National Merit Scholarship

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ORD 9C/27C

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Feb 13, 2021
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Curious on your all take...student received scholarship dollars in addition to matching grant from my employer but Service Academy is not qualified...most unfortunate
 
What’s your query? Many scholarships exclude service academies.
 
For scholarships where attending a Service Academy is allowed, you can send the funds into the student account and it will go towards expenses that normally come out of their monthly paycheck (except USMMA - no paycheck).
 
ORD 9C/27C said:
Curious on your all take...student received scholarship dollars in addition to matching grant from my employer but Service Academy is not qualified...most unfortunate
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Interesting user name. Pilot or controller?
 
shiner said:
For scholarships where attending a Service Academy is allowed, you can send the funds into the student account and it will go towards expenses that normally come out of their monthly paycheck (except USMMA - no paycheck).
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Since many scholarship exclude academies, should I not pursue scholarships? I would like to minimize the expenses that normally come out of the stipend.
 
gpar6479 said:
Since many scholarship exclude academies, should I not pursue scholarships? I would like to minimize the expenses that normally come out of the stipend.
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Have you been accepted? Even so, you never know what can happen to you before I-day. There always that small .05% chance something prevents you from going. If that happens then what? If you haven't been accepted, apply, apply. There's never a guarantee
 
FlyFalcon said:
Have you been accepted? Even so, you never know what can happen to you before I-day. There always that small .05% chance something prevents you from going. If that happens then what? If you haven't been accepted, apply, apply. There's never a guarantee
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Yes I have been accepted lol. In the case nothing goes wrong, I was wondering if scholarships are worth grinding for.
 
gpar6479 said:
Yes I have been accepted lol. In the case nothing goes wrong, I was wondering if scholarships are worth grinding for.
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I would say that depends on the scholarship. If it can be transferred over why not? If it can't but it's an easy scholarship to get, I would get it. At the very end of the day worst thing, you can say is "I worked hard for something" plus as long as you still work out, have time spend with family, and enjoy your senior year, it can give you something to do.

I do however also understand the burnt-out feeling of doing lots of applications and lots of other scholarships. If that's the case and you feel confident enough with the scholarships you have (plus your plan B) then take a break and come back to scholarship or just do the simple 1,000 dollar ones.
 
FlyFalcon said:
I would say that depends on the scholarship. If it can be transferred over why not? If it can't but it's an easy scholarship to get, I would get it. At the very end of the day worst thing, you can say is "I worked hard for something" plus as long as you still work out, have time spend with family, and enjoy your senior year, it can give you something to do.

I do however also understand the burnt-out feeling of doing lots of applications and lots of other scholarships. If that's the case and you feel confident enough with the scholarships you have (plus your plan B) then take a break and come back to scholarship or just do the simple 1,000 dollar ones.
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Yeah, that is a good idea. I already have a Excel spreadsheet with all the scholarships I was planning on doing. I probably still will do them, it would be unfortunate if it doesn't qualify for SAs though.
 
gpar6479 said:
Yes I have been accepted lol. In the case nothing goes wrong, I was wondering if scholarships are worth grinding for.
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I benefit from perspective. In my opinion, I would apply for anything you qualify for. Some scholarships are paid directly to you, like $500 from a high school booster club or potentially the rotary club. Other scholarships will only pay to the school. In cases where it comes to you, the student could use it for literally anything. The spirit of the award was school related expenses, but that could mean travel for you or parents - etc.

Money that is paid to the school in your name will go into your cadet account and is off limits from your direct withdrawal and would be managed by the finance team at your school. Cadet finance is (or was) a mystical dark art that no one understood. My assumption is that it is still the same, but in my day, cadets received a fixed paycheck per your class year. Monies are withheld to pay for things like laundry and uniforms. There was a push around my senior year to make cadets more prepared for the real world and pay you more but expect you to pay bills like a grown up. I am unsure where that really landed. I do know I was receiving $60/month as my paycheck as a freshman and it ended up over $350/month as a senior. I know each class makes more today, but the specifics are outside of my purview. It doesn't sound like a lot of money but you literally have no expenses other than your choices like cell phone or digital streaming subscriptions, etc. Juniors and Seniors would add in car insurance, but the payments via Cadet Loan are deferred until after graduation.

Sometime near the end of your time there, you receive a check for the balance of your "magic money" account. This was the first time a student would see a financial benefit to something like a scholarship paid to the school. I received a small amount, but had $0 in scholarships sent there and made dumb choices like buying random textbooks that I still have never opened just because I thought I would enjoy them "one day...."
 
In our son’s case there was one scholarship (through my employer) that he was able to keep. It was $1000 per year for 4 years. The check was mailed to him at USAFA and was made out to both him and the Academy. Each year when he got the check he took it to the financial office and signed it. He never knew exactly where it went but one day during 3 degree year his paycheck went from $200 a month to $800. This was well before the other cadets got their loan paid off so the money must have been credited to the loan. After that when he deposited the check it was added to his next monthly paycheck.

Stealth_81
 
shiner said:
Cadet finance is (or was) a mystical dark art that no one understood. My assumption is that it is still the same
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Had to laugh when I read this...according to DS (class of 22), it is still the same. He had some scholarships (some his first year and then one recurring one payable subsequent years) that were paid to USAFA and he has not been able to decipher within his statements how the scholarships have affected his cadet pay. I'm assuming it all works out, but definitely not a lot of clarity in how it works.
 
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