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I think I understand most of this process based on what I've read, but I do have a couple questions:
1) When the 50,000 high scorers are notified in April, the students are "invited to name 2 colleges or universities to which they would like to be referred by NMSC." What exactly is this about? Are juniors supposed to already pretty much know where they plan to attend?
2) 15,000 students make it to finalist status, but then only 8000 become "Merit Scholar awardees" and 1800 become "Special Scholarship recipients." What happened to the other 5200 finalists? How were they ruled out of getting scholarships?

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 06:23 pm: Edit

In most cases it's because they didn't choose to accept a college that offers National Merit finalists scholarships. It also can be that their parents don't work for a company sponsoring scholarships. Another reason is that the students aren't planning to major in a subject like engineering for which companies are willing to sponsor scholarships.

There are very few NM scholarships available without the above strings.

By Nocalguy (Nocalguy) on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 08:47 pm: Edit

I chose Berkeley as my "first choice" for NMSC and became one of the 15000 finalists. I have been accepted and am planning on going to Cal.
Does that mean I'll have a good chance of getting the scholarship there?

By Chenguo (Chenguo) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 12:31 am: Edit

You mean the National Merit scholarhsip? They already mailed those out ($2,500). I didn't get a letter, so I'm guessing I didn't get any money despite making it to the finalist stage.

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 12:51 am: Edit

It is my understanding that there are three types of National Merit Scholarships 1) those one-time $2,500 awards which were already mailed out, 2) company-sponsored National Merit scholarships which usually but not always require that the parent of the recipient work for the sponsoring company, and 3) college sponsored National Merit Scholarships which usually require that you name the sponsoring school as a first choice with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a particular date. Not all schools sponsor these scholarships. Some highly selective schools like Harvard and
MIT are NOT sponsors of National Merit Scholarships.

National Merit Finalists can accept only one of the three types.

I would suggest contacting the Admissions and Scholarship office of the college that you are planning to attend to determine what their policy is concerning the sponsoring of National Merit Scholarships if you are a finalist.

Nocalguy - I did a quick check of the UC-Berkeley website and it appears that they are no longer sponsoring National Merit scholarships but I would call or e-mail them to confirm.

Chenquo - If you are planning to attend a school
that sponsors National Merit scholarships you may
still receive a college-sponsored National Merit Scholarship. I would also suggest contacting the
college or colleges that you are considering to confirm their policy.

Our daughter also did not receive the $2,500 one time National Merit Scholarship from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation itself but is planning to attend a college which automatically gives a $2,000 per years scholarship to all Finalists who designate it as their first choice school with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

By Dolce (Dolce) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 07:54 am: Edit

What is used to determine who gets the $2500, which if I understand correctly can be used at any college? Is it a combination of PSAT scores, essay, grades, EC's, etc? Or just the very highest PSAT scores? Or some great mystery that only NMCS understands? :o)

By Harvardmom (Harvardmom) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 10:59 am: Edit

Our daughter is a $2,500 NMSC recipient, and she has high SAT's (1580 combined), a very high PSAT of 236, 5's on all 5 of her Jr. year AP's, great essays, great rec's, High Honors for her entire
school career. The literature I recall reading stated that all of the above were determining criteria.

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 09:15 pm: Edit

Congratulations to your daughter, Harvardmom. Our daughter had virtually identical statistics but her extracurricular involvement was rather modest. Most of the $2,500 NMSC recipients have done outstanding things outside the classroom in addition to having stellar scores.

By Flashbackfl (Flashbackfl) on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 11:24 pm: Edit

Does anyone know if Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth and Emory sponsor NMS?
Thanks

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 12:47 am: Edit

It is my understanding that Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth do not sponsor National Merit Scholarships. Emory gives a minimum of $1,000 per year up to $2,000 per year depending on financial need. I would contact the schools to confirm.

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 12:45 pm: Edit

No Ivies sponsor National Merit Scholarships. In fact no Ivies offer merit aid.

It is rare that any colleges in the top 25 sponsor NMS scholarships. They typically are offered by colleges that are trying to attract excellent students away from Ivies and similar schools that lack merit aid. Sometimes public universities offer them to keep excellent students from leaving the state.

By Flashbackfl (Flashbackfl) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 09:30 am: Edit

How about Furman or Rhodes?

By Momof2 (Momof2) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 09:31 am: Edit

According to the information we've received, notification of college-sponsored NM scholarships are mailed on April 23rd. We are in Texas, but that may be a national date. So don't give up hope!

