<p>Hi all!</p>
<p>So I just found out that I missed my state's cutoff for National Merit Semifinalist by a couple points, so I'm Commended. </p>
<p>Does National Merit Semifinalist mean much to the extremely selective colleges? Like will it make or break an application? I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't make it, but I didn't think NMSF was too big of a deal. Thoughts? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Don’t worry about it. My best friend missed the cutoff for his state by 3 points last year. He got into Duke, WUSTL, Swarthmore, Cornell, etc.</p>
<p>Advice heard at a college admission small-group session for prospective honors applicants: We know that the cutoff scores vary among states and that it doesn’t always seem fair. If you are from a higher cutoff state and would’ve been semifinalist in other states, consider writing on your application: PSAT score 214, Commended.</p>
<p>Would you recommend the same advice for an out of stater applying to a large state school that a lower qualifying score? Will the school already know–for example son scored 221 in VA, above minimums for cut-off in Kentucky, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma all which offer great packages if he advances to finalist, but he will be competing with in-staters with lower scores. This is not a criticism on these states or their students since we support him wanting to expand his horizons and go out of state, just curious. I would think it won’t matter, since Finalist is a Finalist, just want to be sure.</p>
<p>Some of the kids in the states you mentioned have PSAT scores high enough to make the cut in ANY state.</p>
<p>I think we should just feel Blessed to qualify and further Blessed to receive Merit Scholarships based on NMF status.</p>
<p>The kids’ other high stats can earn them additional scholarships as well.</p>
<p>Fully understand and agree, not intending to cause any discord and if I was smart enough to figure out how to delete my post I would. Good luck to all in their pursuits. If a moderator wants to delete it fine by me.</p>
<p>No cause for that! lol</p>
<p>And, I don’t think it is possible after twenty minutes or so, anyway…</p>
<p>AND, you are not the only member to reconsider a posting…but “no worries” with this one. </p>
<p>We NEED a clear and open dialouge.</p>
<p>@lolololsd: Don’t sweat it. NMS designation is no big deal. It certainly won’t make or break your application to top-tier universities.</p>
<p>Achieving NMS status is nothing more than a “happy coincidence”/positive side effect of being good at standardized tests.</p>
<p>^Right…just a “happy coincidence”. Lord do I get tired of people knocking NMSF/NMF/NMS status like it’s some kind of fluke based solely on the PSAT. NMFs must also have high GPAs, a high SAT score to confirm their PSAT, excellent recommendations from their school, and no discipline issues. Pretty much everything that every high performing student at their school has…PLUS they performed extremely well on the PSAT. ABSOLUTELY NOT a “happy coincidence” or a “positive side effect”…it’s a product of long-term, high level CONSISTENT performance in every aspect of their high school years. While it may not matter to “top tier” schools, the recognition of NMF status that many excellent school do offer allows these students to get a fantastic education that their families could otherwise not afford. Please try to inform yourself a little better before posting.</p>
<p>Wolverine86, as the parent of an NMSF (and someone who personally missed by one point while in HS 
), I agree with your post. However… to the OP, top colleges accept many students, obviously, that are not NMSF/NMF. However, it definitely does help an application to make it. It is a “big deal”, but it is not the only deal.</p>
<p>@Wolverine86:
I was simply answering the OP’s question…in the context of top-tier college admissions.</p>
<p>Don’t you think it’s unfair that the NMSF cut-off is based on one’s state of residence or, in some cases, choice of school (e.g., various East Coast prep schools)? For example, a student who scores a 218 in Wyoming might make the NMSF cut-off but another student who earns a 221 doesn’t make the cut in Massachusetts. It seems rather arbitrary.</p>
<p>If the NMS were truly merit-based, why the different standards/cut-offs?</p>
<p>On top of that, a number of NMS-designated financial awards are only available to students who happen to have a parent affiliated with a large company sponsoring the NMS scholarship.</p>
<p>An interesting side effect is that NMSF/F-designation provides a financial vehicle for some second-tier schools to recruit bright kids under the auspices of a merit-based process. Certain schools, such as USC, have been known to offer full-ride scholarship to NMFs in order to woo them away from HYPS, MIT, CalTech, etc.</p>
<p>The selection process for NMSF/NMF/NMS is rather one-dimensional, if you ask me. The first cut is based on a standardized test score alone – and we all know the inherent biases of such tests. That’s why top-tier schools discount the weight of the award/honor. I wish that the NMS would fix the system or just do away with it altogether.</p>
<p>FYI, the top schools have put in place need-blind admissions and need-based financial aid. Strong applicants from lower and middle class families should not worry about their families being able to afford the price tag of an education at top-tier colleges. Just apply. If you are accepted, the financial aid departments will put together an affordable package for the family/student.</p>
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<p>No, it’s not unfair at all. Each state provides an education of a certain quality; those in lesser states are thus geographically disadvantaged.</p>
<p>** Setting a cut-off per state helps reward merit in the context of one person’s educational resources.**</p>
<p>A high score from a student in a state like…er…North Dakota(?) is more of an achievement than a high score from a student in a state like Massachussets or California.</p>
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<p>There’s a reason cutoffs are lower in those states. Getting a 221 as a Alabama student is harder than getting one in VA.</p>
<p>*Would you recommend the same advice for an out of stater applying to a large state school that a lower qualifying score? Will the school already know–for example son scored 221 in VA, above minimums for cut-off in Kentucky, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma all which offer great packages if he advances to finalist, but he will be competing with in-staters with lower scores. This is not a criticism on these states or their students since we support him wanting to expand his horizons and go out of state, just curious. I would think it won’t matter, since Finalist is a Finalist, just want to be sure.
