Hi all, I know we have a few other strings but wanted to start just one more now that the “official” word is out on who made Semifinalist. At least I think today was the official day even though many of you already have known for many months! My daughter is in Maine and we knew but it was just acknowledged by her high school today so it feels more real now.
Where are you thinking of going? Toured any of the schools with big National Merit packages? Any tips on how to NOT mess up becoming a Finalist?
We really need our daughter to take advantage of one of the big National Merit Finalist packages - for us, that means her moving very far away from Maine and heading south. She recently toured 2 Florida colleges (USF and UCF). We may have a few reach schools with competitive scholarships on the list as well but am so grateful for what doors this National Merit status is opening up for those of us who do not have the money set aside for high college costs! Congrats to all you other semifinalists (and parents!) and lets share our knowledge!
@FrozenMaineMom great idea for a thread! Since this is still quite a process that has to play out, it will be nice to have a thread going for support and info!
S19 will apply to 3 schools with big NMF packages. Alabama (applied/waiting on transcripts) and UF/UCF (planning to apply.) He has 2 OOS publics that require very competitive merit for him to attend. He has a shot but plenty of great kids get absolutely nothing at those 2 schools.
We went to visit UA last winter and came away very impressed. At the time we knew he would qualify for the Presidential Elite scholarship. UA become a top contender and S19 removed any schools on his extensive list that he felt came up short in comparison. With the NMF package now in play, it remains high on S19’s list.
We have a trip planned to visit UF and UCF in the beginning of November. We are waiting to receive actual NMSC letter before contacting UCF for a special NMSF tour. We have already scheduled UF general and engineering tours. I will definitely touch base afterwards with our experience at each school. S19 likes big football schools, so I imagine he will like both.
As for making it to finalist - SAT scores have already been sent to NMSC. His scores, transcripts are fantastic. The only unknowns are his essay and recommendations. I don’t anticipate any issues but hate to get ahead of ourselves.
Re: the essay - use single spacing, and use the preview feature before you submit to make sure your essay fits in the space provided. We learned this the hard way!
Even though I warned S about the potential for the essay to be cut off, he clicked submit without checking the preview and his double-spaced essay was truncated even though it was under the word count limit.
He still advanced to Finalist, but we’re pretty sure it dropped him out of consideration for any of the NMSC direct awards.
@mountainmomof3 We contacted Luke Van Baricom at UCF and Winsome Nesbitt at USF. They are both in charge of the National Merit programs and both were extremely helpful and responsive by email. Both of those schools have info on their websites about their Nation Merit offerings and both are also having events in November specifically to try to attract the Semifinalists. UCF’s event is Friday Nov. 16 and then USF is on Sat. the 17th. We are not able to get back to FL for November but my husband had to be in FL the week before Labor Day for a short trip for work and so my daughter tagged along and they went to visit both schools for a day each. I had contacted both of those people about 10 days prior to their visit and they were able to arrange pretty thorough visits. USF had them meet with several academic advisors and a great tour and lunch and explanation of the scholarship and its perks. At UCF Luke also explained the scholarship and had them take a tour which included the Towers housing – this is where honors housing is and it blows away any other dorms that my daughter has seen. Then they met with a director at the Burnett Honors College which sounds so robust and amazing and I think that is what impressed my daughter and husband the most. I think without the honors college then my daughter would find UCF much too large but the honors college inclusiveness changes that some.
@FrozenMaineMom - thanks! S19 will only look at UF and UCF as he is interested in engineering. I will have him reach out to Luke at UCF to set something up for our visit. He has a conflict with the November NMSF event so we had to plan something earlier in the month.
great. Please share your thoughts afterward. I know that UF has a fabulous reputation and am not sure if we will check them out still or not. I would love to hear what you think of it. This might sound really stupid but I like the fact that UCF is in Orlando because the airport is in Orlando and I want to make travel back to Maine as easy as possible and we have some familiarity with Orlando
Not a stupid reason at all. S19 will be coming from CO so that is a consideration as well. I do imagine they have some type of service from UF to major airports. Most of the schools we have looked at had some type of arrangement set up. I will be sure to ask about logistics in addition to the rest!
@FrozenMaineMom and @mountainmomof3 let me know if you have UCF questions. My daughter tweeted earlier this week that she has ever been happier in her entire life. So life is good as a Golden knight so far.
@Phlipper Thinking about going down to NMSF dinner in November after reviewing some posts here. Was originally planning on visiting in the spring (maybe NM Scholar dinner?). Do you have an opinion on which visit to make. (Likely only make one.)
@Reebtoor and @Phlipper – I am wondering about that too! Since my daughter just visited UCF and we cannot afford to send her back to see it again in November, I was trying to remember if they also did something in the Spring. Any idea what the difference is between the two events? Any idea if they do the spring one every year and when it usually is?
Also, @ Phlipper, did your daughter happen to receive any outside scholarships? I’m wondering, if UCF is covering full cost of attendance, if it makes sense to still apply for some of the small private scholarships that we were planning on or if it useless because UCF would not be able to give the money to the student? any knowledge of that?
@Reebtoor The UCF dinner in the spring really is pretty cool. You get to have dinner with the chair of your son/daughters major and they give you a medal that is the size of a hubcap. We went on an individual tour in December and it was just gorgeous. That was what really sold my daughter. Again, anyone and everyone that has questions just tag me.
@FrozenMaineMom She did not apply for outside scholarships and so far she has money left over. They told us that if there were outside scholarships you could ask them to write the check directly since any amount coming through UCF would be deducted from the Full COA scholarship.
For anyone interested in UCF, I just found out from Luke at UCF that the dinner they invite Finalists to is going to be March 29 this year and invitations will go out in February…
Has anyone’s S or D tried uploading their essay and looked at it in preview mode? I was surprised when my S showed me that his appears to fit, but it is >600 words. I read somewhere that the space allows 500-600 words, and I know there is a risk of it being cut off (there is a red line). If anyone else has checked theirs, it would be great to hear!
Still waiting on packet from school. They misplaced material and are requesting new info Ughhh. Happened to older D too, Can you believe it.? On Brighter side when calling NM office to confirm status (SI 227 so not really in doubt) was told S!I for finalist will not be above 212, so D’s 224 already gets her there.