By Dolce (Dolce) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 07:47 am: Edit

Have any of you juniors been notified that you are among the 50,000 high scorers? It was my understanding that this occurs in April of junior year, but we haven't gotten anything in the mail yet. Just wondering about everyone else.

By Flashbackfl (Flashbackfl) on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 10:17 am: Edit

Notification was handed out at my daughters high school yesterday. The National Merit organization sent them directly to the high schools. However, my daughter was not there in the morning so they sent it via us mail to our home. Hopefully we will get it today and I will post what it says.

By Flashbackfl (Flashbackfl) on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 07:07 pm: Edit

The letter came today forwarded from my daughters high school. Basically is said Congratulations for having a score in the top 50,000 out of 1,000,000 who took the PSAT. Included is a form to update, add two schools that you would like to be notified of this, and then return (or you can do it via the net). It went on to say that in September you will find out if you are a Commended or a Semi Finalist.

If any Seniors have anything to add about this process please post Out of the 50,000 only 16,000 get to be Semi Finalists, so how do they determine those? Is it by score alone?

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 12:05 am: Edit

Becoming a semi-finalist is based on PSAT score alone. You need to score roughly in the top 1/2 of 1% of students in your state when you take the PSAT in October of your junior year. The cut-off score varies by state.

By Flashbackfl (Flashbackfl) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 12:15 am: Edit

Do you think a 231 in Florida will make the cut?
Also, on the paper they send it asks for two colleges. I've heard that the Ivy's don't even recognize NM is that true? Is there a place where there is a listing of those that do? Would it be a waste to put a college that doesn't recognize NM? Lastly, it asks for a major and career, is it best to be "undecided" or to pick one. My daughter wants to double major in International Relations and Meteorology, because she really is not sure which one she would want to do yet. Her hook is in International Relations, but I think she's leaning toward Meteorology. Please advise.
Thanks.

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 01:07 pm: Edit

Historically 231 would make the cut in any state. The highest cut-offs are in the range of 222-224. The cut-offs in states like Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia are close to 200. It is true that the Ivies don't give national merit scholarships. She might still qualify for a corporate sponsored NM scholarship if you or your spouse works for a sponsoring company or a sponsoring company offers scholarships to members of the community. Also around 2,000 finalists get a $2,500 one time award from national merit. The paper that they gave her to fill out at this point merely notifies schools that she is interested in them and is not really official. With her high score she will almost certainly be notified in September that she is a national merit semi-finalist and will be asked to write a short essay, list her extracurriculars, and the school will list her grades and write a recommendation. About 90% of semifinalists become finalists. The primary reasons for not advancing to finalist status are mediocre grades, not being recommended by your principal because of disciplinary problems, or low SAT scores ( below 1300 ). She will also be asked to name a first choice school. In most cases I would recommend putting undecided. The majority of schools that offer national merit scholarships require that you name them as a first choice school and will give you until the end of April to notify the National Merit Scholarship Corporation that they are your first choice. A few schools have earlier deadlines. I would call the admissions office in the fall to find out what their policies are concerning national merit scholarships. A few schools give automatic full or nearly full scholarship to national merit finalists but these are generally schools like the University of Arizona, the University of Florida, the University of Oklahoma, the New College of Florida, or Ball State University. The Carleton College website
www.carleton.edu has a lot of good information on the national merit process and recommendations for national merit semifinalists.
Our daughter is a senior and a National Merit Finalist. She named her first choice school last week after receiving all the financial aid awards from the schools to which she applied. She will be getting a $2,000 per year college-sponsored National Merit Scholarship from that school in addition to the $15,000 per year merit scholarship they offerred before she named them her first choice school. Good luck.

By Brickyard (Brickyard) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 02:16 pm: Edit

Cut off scores vary by category also, one can be from a state but attend boarding school and the NE Region boarding schools generally have the higherst cut off qualifier score. There is more involved here than state.

By Autodidact (Autodidact) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 10:08 am: Edit

Medusa2003: great site at Carleton, and interesting as to where NMF actually go and in what percentages--it was a little surprising. Should give an indication as to the level of brain power beaming in the classes. Students may want to take a look at the college essay tips as well. The complete URL, for those who like click and go is: http://www.carleton.edu/admissions/nationalmerit/index.html

By Flashbackfl (Flashbackfl) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 02:51 pm: Edit

Thanks for all the great info Medusa, Autodidact, and Brickyard. The only thing I'm confused about now is what Brickyard was referring to. How would that affect a Florida Public H.S. (IB) student with a 231? I hate to keep asking these questions, but for us it's real important because we have literally no extra money for college and need all the help we can get. Also, one last question (we have an only child so we are new to this), if there are 16,000 semi finalists, does that mean that there are 320 semi finalists per state? Does each state get the same amount or do more populated states get more semi finalists? Thanks again

By Flashbackfl (Flashbackfl) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 02:54 pm: Edit

Oh, one more thing...does it matter what major/career you put on the application? Is it better to put something or just put undecided, or does it help with certain companies giving the awards if you put a major/career?

