How much is the National Merit Scholarship and what are the key dates?

$16,000 per year for four years. Finalists must complete the UNR application by Feb 15, designate UNR as first choice with NMSC before May 1, and accept admission in MyNEVADA by June 1. Retention requires a 3.50 UNR cumulative GPA and 15 credits each fall/spring.

Can I combine the Presidential and National Merit awards?

No. The Presidential Level Scholarship and National Merit Scholarship may not be combined. A student who qualifies for both the Presidential and the Tahoe Award is automatically excluded from the Presidential and granted the Tahoe + Dean's Pack instead.

Nevada (Reno)· Scholarship Stacking

Stacking Outside Scholarships at Nevada (Reno)

How Nevada (Reno) treats outside scholarships when they arrive on top of institutional merit aid.

Verified Jun 2026today· COWORK

The verdict

Mixed displacement

At Nevada (Reno), an outside scholarship is treated category-by-category, where some aid stacks and some displaces. The strategy follows from that: the answer depends on which aid category the outside award lands against, so get the order in writing.

unr.edu publishes the $31,290 cost-of-attendance worksheet the math is run against.

Stacking policy at Nevada (Reno)

Resident awards: a student receives only ONE four-year award; the test-optional one-year award does not stack with the four-year grid or National Merit. Non-resident: WUE/PEP tuition reductions stack with Presidential OR National Merit, but Presidential and National Merit cannot combine; the Tahoe/Dean's Pack/Honors stack cannot combine with either Presidential or National Merit. National Merit Scholars forfeit need-based grants.

Multiple explicit anti-combination rules between institutional merit awards. The page does not state how OUTSIDE/private third-party scholarships are treated.

Source: https://www.unr.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/first-year-scholarships/non-residents/stackable-awards

Common stacking mistakes

Assuming the test-optional one-year resident award stacks on top of the four-year grid or National Merit
The page states the GPA-only one-year awards 'are not stackable with the freshman 4-year scholarships or National Merit Scholarship.' Submitting test scores to qualify for a renewable four-year award is usually worth far more.
Assuming National Merit stacks with the other merit awards
National Merit cannot combine with the Presidential Level Scholarship or with the Tahoe/Dean's Pack/Honors stack, and National Merit Scholars are explicitly excluded from need-based grants (Pack Promise+, FSEOG, State Access).
Dropping below 15 credits before the 100% refund deadline
For the non-resident stackable awards, dropping below 15 credits before the 100% refund period results in permanent removal of the scholarship; a '15 to Finish' exception must be approved beforehand.
Out-of-state student switching to Nevada residency expecting to keep the stackable awards
If residency changes to Nevada resident, the Tahoe/Dean's Pack/Honors awards end effective the date of the residency change.

Stacking questions families ask

How much is the National Merit Scholarship and what are the key dates?: $16,000 per year for four years. Finalists must complete the UNR application by Feb 15, designate UNR as first choice with NMSC before May 1, and accept admission in MyNEVADA by June 1. Retention requires a 3.50 UNR cumulative GPA and 15 credits each fall/spring.
Can I combine the Presidential and National Merit awards?: No. The Presidential Level Scholarship and National Merit Scholarship may not be combined. A student who qualifies for both the Presidential and the Tahoe Award is automatically excluded from the Presidential and granted the Tahoe + Dean's Pack instead.

Rules that bite at Nevada (Reno)

The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Nevada (Reno)'s own published policy, not generic advice.

renewalNevada Resident Four-Year Scholarship Grid (Presidential / Provost / Nevada Scholars / Pack Pride / Alphie / Luna): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Per year for up to four consecutive years or graduation, whichever is first. Maintain Nevada residency, meet federal SAP, complete 15 credits each fall/spring. Cumulative UNR GPA to maintain: Presidential 3.5, Provost 3.2, Nevada Scholars 2.9, Pack Pride 2.8, Alphie 2.8, Luna 2.8. GPA enforcement begins start of second year. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
displacementDifferent aid types are displaced differently
Nevada (Reno) treats loans, work-study, and institutional grant under different rules. The same $5,000 outside award can land against any of them depending on category.

Aid-office script (copy & send)

A binding written answer beats a verbal hallway promise. This script is keyed to Nevada (Reno)'s published displacement type. Paste it, fill in your name, and send it before you accept an outside award.

Subject: Outside-scholarship treatment question, fall applicant

Dear Nevada (Reno) Financial Aid Office,

I'm a fall applicant reviewing how outside scholarships interact with my institutional aid package. I've read the public policy at https://www.unr.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/first-year-scholarships/non-residents/stackable-awards and the $31,290 cost-of-attendance worksheet.

Which institutional aid types are protected from outside-award displacement, and which can be reduced?

Is the displacement order published anywhere internally, even if not on the public site? Families need this to compare schools.

A written answer (email is fine) is important because the outside-scholarship awarding bodies want confirmation before disbursing. Thank you for the time.

— [Student name], [Application ID if available]

How Nevada (Reno) compares across our verified dataset

31 of 272 verified schools in our dataset use mixed displacement.
Nevada (Reno) is in the modest minority (31 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
247 of 272 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Nevada (Reno) is one of them. The cohort minority (25 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
75 of 272 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.
Nevada (Reno) is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Nevada (Reno)’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.