Our school and county are silent too. Even the state (Florida) hasn’t done a press release. If I hadn’t seen the list here, I still wouldn’t know.
@mtmom3girls Would you mind sharing what the email from USF referenced? Was it just a congratulatory note, or was there an invite to an NMSF event on campus? Thanks1
DS received an email from USF too. Not a congratulatory email; just a note saying to be sure to check out their website to learn more about the National Merit Scholarship® Program at the University of South Florida. On the NMS page, you can register for their Scholar’s Experience Campus Tour. For OOS National Merit Semifinalists, they’ll pay for the hotel and the flight.
When you schedule the tour, you can choose the following:
Attend a class
Meet with an academic advisor
Visit the Honors College
Take a personalized tour of campus
Eat lunch in a campus dining hall
Meet with the Office of Undergraduate Research
Meet with Education Abroad
@Itazel Thank you!! Super helpful.
My D has still not heard anything from her Illinois school. FWIW her PSAT index is 226 if anyone knows IL score cutoff.
@Scubaski1 Illinois cutoff was 221. You will need to call the national merit scholarship people to hopefully get the ball rolling on the application.
Daughter just got pulled out of class and notified of her NMSF status (finally)! We are in Columbus area.
Looking for the Massachusetts list here - Are your GC supposed to contact you?
@janiemiranda Thanks… we’re getting no direction on this from our high school.
@Scubaski1 That’s a bummer. 
Hopefully the National Merit Scholarship people can get involved so your child can get started on the application.
Ironically their offices are located in Illinois
Sadly my ds has not received official notification from his school yet (FL). We do know, however, because we saw the state list elsewhere. It’s frustrating because if he won a championship in a sport I’m sure everyone would be made aware. Frustrated with counselors.
Has anyone started working on the application yet? The honors and awards has an extremely small limited number of characters.
@lkg4answers we haven’t even received information about the application yet… I’m glad this thread exists to get more info about the application. Interesting about the honors/awards section.
Yes, I think they just want the most significant things. DD had to get creative with her abbreviations, lol!
Ha! Our school doesn’t give accolades for sports or academic things like this, either. Equal treatment for all! But it is frustrating that people still haven’t been notified. The kids need to start on their applications, for pete’s sake!
Yesterday my child received this e-mail from a counselor. Mind you, the “by now, you’ve probably received news…” opener is ridiculous, as this was the first contact the school had with my child. No congratulations, okay, I get it, they like to downplay testing. But the tone of this e-mail is such a buzzkill: you may not want to apply, it’s a lot of work for you and for us. I was very disappointed that the school couldn’t have crafted a more positive communication.
"Good afternoon!
By now, you’ve probably received news that you have been selected as a Semi-Finalist in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. If you haven’t received the attached letter, please read it as it contains information on how to log into the National Merit application portal, should you choose to move forward in the process. Participation in the scholarship program is not mandatory and you may opt out. The application is lengthy and is an addition to your Dalton school work, extracurriculars and college applications–all things to consider before choosing to move forward.
You must email me back by Friday, September 20 if you plan to move forward, as the college office will also have to complete and submit materials on your behalf.
Important: The National Merit application deadline is Wednesday, October 9. As school is closed on October 9, we ask you to complete and submit your application by Monday, October 7. The College Office is unable to submit our portion until yours is submitted, so it is very important that you submit your application by October 7.
Again, you must email me back by Friday, September 20 if you want to move forward in the program. If you have any questions, please let me know."
@eastvillage That email is really obnoxious in my opinion. By not encouraging someone to continue the application process they could be costing the student thousands of dollars in scholarship money.
I agree… it is an audacious presumption of privilege. Of course, I will say nothing…at least until the application season is over.
@eastvillage The application doesn’t even look that " lengthy" from my first look at it.