<p>I was named a semifinalist this year. A lot of colleges I looked at give out full rides for finalists and give out next to nothing for other merit scholarships. Does this disturb anyone else? It seems to say that your entire high school career is meaningless if you got a high enough score on one test.</p>
<p>I agree, because the PSAT is so freaking easy, god.</p>
<p>well finalist also includes an essay, grades and ECs.... much like college apps</p>
<p>well, some of these colleges need incentives to attract intelligent students, who would otherwise choose more prestigious colleges.</p>
<p>Vintor, how much does that matter? I'd think someone with a 230 is more likely to become a finalist than someone with a lower score, regardless of anything else. Like one of my friends from last year got a 227 (in Texas). He was one of the laziest kids I knew. He didn't really try in any of his classes and I dont think he was even in the top 10%. and he got a full ride to the University of New Mexico.</p>
<p>Why only attract the "intelligent" students who get high scores on a single test? I mean, I'm not that bright but am a good test taker. I dont think a single test should determine whether I get scholarship money or not. </p>
<p>Though I guess colleges need a quick way to recognize talent. But I don't see how test talent translates into intelligence</p>
<p>don't most semifinalists end up as finalists anway?</p>
<p>my class only has three semi-finalists which was kind of a suprise, considering how crazy, competitive, obsessive my grade is. one is the classic example of insanely bright but also insanely lazy. the second is a crazy good test taker, and the third is just your normally bright kid. so it kind of covers the typical bases for good test results, but it in no way represents the "intelligence" of my grade, nor do grades in general.</p>
<p>Unfortunately vtran, nothing whatsoever really can measure how intelligent a person is. Be happy with your score and your scholarship.</p>
<p>What might some of these full-ride schools include? I wasn't even aware that finalists have this sort of benefits!</p>
<p>Well....most schools will give full rides for SAT scores off the bat.</p>
<p>I know one person who wasn't a NMS, but scored well on his SATs and got a full ride to our state school....</p>
<p>I agree with you. It seems absurd that one little test taken so early in high school should be such a factor.</p>
<p>my school is huge on recruiting finalists, a good 40-50% of the kids in my dorm are out of state and the majority are merit scholars.</p>
<p>it's so crazy how one score (!!!) can really affect what you do for college.</p>
<p>so do colleges give out money if you are a finalist but not an actual National Merit Scholar?</p>
<p>Yeah, most awards are just based on finalist status. And I agree... the entire National Merit program seems a bit preposterous.</p>
<p>It is a bit weird. But I'm glad, it could get me a full ride to one of my top choice schools.</p>
<p>It's so disturbing that just a PSAT on your junior year becomes a huge indicator for a free ride especially when I'm struggling here on CR and Writing because of my inexperienceness in English language... But I guess that's my fault. Oh well, let's hope if there's some other way of getting decent scholarships...</p>
<p>I'm a Semifinalist this year, and I think it's kind of weird that 2 hours in my junior year will most likely get me $75,000 from my first-choice school (OU.) </p>
<p>But really, I'm not going to complain. There are more ridiculous scholarships out there...At least this one takes into account a standardized test score, an essay, grades, recommendations, and activities than just race or sexual preference, as some do.</p>
<p>Nope, doesn't disturb me at all.</p>
<p>As sooners.brian says, there are many other scholarships that aren't even based on merit.</p>
<p>University of Maryland gives automatic free rides to finalists.</p>
<p>If you think about the purpose of public schools... they're really there to make sure that state residents receive an adequate, affordable education. So, it's really quite fitting with their purpose, to give automatic free rides. Think about it this way: would you rather that they give no free rides at all? </p>
<p>It's win-win. The kid has no debt, the student body gets a certainly bright student ('don't hear of many Forrest Gump's with 230's), and the college gets an SAT boost and future prosperous alumna. What's bad?</p>
<p>Colleges have to give out the awards to acutally use the statistics for marketing. You're only a NM Scholar if you get some sort of award (either through NMS, a corporation, or most frequently, through the college you attend); public schools attract students and pride themselves on the number of Scholars they have. The full ride part, however, is debatable, but attracting NMSs really is good for boosting a lot of statistics (SAT scores, gpa, etc.) that help bring the colleges' ranking up.</p>
<p>I think Oklahoma gives something like 80k over 4 years...that's the highest offer I remembe getting.</p>
<p>I got a quick question: Say I'm Hispanic, if I get a 220 PSAT score, what are my chances towarads Harvard? Assuming I keep a 4.0 uw GPA with an IB diploma.</p>