Got it. Thank you for the clarification.
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Sorry, sent to wrong person
We donāt need Alternate Entry, but Iām curious how kids are qualifying as I thought they strictly limiting AE āpostā covid. Thanks, just curious and congrats.
Although they are strictly limiting AE, they have not eliminated it. AE is for students who cannot take the PSAT for any number of reasons on the available test dates. These reasons include but are not limited to illness, inability to find a testing location (studentās school does not offer the PSAT), testing irregularities during a PSAT test administration, inclement weather/natural disaster, and so on. A school representative has to sign off on AE requests, and the request is reviewed by NMSC.
My D22 was a NMF who qualified via traditional entry in the year where AE was needed for many but also abused by a large number. Due to C19, NMSC was approving all AE requests, and the school did not have to sign off on the request. However, that has now changed. As has always been the case, AE is meant to provide all juniors the ability to participate in the NMSC competition, and we are beyond grateful that my sonās circumstances didnāt prevent him from being eligible.
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Iām so confused about NMS. My C21 didnāt make the cut-off, so I didnāt have to worry.
My S24 missed the PSAT so we applied to take the alternative entry, which was given at his school in March 23. How do I know if he makes the cut-off? I calculated it based upon what I found online and it seems like he might, but I havenāt seen what the cut-off is officially? And, how will I know if he makes the semi-finalist versus the commended cut-off? And if he makes the semi-finalist cut-off, does that usually trigger the NMS college tuition discounts or does he have to go through the application process to become a finalist for all schools? Since he took the SAT as an AE, does he also have to take another SAT or ACT (which heās done) to get a āconfirmingā score?
In particular, heās interested in USC. I hope Iām not the only person who is utterly confused about this process.
HELP!
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Has he filled out the paperwork for alternate entry? If not, that is one of the first things that he needs to do. He also needs to send his SAT score to NMSC.
With respect to cutoffs, the only cutoff that has been released is the commended student cutoff (207). The semifinalist cutoffs will begin to trickle out in either late August or early September, but many/most of them will not be known with certainty until NMSC notifies the schools in early-to-mid September. While previous years can give you an idea about what the cutoff will be for your state, no one knows until NMSFs are notified of their status in September.
Since he has already taken the SAT to enter via AE, he will not need a confirming score if he is a NMSF. Also, tuition discounts are usually for finalists who designate that particular school as a first choice, but there are some schools that have very attractive packages for NMSFs (Tulsa for instance). Good luck!
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You will need to read the title or stipulations for each scholarship at each college.
For USC, the scholarship is for National Merit Finalists (not semi-finalists), so one would need to complete the application for NMF.
Tulsa offers a semi-finalist scholarship. National Merit Semifinalist Package - The University of Tulsa
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The path is NMSF ā NMF ā NMS. (Semi-finalist ->Finalist ->Scholar)
Semi-finalists apply to become Finalists. The application is through NMSC, not the individual colleges. Becoming a Finalist is not determined by, nor dependent on, being accepted to any particular college.
NMF is awarded by NMSC.
There are three pathways for a NMF to become a NMS (Scholar)
- NMSC $2500 NMS Scholarship
- Corporate NMS scholarship
- College sponsored NMS scholarship
The college sponsored NMS scholarships are often not the big scholarships (half-tuition, full-tuition, full ride, etc) that everyone reads about. The college sponsored NMS scholarships are usually less than $5K. At some schools (ex. USC) it is stacked on top of the larger scholarship. The college sponsored scholarship are only awarded to students who attend that particular college.
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Itās been recommended before, but I found all the answers I needed when my daughter was going through this on Artās pages. He is tremendously helpful.
Since you mention that you have calculated his selection index, you probably donāt need this info, but the formula is:
English/Reading score, cut off the last zero, multiply by 2.
+
Math score, cut off the last zero
NOTE: The max English or Math score can be is 760, so if you have above that, use 760 instead of the actual score.
Thanks so much, I found Artās blog and it was indeed very helpful. Looks like the commended cut-off is 207, with Compassās prediction for CA to be 220. His index, per my calculation, is 227 based upon the SAT taken (ERW 780, Math 750) and sent to NMSC. So looks like he should become a semi-finalist, but obviously wonāt know for sure when NMSC sends out the info to the schools in mid-August? Then he can apply to become a finalist, yes? So, if he applies to USC and gets in, which of course is a big if, then heād automatically get the NMF half tuition scholarship? Is that correct?
Yes. If a National Merit Finalist is accepted to USC, and they declare USC as their first choice with NMSC before May 31 2024, they are guaranteed the half-tuition Presidential Scholarship.
