昨天没有研究最新的规定，不敢乱答。今天研究了一下，确信你必需选择USC做第一选择才能拿到USC赞助的NMSC奖学金。但这个选择不是约束性的，随时可以改，当然改了就放弃某一类奖学金了，学生只能拿一个奖学金。可以开始选择USC第一，一旦Cal 录取，立即改Cal第一，还有希望拿到$2500奖学金，否则拿到USC也浪费了。
官方规定：
https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=434
REPORT OF A SPONSOR COLLEGE AS FIRST CHOICE Consideration for a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award is limited to Semifi nalists who qualify as Finalists and who also 1. report to NMSC that a sponsor college is their fi rst choice (see the list of college sponsors included in the “Competition Instructions” section of the OSA and at nationalmerit.org/resources); 2. have applied for admission to the sponsor college; and 3. have not been off ered any other National Merit Scholarship (corporate-sponsored, National, or another college-sponsored award). No student will receive more than one scholarship off er from NMSC. A college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award can be used only at the institution fi nancing it and therefore is canceled if the winner changes college choice.
Schedule specifi c to college-sponsored awards:
March 1 through May 31, 2019: A Finalist who has reported a sponsor college as first choice before March 1 will be included in the fi rst group referred to that institution for scholarship consideration. Only the sponsoring college you have listed as your fi rst choice will be notifi ed. Periodically NMSC will notify sponsors of additional Finalists who have reported (by May 31) the college or university as their fi rst choice.
May 1, 2019: NMSC will begin mailing college-sponsored Merit Scholarship off ers. NOTE: If NMSC receives notifi cation of a change in college choice from a Finalist after mailing a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship off er to that student, the change in college choice will not be processed and the Finalist cannot be off ered another college-sponsored Merit Scholarship award. This applies even if the new choice of college is one that also sponsors Merit Scholarship awards. Therefore, a Finalist who has previously reported a sponsor college as fi rst choice but is uncertain about it may choose to notify NMSC that he or she is now “undecided” to prevent being made an off er from a school he or she is uncertain about attending; such notifi cation must be submitted online at osa.nationalmerit.org before May 1. The Finalist can subsequently report a fi rm college choice that NMSC receives by May 31.
May 31, 2019: Deadline date for NMSC to receive reports of a sponsor college as fi rst choice. Because it is necessary to treat all Finalists consistently and conclude the annual competition in a timely manner, only college choice reports that NMSC receives by May 31, 2019, will be used to identify the fi nal group of candidates to a college or university that sponsors awards.