*</p>
<p>If the school awards a NMF scholarship to all that apply, then why would it matter? </p>
<p>And if there were a selection process, likely the SAT or ACT score will make the difference…NOT the PSAT score.</p>
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<p>Except that it doesn’t, so much. A kid who goes to the best school in North Dakota may well have better educational opportunities than a kid who goes to the worst school in New Jersey. State of residence is not a great metric for educational opportunity.</p>
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<p>On average, it is. And you’ll remember that elite private schools have their own cutoffs.</p>
<p>Setting a state cutoff also ensuresvthat individuals from every state are recognized instead of those from the best areas. National Merit is actually just a regional award. And rightfully so.</p>
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@Philovitist: Geography? Is that what NMS is all about? If that’s what it is, let’s change the name of the competition to reflect it, e.g., the California State Merit Scholar competition, the North Dakota State Merit Scholar contest, etc. But then the scholarship would lose the cachet of the “national” moniker, wouldn’t it?</p>
<p>In its current incarnation, the NMS competition attempts to “spread the wealth” artificially across the entire U.S. The fact of the matter is that educational resources (quality of teaching, opportunities, funding for teachers, after-school tutoring) are not evenly distributed across the country, within a given state, within a city/town, or even within a specific school.
If the point is to “reward merit in the context of one person’s education resources,” a far more compelling argument can be made for using socioeconomic status to stratify NMSF cut-offs.</p>
<p>It’s a private company distributing scholarship money in the way they see fit. Part of the metric that NMSC uses to determine the selection index number for each state is to make sure that the percentage of NMSF for each state compared to the national total is roughly equivalent to the percentage of HS graduates for each state compared to the national total (that’s why they don’t just announce who’s a NMSF at the same time they send letters to the top 50,000; they wait till after June so they have current national & state graduation numbers.) </p>
<p>If they changed to the top 16,000 scorers in the entire US, there are probably a few states that would have zero recipients and then the argument would be that it’s not a “National” award then either as certain states wouldn’t be represented. And the vast majority would be from NY, NJ, TX and CA. Companies & universities located in lower scoring states would have less incentive to be NSF sponsors if their local constituents wouldn’t have a chance of making the cut.</p>
<p>@RobD: Thanks for writing such a clear response.</p>
<p>I do understand that NMSC is a private company. Moreover, I see why NMSC might want to distribute NMS designation geographically…rather than make it solely merit-based. For the record, I don’t blame regional NSF sponsors (large companies) one bit for wanting to fund students in their home states.</p>
<p>However, it’s downright misleading to include the words “national” and “merit” in the name of the scholarship…and then, in an opaque process, base cut-offs on the student’s state of residence (for the most part).</p>
<p>Why doesn’t NMSC post the state cut-offs on its website…out in the open?</p>
<p>Why doesn’t the company want people posting the annual state cut-offs on other Internet sites?
(I read that, at one point, NMSC pursued legal means to prevent websites, like College Confidential, from posting such information.)</p>
<p>It’s no wonder that the top-tier colleges discount NMS designation as a regional award based primarily on the results of one sitting of a watered-down version of the SAT. </p>
<p>When I was at college, we’d joke that it would be difficult to throw a rock on campus and not hit an NMF scholar. Attaining NMSF/NMF/NMS status is not a big deal at all – it’s merely a positive side effect of good standardized test-taking ability.</p>
<p>Bartleby…So by using your condescending dismissal of someone else’s achievements as a basis for defining the quality of awards, the Presidential Scholars Program must also be only a “happy coincidence” and a “positive side effect”? Since the recipients only gain entry into consideration based on “good standardized test taking ability” and are only ever compared against other students from their own state, you must also consider them to be not worthy of being recipients of a nationally recognized merit award. Interesting that you’d have “so many” NM students at your college when they represent at most 1% of graduating seniors in any given year…but don’t let the facts get in the way of you denegrating someone’s accomplishments. Joking about throwing rocks and hitting NM kids is understandable (maybe) for college-age kids…but most people outgrow college. Obviously not everyone does.</p>
<p>@Wolverine86: I think you’ve made a lot of assumptions and misinterpreted what I wrote.</p>
<p>Let me be clear about this. The way I feel about the scholarship program has no bearing at all on the way I feel about students who earned that scholarship.</p>
<p>If you’re a student who has received NMS designation, good for you. Pat yourself on the back. You’re a good standardized test-taker. If a school wants to give you a bunch of money to matriculate, take advantage of it…or at least choose the best college option for you.</p>
<p>If you’re a student who missed the NMS cut-off in your state by the slimmest of margins, don’t feel bad. It’s not a big deal. Top-tier schools don’t care. Presumably your SAT score will be very good (perhaps better than your PSAT score), and you’ll do fairly well in the college admissions process.</p>
<p>The NMS selection process should be made more transparent. It is not strictly merit-based, which is what its name implies.</p>
<p>Oh, by the way, I received the NMF designation many years ago…and, yeah, my undergrad campus was filled with other NMFs. It doesn’t change the way I feel about the flawed NMS selection process.</p>
<p>Have a great day! :-)</p>