@3scoutsmom FYI - Here is the screen from D’s account. It shows that she submitted her app on 09/20/15, but the school hasn’t yet.
"1) Read the Competition Instructions carefully.
Click here for competition instructions and deadlines
You submitted your portion of the application on 09/20/15.
Your school official has not transmitted the completed application to NMSC."
Thanks @lonetreegrad I don’t think I have access to D’s account, just the parent account I had to set up. I’ll ask her to check it tonight.
Just called the NMSC. A very nice man told me that they have received D’s SAT score and is well above the cutoff. I told him that I am worried that the school is taking too long to complete their part and he said not to worry. NMSC will contact her school to make sure their portion is done, even if it is after the deadline of Oct 7th!
@scoutsmom You’re welcome. I got tired of waiting for D to tell me what she has done/completed or not, so I asked her for her password. I don’t care, if they call me a helicopter parent! When there are thousands of dollars at stake, I will definitely act like a helicopter mom!! ;
@lonetreegrad … Thanks for clarifying about seeing the status of the school portion! At least in this one instance, I’m not going crazy!! In every other aspect of my life…we’ll just have to wait for all the facts to come in before jumping to any conclusions. 8-}
@Wolverine86 You’re welcome. I agree 
@Wolverine86 If student and school portions are submitted independent of each other, I am confused about @3scoutsmom quote above that says:
Your student has submitted his or her application to the high school and you no longer have the option to view the PDF. Please refer any questions to your school or contact NMSC by phone (847) 866-5162 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Central Time.
Why would the student’s portion have to be submitted to the high school instead of directly to NMSC?
I apologize for beating this to death…but the logical side of my brain is just trying to understand!
I do think the student’s part has to be done first; my impression is that the school is confirming the student’s information.
@4kids2graduate … The student’s portion is submitted online through NMSC’s OSA portal, independent of the school portion. The HS may get a notification, and possibly a copy of the material the student submits, but the student portion goes directly to NMSC primarily. When D2 submitted her package last year, she had all of her materials in before the school submitted anything from their portion and NMSC confirmed receipt of everything. Nothing from the student portion needs to be forwarded by the school or anything like that, nor does the school need to wait for anything from the student in order to submit their part.
In the past, when everything was done on paper, the student had to complete their portion and turn that in to the school. The GC would then assemble the entire package and forward that to NMSC. That was the process we went through with D1 in the fall of '10 when she was a senior. The online process they have now is easier overall I think, and at least NMSC can now see and know that the student portion has been completed in a timely fashion.
When clicking “View Application”, there is a section at the bottom with the categories Cl, % Col, Rank, Type, Maj, Car, and Col#. What does this mean?
I know Maj = major, Car = career interest, and Col# probably means College number.
Hey so I didn’t start the essay yet because my school is very complicated. It’s due the 7th right? Also what are some recommended topics? Is it better to be very personal or talk about an event I planned?
My son FINALLY submitted his application. @Wolverine86 the email received after submission said in part:
“Your National Merit Scholarship Application has been submitted to your high school official. The high school official must take the final step of transmitting the application to NMSC.”
It seems to indicate that it goes to the school official (although I am sure it is in the NM database as well). The email I received had a PDF copy of his portion, and when printed it was sections D and E only. I am now assuming the school part must be sections A, B, and C?
For some reason…although I am relieved he finally submitted, I actually feel a little more nervous overall. I guess it is because the rest of the process is completely out of our control!
As a side note…my son is very humble and totally opposed to anything related to bragging. So, we argued a bit about his activities section, what was most important, and how to accurately indicate number of hours. He could have had more substance there, and he could have listed categories in order to include multiple activities on one line (ie: he could have listed Music: 5 instruments, summer music camps x4, 3 outside ensembles, etc.)…instead he put one ensemble on one line (at least it is with a non-traditional instrument), and piano on a second line - and that was all for anything related to his musical pursuits. We discussed at length, but he would not waver. His activity list is fairly light the way he listed it. However, I shouldn’t complain because if he gets NMF we will be blessed with so many options!
@4kids2graduate … Great to hear he got his part submitted. I guess it’s 6 of one, half-dozen of the other regarding the school “bundling” their portion with the student’s. In any case the application package isn’t considered complete until the school submits their part with the student portion included. Hopefully your GC is getting up to speed on what they need to do. I understand completely about feeling nervous waiting on someone else to do their part though. Knowing how much money can potentially be on the line makes it hard to be patient with everyone else involved. :!!
D just informed me that the gc submits the school’s part for everyone at the same time and won’t be sending them in until the 7th. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!
Spoke with NM office today. They confirm receipt of SAT and student portion. The school portion is not completed yet. They said if school needs more time, they need to communicate with NM office and ask for extension. Will have DD to follow up with her GC on Monday.
@3scoutsmom my D’s school does it the same way your D’s does. In fact, in the original packet of information, the school included a letter which set the deadline for the students as Oct. 4, so they can review everything and make sure it’s ok before they submit all of the students’ applications together on the 7th. My D had to turn in a brag sheet packet to her GC on Sept. 21st, so the school could start on their part. Of course, D, being the procrastinator that she is, is waiting till this weekend to submit her part. I think she’s been working on paring down her CA essay to more easily fit with the NM prompt. I’ll be glad when she’s done!
Son’s GC sent him a reminder to get everything in on Tuesday. I suppose she could have said, “I’ve seen your transcript; don’t bother.” I like that he’s giving it a try even though his chances of being NMF are minuscule.
@mstomper I have read that sometimes the GC can go to bat for a student and help explain some poor grades on the transcript from earlier years, share some insight about how they got from “there” to “here”, etc …could that be an option in your son’s case?
No matter what, I am cheering him on and hoping for the best!
@4kidstograduate, the GC knows that the reason for his low grades is not doing assignments that didn’t appeal to him sophomore and junior years (we had a meeting with her and the head of the magnet program). I think thT kind of thing is much less likely to happen in college, where a lot of “bright slackers” do well. His old man is living proof of that, even though my test scores were nowhere close to his.