I also didn’t make it… I’m disappointed and shocked but it’s okay! Congrats and good luck to all.
I made it as a National Semi-Finalist!!! Whoooo!!! Good job everyone 
I didn’t make it as well. Congrats to all the semi-finalists!
Were we supposed to get an email if we didn’t win?
Didn’t make it lol
Don’t lose hope! I just got a letter in the mail (snail mail) saying that even though I didn’t move on I will still receive a 1200$ scholarship from my state association
@DryMango what state are you from?
My daughter got an email that she is a national semi finalist. They gave her a link to fill out an application for finalist but when do you know if your selected for an interview and when do they let you know how much scholarship you get if you were a semi finalist?
I get $1500 from my local chapter. As well as at least 4k from nationals. Arizona here.
@sebrown21 the association that awarded me the scholarship was CA-Hawaii
Just found this thread. National semi-finalist here! Does anyone have a judging criteria sheet? I found one from years ago, but I know that it is outdated because it has no mention of a teacher recommendation in scoring. Maybe there’s one from last year??? Just curious
just wondering if anyone knows how they are doing to write their essay to advance to the MVS weekend?
@airvball123 What do you mean? My essay is coming along really well if that is what you are asking.
Not to burst bubbles but the essay is a relatively small role in the MVS weekend selection process. They pick kids who have a super high composite score overall, which typically means very poor kids with very high test scores.
You can write a kick-butt essay and not be needy enough to make it. Just the reality.
Courtney, I appreciate your insight. My daughter is currently finishing up her essays. She has 3.97 unweighted GPA, 1420 SAT and income of 38K. Any thoughts if that will put her in the ballpark of moving on to finals?
@CourtneyThurston previous post.
@cjtwer how many people are supported on that income?
For perspective, I had a friend move on two years ago. He was literally homeless and had an SAT of like 1550, and a 4.0. That tends to be the level they’re looking for.
@cjtwer Those stats are obviously really good, but you have to remember that these students are the best from each state. I have the same income, a 4.0 unweighted, and a 1470 SAT. I consider my stats a low chance of advancing. Obviously, your daughter has an even lower chance by those numbers alone.
But it sounds like she’ll be more competitive than I was by a factor of almost 2 due to the income. So that’s something. Definitely worth finishing the essay and trying, you never really know. Not everyone in the top 20 is destitute, etc.
And personally I thought my app probably would’ve been in contention if not for the higher income, so 
A small differential in SAT or GPA is not going to make the difference at this point. It’s going to be income levels more than anything, and once they cut down the kids with unacceptable GPA/SAT (who got to state level based on very high point values in other categories), they’ll be looking for exceptional ECs like self-started internships/non-profit work/etc.