17,734	$26,460	$42,140
University of Mississippi	Public	MS	10	15,416	$26,956	$43,798
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	Public	OK	10	18,488	$24,770	$40,290
University of Dallas	Private	TX	10	1,454	$64,956	$64,956
University of Houston	Public	TX	10	30,403	$25,077	$37,269
University of Wisconsin-Madison	Public	WI	10	30,720	$27,418	$55,306
Missouri University of Science and Technology	Public	MO	9	5,537	$24,951	$43,235
University of South Carolina-Columbia	Public	SC	8	26,994	$29,149	$50,389
Indiana University-Bloomington	Public	IN	6	32,282	$27,299	$54,318
University of Oregon	Public	OR	6	17,185	$31,284	$57,327
University of Alabama in Huntsville	Public	AL	5	7,001	$28,708	$41,104
University of Alabama at Birmingham	Public	AL	5	10,981	$27,630	$39,462
Harding University	Private	AR	5	3,354	$34,538	$34,538
Hendrix College	Private	AR	5	1,084	$50,550	$50,550
American University	Private	DC	5	7,738	$70,512	$70,512
Kansas State University	Public	KS	5	14,962	$25,730	$41,801
Calvin University	Private	MI	5	2,965	$52,840	$52,840
North Dakota State University-Main Campus	Public	ND	5	9,657	$23,879	$28,354
The Pennsylvania State University	Public	PA	5	67,296	$38,270	$55,848
Furman University	Private	SC	5	2,333	$69,880	$69,880
Samford University	Private	AL	3	3,545	$52,514	$52,514
Ouachita Baptist University	Private	AR	3	1,524	$43,950	$43,950
Colorado State University-Fort Collins	Public	CO	3	20,595	$28,346	$47,628
Florida International University	Public	FL	3	31,296	$23,997	$36,395
New College of Florida	Public	FL	3	673	$21,928	$44,956
Florida Atlantic University	Public	FL	3	17,726	$23,969	$36,414
Bradley University	Private	IL	3	4,521	$51,428	$51,428
Loyola University Chicago	Private	IL	3	11,401	$65,788	$65,788
DePauw University	Private	IN	3	1,775	$70,394	$70,394
University of Evansville	Private	IN	3	1,743	$56,470	$56,470
Goshen College	Private	IN	3	780	$50,570	$50,570
Valparaiso University	Private	IN	3	2,728	$60,488	$60,488
Drake University	Private	IA	3	2,839	$62,125	$62,125
Luther College	Private	IA	3	1,809	$61,175	$61,175
Centre College	Private	KY	3	1,349	$60,700	$60,700
Louisiana Tech University	Public	LA	3	8,246	$24,045	$30,786
University of Maine	Public	ME	3	8,462	$26,968	$48,568
Gordon College	Private	MA	3	1,384	$40,310	$40,310
Kalamazoo College	Private	MI	3	1,455	$68,832	$68,832
Michigan Technological University	Public	MI	3	5,391	$32,210	$53,356
Hope College	Private	MI	3	2,918	$50,820	$50,820
Gustavus Adolphus College	Private	MN	3	2,230	$63,270	$63,270
University of St Thomas	Private	MN	3	6,323	$63,650	$63,650
Truman State University	Public	MO	3	3,778	$22,802	$30,523
Saint Louis University	Private	MO	3	7,091	$66,980	$66,980
Montana State University	Public	MT	3	12,493	$23,286	$44,022
Creighton University	Private	NE	3	4,480	$60,224	$60,224
University of Nevada-Reno	Public	NV	3	14,808	$26,796	$42,888
University of New Mexico-Main Campus	Public	NM	3	12,472	$23,725	$41,063
Fordham University	Private	NY	3	9,143	$81,186	$81,186
University of North Dakota	Public	ND	3	7,510	$24,764	$29,205
The College of Wooster	Private	OH	3	1,972	$70,850	$70,850
University of Dayton	Private	OH	3	8,464	$62,510	$62,510
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	Public	OH	3	25,908	$29,024	$44,358
Ohio University-Main Campus	Public	OH	3	15,443	$28,616	$38,586
Lewis & Clark College	Private	OR	3	1,877	$74,452	$74,452
Willamette University	Private	OR	3	1,630	$60,106	$60,106
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	Public	PA	3	18,927	$36,400	$51,432
Wofford College	Private	SC	3	1,773	$67,638	$67,638
College of Charleston	Public	SC	3	8,876	$31,153	$52,613
Tennessee Technological University	Public	TN	3	8,195	$25,332	$35,364
Belmont University	Private	TN	3	6,556	$58,305	$58,305
Texas Christian University	Private	TX	3	9,674	$70,428	$70,428
Texas Tech University	Public	TX	3	29,974	$27,782	$40,052
University of North Texas	Public	TX	3	28,237	$25,580	$35,396
Virginia Commonwealth University	Public	VA	3	19,505	$34,108	$55,446
Whitman College	Private	WA	3	1,388	$71,982	$71,982
Washington State University	Public	WA	3	23,468	$28,767	$44,083
University of Puget Sound	Private	WA	3	1,910	$73,134	$73,134
Lawrence University	Private	WI	3	1,406	$65,910	$65,910
Marquette University	Private	WI	3	7,835	$63,262	$63,262
University of Wyoming	Public	WY	3	8,106	$21,805	$36,355