<p>I've been named a Semifinalist in Virginia with the lowest possible score (217, which does a lot for my self-esteem let me tell ya). I understand the way the process works with the scholarships and whatnot, but does anyone know to what extent putting "National Merit Finalist" on your application will help you with regard to admission/aid? I'm the first child in my immediate family to be applying to college, so I'm not clear on what counts for a lot and what doesn't.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on the school.
If the school is known to give out any merit award for nmf's, definitely list it.
But if it doesn't, I can't see it hurting your app. to put it on.</p>
<p>Johnson is right that it depends entirely on the school. NMF can mean full tuition, room, board and a free laptop or it can mean nothing at all. It's kind of up to you. I would suggest that you look on the websites of the schools you are considering and try to find their policies on National Merit Finalists. Or call and ask. And search through the CC threads because there is lots of good information here. Note that some schools offer the NMF scholarships only if you also qualify for financial aid. You will probably find that the schools that offer generous NMF scholarships also value NM in the admission process. Incidentally, it doesn't matter one bit that you got the lowest possible score so just forget about that and be proud of yourself - well done!.</p>
<p>Congrats Dane. NMSF status can only strengthen your application for admission and merit aid. Don't worry about the score. VA has a high cutoff and there are only about 420 recipients in the state. The schools don't get the actual PSAT scores unless you listed them last May as one of 2 schools the NMSC would notify. Even top-tier schools like to be able to say the have lots of NMF students, although it is no guarantee of admission at schools accepting only 10-15% of applicants.</p>