<p>i have been read ing a lot of threads here and i have a few questions.</p>
<p>i know that my D will take the PSAT in october. this is the test that will either earn (or not earn) her a NMSF spot. not sure when these results are delivered.
after that, there is a letter sent informing the student if they are NMSF. </p>
<p>when does that come?</p>
<p>after that, i gather tht the student must fill out an app. and write an essay ( among other things) to apply to be a NMF. i also see that most (90%) of the NMSF become NMF.</p>
<p>when is a student notified of NMF status?</p>
<p>i am sure i have more questions, but these will have to be it for now.</p>
<p>I took the PSAT last October, and my NMSF notification came last week. So, it takes practically a year. To qualify for NMF, I have to write an essay (about one page) and fill out an app, then give it to my guidance counselor. </p>
<p>I'm not sure when students are notified of NMF status, but I know that it is not before when college applications are usually due (Early January).</p>
<p>so when you get your grade a couple months after taking the test, you don't really know if you "made it" or not because the cutoff score is not known at that time??</p>
<p>you can try to "guess' whether you will qualify based on last years qualifying scores only??</p>
<p>is that correct?</p>
<p>and then when you fill out the NMF app. that is when you list your top choice??</p>
<p>When my daughter took the test, the grades came back and they looked pretty good to me, but I knew nothing about the Nat. Merit process. I visited the GC near the end of school to ask about looking at colleges over the summer, and when she pulled the test results from the files. her eyebrows went up a bit and she said that D would probably be a NMF--which meant nothing at the time. I did a bit of research over the summer to learn about the program. Usually a score above 200 means that a student will be at least commended--this has been fairly consistent over the years, but may change by a point or two. This minimum score is the same for everyone in every state--about 50,000 students earn this score or above. 16,000 of those 50,000 students become Nat, Merit Semi-finalists. The score that a student needs is different from state to state, and is really never posted by the Nat. Merit Corp--but it is usually very close to the score that was required in that same state the year before--again, maybe a point or two different. Students who make NMF are given a packet by their GC in early Sept. They must fill it out--including a short essay, grades from every quarter since Fresh. year, lists of honors, EC's, etc. They also must be an American citizen. This is sent back, and out of the 16,000, 15,000 make it to finalist. You are given a card to list your top choice, but it is not due until the Spring of senior year, and there is no advantage to sending it in early--schools that are looking for NMF's will already have all the info they need to make contact with the student. I think that the only kids who may have a difficult time going through all of this waiting are the ones that are very, very close to last years cut-off score--other than that, it is a very cut and dry process.</p>
<p>The packet given to the semifinalists requires an essay. How 'creative' should the students get with the essay? Would this be similar to a college essay? As to the scholarships that are awarded, are they evaluating in the typical fashion that a college admissions person would? Any information would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>This is how it works, I went through this process for the National Merit program:
1. Take PSAT in Oct of Junior yr
2. Receive scores in December
3. Find out if you're named semi in early September
4. GC will give you your application
5. Application is necessary to move on to Finalist status, you must also have taken the SAT's by December of Senior year
6. NMF status is determined by grades and SAT score (needs to be close to your PSAT score to ensure you didn't cheat-you have a long rope on this one) only; if you get the scholarship money is determined by your ECs and essays
7. I don't know how they evaluate who gets the money, but it is similar to college admissions except based on merit
8. I got a scholarship and just wrote an essay about myself- I think it should be rather serious and definitely not a huge risk
9. You find out if you made Finalist in February and if you got the money by April
10. There are several types of scholarships: College based, National Merit based, or Corporate based
11. College based-you took a scholarship at a college that gives National merit money-can be up to full tuition+ (you'll find out these colleges soon enough-they'll spam you with mail)
12. National Merit based ($2500 for 1 yr)-that is based on the college admissions/merit program
13. Corporate ($2000 for 4 yrs)-depends where your parents work you may be eligible for money
Hope this helps.</p>