National Merit Finalist / Benacquisto and Out-of-State National Merit Award
ListedCollege program
- Award
- Florida residents: Benacquisto covers in-state cost of attendance minus Bright Futures and National Merit awards (published disbursement range $16,000–$25,000 annually). Out-of-state: full out-of-state tuition waiver, $16,000 Vires over four years and $2,000 NMSC stipend if college-sponsored. Official pages differ on the estimated four-year total ($91,080 versus $91,808). Finalists who apply to UROP in their first year are guaranteed admission to it.
- Deadline
- FSU publishes May 1 of senior year for NMSC first-choice designation without identifying the 2027 cycle; confirm the current cutoff.
- How to apply
- Be a National Merit Finalist awarded a National Merit, corporate or college-sponsored National Merit Scholarship, and list FSU as first choice with NMSC by May 1.
- What you'll need
- No separate application: you are considered when you apply for admission
- Who can apply
- National Merit Finalists graduating with a standard high school diploma and receiving a National Merit, corporate-sponsored or college-sponsored National Merit Scholarship. Benacquisto additionally requires Florida residency, U.S. citizenship or eligible-noncitizen status and qualifying full-time fall enrollment. NMSC citizenship requirements apply to entrants attending high school outside the U.S.; individual award rules still apply.
- Good to know
- Vires is footnoted for entrants starting fall 2024. Out-of-state package renewal requires 15 credits each semester, at least a 3.0 cumulative FSU GPA and successful degree progress. Benacquisto requires 12 credits each semester, at least a 3.0 GPA and all credits enrolled at drop/add earned; statutory bachelor's degree/five-year/ten-semester limits apply. Exact 2027 package estimate is not confirmed. Separate from Presidential Scholars and Stamps.