Hello, everyone; I am an incoming senior. I took the PSAT my junior year and I received a score high enough for me to qualify as a National Merit Semi-Finalist. Is it worth applying to be a National Merit Finalist from that point? Does it help your resume?
Thanks for the help in advance. 
Some colleges have large scholarships for National Merit Finalists but not Semifinalists.
There are also additional scholarships from outside entities and small ones from the NMSC that are competitive but which require being Finalist to be eligible.
Yes, the benefits may be greater than the costs
It seems the major benefits would come from schools from the South. A lot of other scholarships are small. For example I believe Northwestern, in my area, gives a $2500 scholarship. The cost of Northwestern is around $60,000. Really a drop in the bucket. A couple kids we know of are getting the full scholarships (200,000 I believe) to go to Alabama. The thing is while many kids may be willing to fly or drive 12 hours I’m not sure that’s for every kid would. Even then the 200,000 may not cover every cost since you are that far away.
@ShoutTurkey You don’t have to do much to qualify as a finalist. Just do well on the SAT and write an essay thay can easily be repurposed from your college application essays. Most semifinalists become finalists. Worth it to keep your options open - although the official NM scholarships are small, some colleges and universities have HUGE ones. You don’t know how your application season will turn out, so it is good to know you have a “full ride” available to you!
Definitely worth $2500 to do the small amount of work it takes.
Yes!
What @prodesse said. If you’ve got a good enough score on the SAT, and an advanced draft of your main college app essay, I’ve seen the National Merit Finalist app completed in, as I recall, under half an hour. And the person in question went on to win a $2,500 National Merit scholarship, which I believe was usable anywhere.
Northwestern, in my area, gives a $2500 scholarship. The cost of Northwestern is around $60,000. Really a drop in the bucket.<<
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Collect enough of those drops and the bucket starts to fill up. $2500 can pay for books, travel, and incidentals for a year or more.
You won’t officially know if you are NMSF until September, though you probably have a good idea based on last year’s qualifying scores.
Almost all SMSF (15,000/16,000) are named NMF, provided they jump through the required hoops, including backing up their score with a qualifying SAT score.
That said, the benefits are substantial. Being a NMF provides an admissions boost (small at some schools, larger at others) and is key to getting large merit scholarships at a number of schools. My D was a NMF last year, and had a number of full tuition offers. There are also full COA scholarships at a number of schools, especially in Florida.
You absolutely, 100%, should follow through and become a NMF, and apply to a few schools that will reward you for this. Even if you don’t end up attending, you’ll have solid low-cost backups.
My daughter is going on a Full Cost of Attendance scholarship to UCF so, yes it is absolutely worth it. If you want to go to school in the state of Florida and pay absolutely nothing, (UFC, FSU, UF, USF etc) I would encourage you to apply. This applies to out of state students as well.
Yes. Better to do so, and if chosen keep options open, then to disregard out of hand.
It is pretty easy to move from NMSF to NMF (90+% do, and of those who don’t some of them don’t finish the process). Occasionally some don’t move due to lack of SAT confirming score or some low grades. Worth your time - even if it doesn’t translate to $.
It’s very much worth it. Many schools offer significant scholarships well in excess of the $2500 that comes directly from NMSC. Half tuition at USC. Full rides at plenty of schools in Florida, Alabama and Texas. MIchigan State has a good offer, but I don’t remember the details.
My son is on a National Merit full ride to University of New Mexico.
Even if you end up choosing a school that doesn’t offer anything, it’s still nice to have a guaranteed full ride in your back pocket. 
If you have high SAT, grades, rigor, community involvment and extracurriculars then sure, its worth it. If not then its not as you won’t make it to next level.
If you are eligible then do apply, National Merit Scholar and National AP Scholar are two highest academic awards available for high school students. It sure strengthens your resume and very likely to bring money as well, amount of money would depend upon your college choice. With an exeption of a few, Top 20 colleges don’t give any money for merit. If your parent is an employee of a participating corporation then you can get huge scholarships regardless of your college choice.
Arizona schools have generous National Merit scholarships as well. University of Arizona covers full tuition and about half room/board plus a study abroad stipend for finalists. ASU is an extra $6k added to their top merit award.
Yes put in the time-it’s miniscule.