<p>I got a 214 in the state of massachusetts (...we have the highest cutoff.. great times...223 last year) and since I am clearly not going to be a NMSF I was curious does this hold a high level of importance? Or is it just something that CC users like to stress about?</p>
<p>Its not important that important for top colleges; it might shave off 1k/2k a year at most.</p>
<p>The only use for it is to go to second tier public schools on full rides.</p>
<p>well it becomes more important if you are a NMF, which is 90-something %.
In that case you can get full-rides to some pretty nice colleges (OU, UofA) or scholarships to nicer ones (UT, UF).</p>
<p>Well, even if it doesn't pay that much, i'm sure it looks good on applications.</p>
<p>Even for Ivys and other top places?</p>
<p>Its a very prestigious honor, though more common at the top universities. But at your flagship state school it should shave a lot off tuition.</p>
<p>Top tier colleges do like to see NMSF on an application, but it won't make or break your application. The $1000 or so is nice though.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the school, at competitive private or public schools not being NMSF can cost you admission at top schools (HYPMSC).</p>
<p>But if your school don't have many NMSF and your are in top 10%, then NMSF is just nice to have.</p>
<p>NMSF doesnt matter all that much at all. dont stress out about it. there are people in my high school who got into much better schools even though they werent NMSF than did those who were</p>
<p>It's my understanding that they way to get Finalist and then Scholar (if there's even a difference) is by writing essays. Even if NMSF is common for an applicant to HYPSMC (is the C for Caltech or Columbia? lol), having NSF or higher (again, if there is even anything higher) is much less common, more prestigious, and shows them that you actually did work for the award.</p>