Hey everybody,
Rising junior here and I was just wondering exactly how important doing well on the PSAT is. I know a lot of schools don’t make a big deal of it (and most students don’t study for it), but I think with some preparation I can actually do pretty well (I’m scoring an average of 32-33 on ACT right now and still improving!). I was wondering whether or not I should spend time before summer preparing for it. I heard that having the title of “National Merit Scholarship Finalist” is impressive to schools on college apps. Thanks for any insight 
It is not very useful for college admission, but it opens doors for many of the best merit scholarships available.
Read the FAQ at the top of the forum.
Are you looking for a lot of merit $$$? Then it can be very important. Some schools will give full tuition or even full ride scholarships for National Merit Finalists. What state do you live in?
It can’t hurt! You might end up with the $2,500 scholarships that you can use at any school and there is free prep on line at Khan Academy. If you have the time, go for it!
@albert69 i actually live in california, so the cut off score is actually higher 
I think it sort of depends on your circumstances. If your family is really rich and willing to pay for college then money doesn’t really matter and you should spend time on SAT or ACT studying. If you need merit money badly though some schools offer a full ride for it. So I think it depends a lot on your circumstances.
Also, I don’t see how being “National Merit Finalist” looks impressive, because isn’t it based on test scores? If you have good test scores, then the college will be impressed by that? I don’t see how anything through National Merit won’t already be in your application(test scores, grades, recommendations, essay, etc). I’m not sure, maybe I’m missing something.
Being a NMF follows you in many ways. When my son got his summer internship, they bumped his hourly salary $3 an hour more once they found out he had been a NMF. Another internship hired him specifically because he had been a NMF (the company is a NM sponsor).
Maybe not influential to others, but my mom can brag that half her students graduated NMS’s, (we home school) likely even 3/4 once my younger sister gets there. If you’re talking Harvard or Stanford, being a Semifinalist (which is all you’d know by the time you apply) wouldn’t make a lot of difference because there are so many students with high test scores and awards. But if you are talking schools like University of Alabama or University of Kentucky or University of Oklahoma, it is very important. Those places give great scholarships for NMFs, and most of them are automatic - apply to the school, get accepted, list them as your first choice on the NMSC application, and bingo! you’re guaranteed the scholarship.