Congratulations @julesmom19 !
@julesmom19 Congratulations! Would you mind sharing the essay prompt (assume that’s part of the packet)? we are still waiting on the school to let us know and that likely won’t happen for a couple of weeks. Want to get that out of the way this week if possible. Thanks!
I was just going to ask the same thing. My D’s English class is starting to work on college essays, and it would be great for her to be able to workshop this essay. Thanks!
Does the essay prompt change each year? I saw a prompt on Prepscholar "To help the reviewers get to know you, describe an experience you have had, a person who has influenced you, or an obstacle you have overcome. Explain why this is meaningful to you. " It would be nice if the personal essay for the CA would work. D21 has been having a hard time with the supplements, I am sure she will not be excited to write another one.
@AOP1925 when my D19 applied for nmf, she reused her CA prompt essay only. No need to write one extra on top of their overloaded college apps. FYI she did make nmf status.
@Suave123 Thanks, that is good to know. The whole application process is a bit overwhelming for D21.
@AOP1925 tell your D not to worry! The application is very simple. She can reuse her common app essay, although she may need to shorten it because I believe the word limit is 500. The rest is mostly just filling out info re activities, and these sections are very short. She will also need to make sure her GC or principal writes her a letter of rec, fills out and submits his/her portion of the app and that’s it!
Sigh. Well, no word from D21’s GC this past week, so we are going to have to wait until after Labor Day. :-/
@QQsubs, I can let you know. As homeschool parents, we have extra info to fill out before our daughter can access her portion of the application with the essay prompt.
Congratulations to all the new Semi-Finalists! A word of caution, NMSF or NMF status is only a big deal if you are going to a school that offers big scholarships for NMF. I was very disillusioned by the “weight” of the status. It will not help you get into that ‘reach’ school. You can get into them, but it will be because of your academic record, ECs and your essays, not your NMSC status.
Sorry to be Debbie downer.
Most reach schools do not participate in the NMSC process. The UC system dropped out a few years ago. USC is one of the few that does.
If you are in the donut hole with regard to “need based” aid, the NMSC status will be very helpful. Look through the threads on this site for help identifying the schools with good NMSC programs. The schools I see discussed most are UCF, Alabama, UT Dallas, ASU (my NMF is there), and USC (only 1/2 tuition, so not a home run in the Finance department).
^this and UF has a strong honors program (though with a 13% acceptance rate) and also offers a full-ride through the Benacquisto program (although its funding entirely rests on the state legislature, so assess the situation after decisions release in the Spring.)
NMSF is still a good achievement to list on your Common Application, but definitely won’t be the sole reason why your application is accepted or rejected at the top schools.
^^ I’d have to disagree about UF’s honors program. Most of what we’ve read and heard about it has been less than glowing. Other schools in Florida have stronger honors programs. That’s not to say UF isn’t a good school, however.
Also, they will not guarantee their full ride for a full 4 years in the event the state defunds the scholarship, while other Florida schools have represented the opposite.
How can you get a list of semifinalists from your state? My daughter told me that the local news outlets did not include semifinalists from her school last year. She thinks its because her school is new (2020 first graduating class) and the school is in an unincorporated area and is considered rural. TIA
It has been crickets chirping at DS21’s school. I searched for local news and there’s nothing published at the moment. We live in Southern California so it’s not like we’re an out-of-the-way place. I’m going to tell DS21 to reach out to his guidance counselor today.
I agree with @usma87 that getting NMF isn’t a big deal financially unless you attend one of the NMF schools in which case it’s amazing. DS21 had wanted UF until my Covid-induced negativity about the questionable status of Benacquisto’s longevity caused him to pull back and now his top choice schools are ones that don’t do NMF awards.
We still have not heard anything from D21’s school. However I just called our County Office of Education and they were kind enough to confirm D21’s name is on the list. ?
Still haven’t heard anything from school or the local news media. So, my daughter decided to call NMSC directly, and they confirmed that she is a semifinalist. 
First off, congratulations to all the semifinalists!
We haven’t heard anything from our school and I suspect we will hear any thing at least till mid next week. It is frustrating that the school had the names and OAS creds since at least last Wednesday. But, to be fair I guess the schools/GCs are also overwhelmed. Could someone who has the OSA credentials please confirm if the following prompt is still valid this year? Thanks!
“To help the reviewers get to know you, describe an experience you have had, a person who has influenced you, or an obstacle you have overcome. Explain why this is meaningful to you. Use your own words and limit your response to the space provided.”
DD21 has a score of 219 in Iowa, so I guess I shouldn’t worry, but it would be nice to see/hear it officially. Other HS in town tweeted out their semifinalists, but ours hasn’t and neithe school district office or local paper have either. Patience, Iago.
To all my fellow Californians - I found an article in the San Diego Union Tribune that linked to a list of all California NMSF.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/north-county-community-news/story/2020-09-10/county-students-named-as-national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists