May I ask which state? We have not yet heard from our school nor received anything by post. Thanks!
We are in Washington and have not received a letter. My daughter got information from the school only because she emailed her counselor and asked her to check â she hasnât been given anything in writing other than a response congrats email from the counselor. No formal announcement has been made.
Maybe next weekâŠ
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Michigan.
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Mine contacted her counselor, and she told her. Iâm sure they wouldnât mind!
My sonâs counselor said he couldnât release the information yet. (I assume theyâre planning some kind of an announcement.) But a different counselor at a school in our district already told their students so thereâs apparently no standard.
Follow up question. Trying to figure out what if any school to designate as â1st choice.â I donât think any of the schools she applied to gives specific NMF aid, but she would like to use this to stand out from the pack on some of her apps. Would an Ivy (non HYP) or top tier LAC even consider this when they state they donât consider demonstrated interest? I ask because I know colleges, especially Ivies and top LACs want to keep up high yield rates. But, one reason apps are up so much at these schools is because students are applying to more colleges. Will these places worry that they are losing students to HYPS or each other and value he designation?
Should she even inform the colleges she applied to about the finalist status, since most nmsfs get finalist? Will they be looking to see if they are #1 if she does? Have I totally overthought all this? 
Thanks for any insights from those in the know.
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I donât think that is what they are referring to when they talk about demonstrated interest. @skieurope do you have an insight or an opinion on this?
Yes, you have
If you donât want to offer any insight into the issue, thatâs fine, but no need to post then.
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I have my opinion; the group of schools you mentioned will not consider it as demonstrated interest. Nor do I think it will impact their admissions decisions either way.
That said, congrats to her.
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Fwiw, D22 isnât notifying schools of NMF or Presidential Scholar (more selective). Schools have the SF status and test scores - IMO, these donât add meaningfully more information.
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In NC here! Still havenât been notified yet!
Just got in informed delivery
Los Angeles
In our hands likely tomorrow
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I see my Dâs letter in our informed delivery notice for todayâs mail. She has not heard anything at school though.
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Same here in NY.
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Just got the letter. Really nice honor.
Can someone explain the first choice requirement? My D had selected her ED school from which she was deferred. She has no idea what her first choice school is at this point. What should she do? What impact does it have on getting an award from the school she will ultimately attend? Thanks
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There are only certain schools in which this would be a good deal. For us, USC and Northeastern
You may want to check her list to see in which ones will be a good deal. The Ivys or the UCs do not care.
I would list the one in which it will have the biggest impact
I think it tells that college that she will be likely to attend if chosen
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Most schools who give scholarships to NMSF or NMF require the student to name that school as their âfirst choiceâ in order to qualify.
There is no point in listing a school that does not provide scholarships for National Merit.
My D22 is still listed as âundecidedâ until she picks which school that gives a scholarship she is most likely to attend.
She isnât likely to attend the one with the biggest scholarship, so she wonât list that one. If she does, and the National Merit Corp sends out her name with that school on March 1, she could make herself ineligible for the scholarship at the school she is more likely to attend.
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As long as she change schools by May 1 it is ok.
The date is because by March 1 you will not know where you have been admitted to.
It is ok to use the March 1 to try to see if it will make an impact on the selection to the one that offers any kind of scholarship that you have rated highest, and then to change to the one you are admitted to if the first choice school denied you
Based on last yearâs thread, once a school awards a student their scholarship, the student cannot go back and change their first choice and still get the scholarship from the new school â even if it is before May 1.
That means the student needs to be 100% sure they will enroll if accepted at their first choice.
Also, I would be surprised if many admissions offices pay any attention to the first-choice lists. Those donât even get sent out until after March 1 and the schools only see the names of the students who listed them â they donât see everyoneâs picks.
By that stage in the game, most schools are close to done with their admission lists. If they even bothered to look at the National Merit names they receive, they donât know which students didnât bother to apply to Finalist status, which students are remaining undecided until they see financial aid packages, and which named another school.
I donât think the âfirst choiceâ thing has anything to do with increasing the chance at admission except perhaps at schools that require you to name your first choice by March instead of May (just a few of those, based on last yearâs thread â donât know if Boston College and Boston Univ still do that).
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