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 11:18 pm: Edit

The higher cut-off that Brickyard mentions only applies to students who live in one state but attend a boarding school in another. For the vast majority of students only the state cut-off matters. The number of semifinalists in a state is based on a percentage of the high school seniors and is roughly 1/2 of 1 percent. Thus there will be more National Merit Semifinalists in California or Texas than Wyoming or Vermont.

By Flashbackfl (Flashbackfl) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 11:27 pm: Edit

Thanks

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 11:34 pm: Edit

Attached is information on recent cut-off scores for achieving National Merit Semifinalist status. They may vary by year but this will give you an idea of the scores required. 231 is fantastic. If you have a competent high school counselor you might obtain additional information from him or her.

Copied from Princeton Review College Discussion Board: Posted by Hannah Bowen, co-author, 1999 edition on September 17, 1998 at 22:31:56:

AL...211 AK...214 AZ...212 AR...202 CA...215

CO...210 CT...219 DE...216 DC...222 FL...213

GA...211 HI...215 ID...203 IL...213 IN...210

IA...209 KS...212 KY...207 LA...207 ME...214

MD...220 MA...222 MI...209 MN...214 MS...201

MO...211 MT...206 NE...208 NV...203 NH...213

NJ...220 NM...207 NY...217 NC...212 ND...205

OH...211 OK...207 OR...211 PA...214 RI...213

SC...208 SD...204 TN...212 TX...214 UT...203

VT...212 VA...218 WA...212 WV...203 WI...210

WY...204 U.S TERRITORIES& COMMONWEALTHS...201

OUTSIDE THE U.S. ...222

These are the selection index qalifying scores for the 1999 Merit Program, the PSAT/NM

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 12:11 am: Edit

The higher cut-off might also apply to students attending a boarding school in the same state they live in. If attending a boarding school I would check with a counselor at your school.

By Dolce (Dolce) on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 08:12 pm: Edit

The NM letter finally came today! Now, how do we help our son know which 2 schools to list? I know that he can change his first choice school later on, so is it really that big of deal who he lists now? Will those schools view him as "seriously interested," and maybe that will give him a better chance at a good scholarship from them? Thanks for any helpful suggestions you can give!

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 11:53 pm: Edit

Our daughter never sent the letter she received last April to notify two schools that she was a "top scorer" on the PSAT. She also never selected a "first choice" after being selected as a National Merit Semifinalist and Finalist until after she received all of her financial aid award letters at the end of March this year. She still got excellent scholarship offers from all of the schools to which applied. It would be interesting to find out if other students who listed schools in April of their junior year or named a school "first choice" with National Merit early in their senior year after being selected as National Merit Semifinalists received significantly better scholarship offers from these schools.

By Useatoothbrush (Useatoothbrush) on Thursday, April 24, 2003 - 01:01 am: Edit

Our principal handed the envelopes out today to twenty or so kids and gave what my friend and I described as a very diplomatic speech--"congratulations, this is quite an honor, blah blah, the highest scorers among you will advance to semi-finalists in September but don't feel bad if you don't because this is still quite an honor, and if you are a semi-finalist but don't make the finalist cut because of grades that just aren't as high as they could be, then don't feel bad, because it continues to be quite an honor, and all of you have the potential to earn very good scholarships with this prestigious honor...". Most of the kids barely remembered taking the PSATs--"wait, you add up verbal and math AND WRITING to get the selection index? I had 200-something but what will it be once I add the writing score?" *slaps forehead* "Is 202 high enough to make semi-finalist even if I have good grades? No?! That's not fair!" I'll bet only four of us make semi, I only know of one other person who made the cutoff.

By Amd (Amd) on Friday, April 25, 2003 - 07:16 pm: Edit

1. The amount of scholarship money that a school gives to a National Merit Semi-Finalist does not depend on whether or when you turn in your choice of schools (as long as it is before May 31 or so of the year you start college).

2. NMSC itself gives about 2000 scholarships for 1 year only (about $2500).

3. Different colleges offer different amounts to National Merit Semi-Finalists. (NMSC acts as the middleman for this.) Some - Pitt, Purdue, Florida, Arizona State - offer full rides. Some offer $2000/year. Some offer $1500 for 1 year. It all varies from college to college. However, it does not depend on when you select them.

amd

By Dolce (Dolce) on Saturday, April 26, 2003 - 12:48 am: Edit

Amd, do the schools that you listed *automatically* offer full rides to any NM finalist? I haven't seen anything on the Pitt or Purdue websites to that effect, although (like most schools) there are some full scholarships available. I'm trying to keep a list of the schools that do give full scholarships to any NM finalists. Anyone know of others?

By Dolce (Dolce) on Thursday, May 01, 2003 - 12:50 pm: Edit

bump

By Collegeguy (Collegeguy) on Friday, May 02, 2003 - 05:45 pm: Edit

did anyone who made the cutoff NOT get an envelope yet?

By Scrsteven (Scrsteven) on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 08:15 am: Edit

I got my envelope in FL already...How important is it which two schools you select in it? I don't know what college I want to go to yet, so I'm reluctant on narrowing it down to two? Can someone explain

By Carkles (Carkles) on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 05:12 pm: Edit

Okay, I'm in FL and I have a selection index of 219. I have not gotten my letter yet! Are my scores not high enough? Would the cut-off go up seven points from 1999? Scrsteven, what was your selection index?

By Scrsteven (Scrsteven) on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 05:13 pm: Edit

You probably shoulda gotten your letter by now. You definitely woulda made it, the highest its ever been in the last many years is 216, and it normally doesnt change but by one or two points...

By Ladydi (Ladydi) on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 05:26 pm: Edit

Does anyone know where can I find a list of the 2003 National Merit Semifinalists and Commended Students for Florida? There is nothing on the NM website, and I haven't been able to find anything on point via the usual search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.). Help!

By Amd (Amd) on Monday, May 05, 2003 - 11:51 pm: Edit

Dolce,

The schools get a list of NM Semi-finalists and will contact you by mail. If you want, you can contact them ahead of time.

amd

By Dolce (Dolce) on Saturday, May 10, 2003 - 05:34 pm: Edit

Do we need to send SAT scores to National Merit, or do they automatically get them? We still have to choose 4 institutions to receive the free SAT reports from the May 3 test, and I wasn't sure if we should choose NM as one of the 4. Thanks!

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Saturday, May 10, 2003 - 10:17 pm: Edit

You will need to send SAT scores to National Merit through the College Board. You can choose NM as one of the four free reports or have them send the scores later.

By Autodidact (Autodidact) on Sunday, May 11, 2003 - 11:40 pm: Edit

Dolce: You have to verify your PSAT results with SAT results, so if your son definitely will not be retesting, go ahead and designate NMSC as one of your four freebies. If, however, you want to see the results first, ie child didn't feel confident of results, or didn't feel well when testing, hold off, get results then pay the additional $$$ to send the results. They have the option to test in the fall if results aren't up to what they think they're capable.
You do not need to specify your choice of college or major. Since you've said $$$ are important, don't give up this advantage in leveraging for financial aid. You need only notify them by late April (this year was the 23rd, but it could vary.) The date will be in your letter. With permission, you can get an extention through May 31, if you are having difficulty making up your mind or are waitlisted. Good Luck!

Carkles: Did you receive your letter yet? Sometimes it takes longer and there are probably multiple mailing days. Check with your guidance counselor and principal, sometimes they misplace mail. It is possible for the numbers to take a large jump, but not probable. Every year is getting more competitive. Good Luck!

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 05:33 pm: Edit

wait...i have to send NMSC my SAT scores???? did they say this in the letter because i dont remember reading it...then again, i probably DIDNT read it. From the semi-finalists, how do they choose the finalists because they dont seem to knock off too many, i think only 1000? thanks!

By Desprateslacker (Desprateslacker) on Thursday, July 24, 2003 - 11:44 pm: Edit

does cornell sponsor the nmsc

By Medusa2003 (Medusa2003) on Friday, July 25, 2003 - 08:26 pm: Edit

Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa does but not the Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. I assume you meant the latter.

By Iceangeljt (Iceangeljt) on Saturday, December 20, 2003 - 06:00 pm: Edit

question : what are considered "mediocre" grades that would disqualify one for NMF? I have about a 3.6 UW, 3.8 W... is that good enough?

By Dewey7 (Dewey7) on Sunday, April 18, 2004 - 10:49 pm: Edit

Am I correct in understanding that the cutoffs provided in the Princeton Review reports designate the cutoffs for commended scholars and higher or is the cutoff for the semifinalist designation? I am from AZ where the cutoff is 212. I received a 206. Am I only eligible for my parents' congratulations?