<p>my daughter just learned she has advanced to national merit finalist status.would that make any difference to the admissions people at swathmore?</p>
<p>not really, but it won't hurt...</p>
<p>Congrats to your daughter, Ursdad. Noone knows exactly what makes a difference to the adcoms, but this is certainly a big enough deal to let Swarthmore know. I do believe that schools like to say, "we have _ National Merit Finalists." So it could have some effect.</p>
<p>Unless things have changed since last year, Swat does not give National Merit scholarships. It wouldn't hurt to let them know that your daughter received that designation, but it probably won't make a difference in the decision-making.</p>
<p>She probably told them that she was a semi-finalist in her original app. It is pretty much assumed that you will become a finalist if you actually complete the semi-finalist application. 16,000 are semi-finalists and 15,000 of those become finalists. She can tell them if she chooses I just don't think it makes a difference.</p>