<p>Does anyone know whether the selection process uses the junior year transcript or does NMC request a mid-year grade report from the senior year?</p>
<p>It doesn’t use grades at all, as I recall. It does require a letter of support from the school, but that is to disqualify people with expulsions/suspensions/disciplinary issues.</p>
<p>Yes, a grades transcript is submitted to NMCorp with the NMSF paperwork. The high school sends that. Kids with lowish GPA’s will be kept from making NMF. </p>
<p>However, a mid-year grade report is not sent.</p>
<p>You school GC submits your high school transcript that has all the grades from your freshman to your junior year together with NMF application to NMSC. The grade on your senior year is not reported to NMSC.</p>
<p>So if you get a good score on your PSAT and your SAT but you have a low GPA you might be a Finalist but you probably will not get any merit scholarship at all. Remember that there will be a 15,000 Finalists but there is only 8,400 Scholars that will receive scholarship at the end. The other 6,600 Finalist get nothing beside the NMSC Finalist certificate. They are not Scholars.</p>
<p>If you accept a NM offer full tuition from a school does that take away your scholarship from NM?</p>
<p>what is a low GPA that would disqualify your from NMS?</p>
<p>Low grade: I couldn’t find a specific cutoff on the NM website. It says something like “consistently outstanding academic performance in grades 9-12.” They would probably have to consider the school/grading system/class rank. My guess is that 3.5+ is good enough. 3.3-3.4 sounds questionable, but might be possible considering the school. Below that might be too low. If you are concerned, call the NM office and ask them what would keep someone from advancing to finalist. </p>
<p>Regarding finalists who “get nothing”–most finalists who do not receive scholarships (from the NM Corp., their college, or employer/parent’s employer) have chosen a school (usually top ranked, highly competitive colleges) where no merit aid is given to NM finalists. Every finalist has an opportunity to pick up an “automatic” scholarship, but the biggest scholarships are given by less selective colleges that a lot of finalists do not want to attend. Though not "NM Scholars,"they will still have bragging rights as finalists–though those aren’t worth much at top schools since a high percentage of their classmates were also finalists.</p>
<p>Some schools might subtract the value of the NM Corp. scholarship from their package if you have reached their maximum merit aid. Ask individual schools about their policies on this.</p>
<p>See the “rejection letters” thread for examples of a few cases of SFs who didn’t make finalist.</p>
<p>Their unweighted GPA’s were 3.0-3.4. One person didn’t know the exact GPA-- had a 4.0 junior year, but some C’s freshman and soph years. (Grades have to be consistent.) One person missed the minimum required SAT score by 10 points. (1960 this year–don’t know if that changes). </p>
<p>It looks like GPA’s under 3.5 and C’s and D’s on the transcript, as well as low SAT scores, can eliminate you.
Some were worried about suspensions/detentions, but unless the school reports it, NMSC won’t know about it.
Some mentioned their excellent EC’s, but those aren’t going to get you in if your grades don’t cut it. I think someone with NO significant EC’s who had the grades/scores/good rec. from school would still make it.</p>