Home School National Merit Notification

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
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<p>Hi,
I understand that students at public schools are receiving notification about whether they advanced from National Merit Semi-Finalist to Finalist. Does anyone know when homeschoolers should be hearing? DD is hoping to receive a merit aid offer from one of her colleges if she makes Finalist...And we have a mail carrier who more than occasionally delivers our mail to a neighbor :(
Thanks so much,
MwaswereWriter</p>

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<p>I got my Semifinalist packet by mail, so I would assume the same for finalist stuff</p>

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<p>Students and parents on other threads are reporting that they are hearing about finalist status through their schools, but I have not yet seen a report that a student has received notification at home.</p>

<p>The NMS web site FAQ page says: "Finalists are notified in early February by mail at their home addresses." Any day now, I hope. We're waiting too.</p>

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<p>We got the notification today--both a letter and certificate to me as Home School Parent, and a letter to my daughter :)</p>

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<p>Congratulations, MwaswereWriter, both to you and to your daughter. We recieved two envelopes today: the Finalist certificate addressed to me and a letter addressed to the student. Apparently they did not do the mailing to homeschool administrators at the same time that certificates were sent to the bricks-&-mortar principals. I cannot understand the discrepancy, but no matter. All's well.</p>

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<p>Congratulations to you and your child, too, Quill Pen! Although, as my daughter says, what really matters are the letters that will begin arriving toward the end of March...</p>

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<p>Making the cut as a finalist is quite an honor. I hope that both your dc get into their top choice schools with plenty of merit aid!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the kind words. Since our applicant was accepted Early Action to a school he likes that does not sponsor National Merit Scholarships, there will be no award from the college. We can hold out hope that he will be chosen for one of the few $2500 awards that travel with the students, no matter where they decide to attend. If not, then he'll be a Finalist and not a Scholar, but that's OK. Nice honor.</p>

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<p>Kudos to all.
My daughter too chose a school that doesn't fund its own National Merit Scholarships. Be prepared. She scored a 236 in a middling scoring state and did not get the $2500. I THOUGHT I was over that one! Guess not.
I will admit that I suspected anti-homeschooler bias. Certainly the financial need was there. If the NM people were more transparent about how they pick their winners, I wouldn't have that lingering suspicion.</p>

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<p>danas, "hope" was too strong a word to use, considering the odds. I should have said we're curious about how this will shake out.</p>

<p>Here's what NMSC says about the one-time $2500 awards.</p>

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<p>If high school counselors are involved in the selection, then it does seem that the bias you mention could be a factor. We've had good and bad experiences with different school officials in our area. Some have been extremely friendly, and others ... not so much.</p>

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<p>I have no insight as to how the NM folks choose Scholars -- the winners of the $2500 awards -- but I do have an odd story about it.</p>

<p>My dd1 was selected as a Scholar and thus received the $2500 award. My son, a year younger with almost identical SAT scores, slightly higher SAT2 scores, and a slightly stronger academic record, was a Finalist but was NOT selected as a Scholar. My guess is that my dd's Finalist application essay was slightly more passionate, but I still wonder.</p>

<p>The selection does seem to have a certain randomness about it!</p>

<p>(The good news for us is that dd1 benefited from the award; ds is attending a school on a full-ride and thus could not have benefited from the $2500 anyway.....)</p>

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<p>Quill Pen...
I think you've put your finger on something. I don't think that there is a SYSTEMIC bias against homeschoolers. Just that the selection factors are opaque enough and so undefined (at least from the outside), that individual bias has some room to run.
Good luck. You are right that being a finalist is quite an accomplishment in itself. This could break either way on the money. I guess I am cynical about the "merit" judgment part.
I thought my daughter had plenty to recommend her beyond her test score. Princeton did too. They had no way of knowing her PSAT score over there in New Jersey.
I've got to relax on this. She is a very lucky young lady and I can't have any gripes about the college process. My first two homeschoolers have been treated fairly. Maybe in most countries they wouldn't have fared so well.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
My dd1 was selected as a Scholar and thus received the $2500 award. My son, a year younger with almost identical SAT scores, slightly higher SAT2 scores, and a slightly stronger academic record, was a Finalist but was NOT selected as a Scholar.

[/quote]
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<p>cockatiel, in a way, this is a reassuring message, because it emphasizes the seeming arbitrariness of the whole process. We cannot do anything about the outcome, so why worry? Or you could take my position: Can't do anything, but I'm going to worry anyway! That pretty much sums up the irrationality that the college admissions year brings out in some of us. (Guilty.)</p>

<p>If my child received a one-time award, it would cover the student contribution through a term-time campus job that is in his estimated financial aid package for the freshman year. That would be very nice for him.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I thought my daughter had plenty to recommend her beyond her test score. Princeton did too.

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<p>danas, do you know if any other homeshoolers were admitted to Princeton your daughter's freshman year? Just curious.</p>

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<p>Only three others. One posted here on CC. He was a Christian living in Israel, if I remember correctly.
There is a homeschooler in my neighborhood whom I know who got an early write letter and who I think will be attending in the fall. She is a nationally regarded fencer, however. Her older sister was a homeschooler who used to post here often and who attends the University of Chicago.</p>