I’m a National Merit Semifinalist, but was one of the few not selected to be a Finalist. Do semifinalists still hold weight with colleges, and is National Merit something that can significantly increase my chances?
Either way, this might not matter because I’m applying to mainly art schools. But for my general colleges, this would be useful information.
It’s probably a good thing to have on your application; you can’t really do anything about it either way, so best to not worry about it and focus on having a happy and productive senior year. 
@sunnydo165 I don’t know the answer to your question at all, but I was wondering when you learned you were not a Finalist. (I haven’t heard anything either way.) Thanks.
@sunnydo165 The benefit to being a NMSF is you were able to include that on the apps and colleges know finalist status isn’t announced until after app deadlines so it’s a nice mention on an app. The benefit from semi-finalist to finalist is the money some colleges will give finalists. If the schools you are interested in do not give students money, semi-finalist to finalist is of no difference to you. Some colleges will give scholarship money to semi-finalists. It really depends on the schools you are interested in. Not being named a finalist will not impact your chances of admission at any school.
@orwellparasiempre NMSC sent out letters in January to individuals that were not advancing to finalist citing either grades or insufficient SAT score. Schools will be mailed letters tomorrow (2/6) with certificates for the finalists. Letters will be mailed to the students home on (2/13). It looks like you are in good shape but should know definitively soon.
While yes, it’s a nice thing to have on your application, i don’t think it makes a big difference. Most kids who ended up as semi-finalists are strong candidates anyway, and the colleges get to see what they need of an applicant, so the assessment of NMF doesn’t have a big impact on the decision. It’s really hard to tease this out of the rest of the package, though, so that’s just my opinion.
I actually got a rejection letter in the mail. If you haven’t got anything, it probably means you made it