I really dislike the “system” which basically requires students to “fit into the box”. There are many, many students that will not apply themselves completely because the “busy work” quotient is very high, or because the class or information is not presented in an engaging way, etc. etc. My S11 is brilliant, took all the most advanced courses offered at high school, but because he had ADHD, danced to the beat of a different drummer, along with some other issues - he struggled often with grades. He was never going to “fit into the box”…in fact he was so far away he never even could see the box! And as time went on, I grew to admire and celebrate that fact more and more!
@ 4kidstograduate. We are in the same boat! This is the first essay my d is writing. Our school has a “Balanced Calendar”. She started school 7/29- so she did not have a few days before school started to work on her college applications. I am finding that I dislike the balanced calendar more and more with each year of high school.
The calendar has interfered with research opportunities, the ability to get and work a summer job, and summer dance opportunities that extend through August. And, they have a two week long spring break just before taking the AP exams (research indicates it only takes three before students forget a significant amount of what they have learned).
Now we have college application time and kids in other school districts were able to get a head start while my d was busy getting school work done, maintaining high GPA, and participating extracurricular activities.
And, guess what we found out last week??? The guidance counselors wanted all college applications in by 9/28 because they will be taking their two week vacation in October. They state they can not guarantee things will be processed before the November1 deadline that many colleges have for scholarships unless the students complete their applications by 9/28.
There is a lot of stress going on in our household as we try to figure out how to handle this. We decided to have GC send in transcripts before she finished all her apps. We will most likely have to figure out how to complete the rest of her apps and get letters of recommendations forwarded during fall break without the assistance of the school… this is in spite of the fact that our school uses Naviance and things should be processed thru Naviance.
Cheering on all those last minute submissions! Ours is in. Watching for GC to complete her part, then we pray and wait.
Every time I try to get back in the College Confidential Groove, something in Life blows up. Sheesh. Anyway, good luck to those who are still working on their NMF app, though the deadline is apparently tomorrow!
For any last-minute folks, I definitely recommend using abbreviations (assuming the abbreviations can be understood) to maximize all space on the app. This is probably more important for the students w/borderline grades. My DS had one semester C in 10th & he used Every. Single. Space. Available. to highlight his awards & ECs, but it was challenging. Not everything would fit.
@Barfly had the excellent suggestion of asking the GC to address anything special the student has done and/or highlight other student accomplishments that would not fit in the student app.
@PoetEnthusiast, you posted a question about the essay you should write. Don’t you have a certain number of topics to choose from for the NMF essay? I’m trying to remember if DS had a few topics he had to choose from, but he wrote about a person who has influenced his life. That was one of the topics from last year, as I recall. Hopefully you got that part done, but do be sure to confirm that you’re writing an essay on-topic - if that was your question.
Good luck to everyone still working on that app - though hopefully there aren’t many of you!
Woot! Just called National Merit. They have D-16’s SAT scores, and BOTH her and the school’s portions of the app are submitted!
Big sigh of relief – which I will revel in because college apps have come to a complete halt during a pretty intense VB season. Hopefully next week’s monster 6-school, 6-day college trip will clarify things.
Now for the waiting.
So guys my counselor haven’t finalized my application and didnt login until earlier today. The due date says BY October 7 does that mean on October 7 or before October 7 cuz im freakin out
My understanding is if you have your part in by the deadline, they are understanding about the GC’s part. (Someone at NM told me that over the phone.) If there is a reason for a lengthy delay, I believe you can request a waiver?? I believe I saw a previous post about that.
Does anyone know if the deadline is Oct. 7 at 12:00am? or Oct. 7 11:59pm? Because my school hasn’t submitted its portion yet and I’m starting to worry.
I’m writing this message to alleviate stress on the part of parents/students/families worried about their schools submitting their apps by tomorrow’s deadline. I am very type-A, and was basically freaking out because my child’s school told me a few weeks ago they planned to submit the apps by today or tomorrow. I am NOT a last-minute submitter and cannot understand why anyone in their right mind would be. But I’m also uptight and stressed pretty much all the time! OK so to each his own.