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Congratulations! He will definitely be a NMSF with 227 index. Iām not sure what school your child goes to, but mine is at an SF public school and they were not on top distributing the NMSF list this year. Part of the problem was that the letters are sent to the principal and he was on leave at the time. We knew she was a semi-finalist and her counsellor was in contact with her, but she didnāt get the form until 6 days before it was due. She did get her part in, but the school did not. National Merit is SUPER helpful and extended the deadline. Iām saying all this to make sure you stay on top of the process in September. My daughter is going to USC and the scholarship was automatically applied on acceptance.
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Does this mean that we can call NMSC right now to find out if our kid will make the cut off ?
No, I think she was talking about the letter than went out to principals in April that gave a list of students from the high school who would be commended or semi finalists. That number is known (207), I have seen it on a reputable website but I canāt remember which one. If your childās selection index is above that they will at a minimum be commended.
You can get a pretty good idea if they will be a semi finalist based on the prediction with this yearās cut off for your state. It is trickier if your child goes to a boarding school, or is going to school abroad, or if you are right at the cut off for your state.
ETA: Here is the website that keeps up-to-date, accurate information on cutoffs, etcā¦
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Reading some other threads with lots of posts right now (one on how many colleges most kids apply to, another on what schools high achieving middle-class kids go to, and a few others) I started wondering what other people whose kids might be National Merit Semifinalists are doing about applications.
My son is right on the bubble for MA and it could go either way. He has a list of schools he will apply to if he is NMSF and he is trying to put together a list of schools he will apply to if he is not. One of the questions heās wrestling with is how many schools will be on both lists.
He thinks he will want to go to grad school, and he also is not 100% sure what he wants to major in, so the draw of a very low cost undergraduate education is quite big for him. On the other hand, the big NM schools are pretty far away from home. He also wonders if he will regret it if he does not at least try for some of the more prestigious schools. Realistically, though, for our family most of those prestigious schools would not be affordable without significant debt, which he would like to avoid.
So, what about you? How much of an impact does the NMSF designation have on where your child is applying to college? If you know youāre going to beat your stateās cut off, are you planning to focus on schools that give big merit for NM? Or what is your application strategy?
Edit: Looking back at info from past years it seems like letters go out to schools in three or four weeks. Then, some schools will let students know right away, but others will hold the info for a few weeks. The blog I posted about above that posts good NM info usually has sufficient info to post actual cut offs by the first week of September.
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My NMF22 applied to 11 schools (we were chasing merit aid), but my (expected) NMSF24 will only be applying to 2 schools. One of the huge merit schools is very attractive to him, so we donāt feel the need to apply to any other schools.
FWIW, my opinion is that no school, no matter how prestigious, is worth debt. We talked extensively to my DD about not incurring debt (for either her or us) for college, and she is beginning to understand. After her internship this summer, sheās beginning to reap the rewards.
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Iām a student in the class of 2024 who will be national merit, and Iām in a similar position. Not nearly enough aid, if any, to go anywhere without a very large merit scholarship. I intend to go to med school or pursue a Ph.D., so very very little/no debt is a must. Iām applying to a national merit school (currently deciding between Alabama and Tulsa) as my safety. Iām applying to Arkansas, which is automatically relatively cheap for me, because I like the location and would attend if itās free. The rest of my list is reaches that give merit aid (or matches based on admission, reaches for the scholarships). My approach is that you miss all the shots you donāt take. Unfortunately, this approach is going to leave me with like $1,000 in admission feesā¦thankfully my mom and dad will split the majority and Iāll cover the rest. So maybe find prestigious schools that give large merit scholarships (I know Emory, Vanderbilt, and GA tech do) and go for a few of those in addition to one or two that you know you will be able to afford? Iām a kid not a parent so idk but thatās what Iām doing, but Iām also lucky enough that my parents can help with the (ridiculously expensive!!) application fees.
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Iām not sure about the others, but if you wait, Alabama sends out offers to apply with no application fee.
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I would view the application fees as an investment. As I mentioned above, my DD applied to 11 schools. Our application fees were just under $1,000, but that is more than we are going to spend on her getting her bachelors and masters. She had 7 options that covered full tuition (or more), and she ended up at a school that pays every last cent of her expenses and then deposits money in her banking account on top of that. Plus, DD was able to score a fabulous internship after her freshman year.
Side note - Alabama will have a National Merit fee waiver starting in October.
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Did the colleges start finding out NMSF status? My 24 just got emails from UTulsa and Texas Tech. Could this mean something?
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