So a couple days ago I called NM Corp. They are about as nice and as accommodating as anyone could ever be. They said not to worry–in their mind, the Oct 7 “deadline” is more of the date when they start following up with schools who have not submitted their NMSF apps. The staff person told me they will NOT penalize a student if the school didn’t submit the app–it’s not the student’s fault (the student portion must be turned into the school, which in turn will submit the whole app–that’s my understanding).
Last night (Oct 5), I received an email from NM Corp asking me to electronically sign a form allowing my child’s information to be submitted to them in connection with the NM Scholarship competition. In that email, a parent can see the pdf of their child’s application. Once the child submits the app, a parent can no longer see the pdf (a message will appear that the application has been submitted and is no longer available to view). During my phone call to NM Corp, they said the real fixed deadline is in December (the one every SF MUST meet)–and that is when a SF’s confirming SAT score MUST be sent to NM Corp and received in-house. As a side note, NM Corp will let you know if your child’s SAT score is on file (mine was–I sent a College Board score report request a few weeks ago).
So my advice is–if you are worrying–go ahead and call into NM Corp if it makes you feel better. Good luck everyone!
Someone please answer this quickly. This may have been asked already, but I can’t find the question.
Is the deadline tonight by midnight, or is it tomorrow night by midnight?
Please let me know because “by October 7th” can mean different things.
Thanks.
U.S. Boarding Schools=“Varies”
@Suzy100 Any idea what the boarding school cutoff ended up being? Have they defined what “varies” specifically means?
@czarpeter Here is the text of their ruling regarding the deadline:
“Submit the completed application to your high school official as soon as possible using NMSC’s Online Scholarship Application (OSA). The school official will complete the school’s sections of the application for final transmittal to NMSC by October 7, 2015.”
I bet this all anyone who isn’t NMSC knows at the moment. I suggest if you haven’t submitted your side do it tonight before midnight CST (it doesn’t take that much time), but if you are worried about the school’s half, see #1749 and then you can relax. 
@suzyQ7 - the boarding school cutoffs vary by region. Typically, they will pick up the highest cutoff from the states that form the region. For example, for the midwest boarding school region, they used the Texas cutoff which was 220.
@arisamp I have seen that in the past- but it would have been nice for the NMS folks to include those specific areas and scores in the 2016 finalist list of cutoffs. More ambiguity… I guess people can ASSUME the regions are the same as last year, but there is nothing concrete for 2016- as far as I can see.
@suzyQ7 - it would be nice if the boarding school cut offs were listed - but I have never seen them on any list!
I finally stumbled upon the entire Georgia list, if anyone is interested.
http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/Lists/Announcements/Attachments/884/16%20GA%20Semifinalists-NatlMeritProgram.pdf
This may be somewhat atypical situation & hope the wise ones on this thread will offer advise.
My DS is a NMSF. My DH retired from a corporate sponsor that offers awards to employees- NOT retirees. But, DH has gone back to the corporation working part-time- less than the 20 hours required for the eligibility (don’t worry- I checked & double-checked that requirement 
)
When filling out the application- it was not an option to check both retired & employee & DS checked ‘employee.’
Will NMS corporation just assume he is eligible for the corporate award-(for which we did not fill out the paperwork because we knew he was not eligible) & not consider him for a general award?
From what I have read- the NMS employees seem to be helpful- should I call them and discuss this or since the application is submitted is it too late?
Congrats to the applying-for-NMF NMSFs! To be honest, the essay for the NM application was the only one I wrote for the college process. 
Of course, I was only applying to “safety schools with easy apps, no essay requirement, and great NMF scholarships.” :-h
Question… Maybe I haven’t searched deep enough but the cutoff that I’m seeing for NM Commendation is 202 for the Class of 2016. I received a 204 (63,76,65)but have received no word of Commendation and it’s 17 October… Was the cutoff higher? Did I get the commendation? Why no letter? Thanks, guys!
Did you call NMSC? Do so. They are very helpful.