Are public schools immune from civil suits for something like this? Presumably the student could show significant damages if they were disqualified from the competition due to errors beyond their control.
What do you think the school did? My understanding is that the NMSC reminds both schools and students when the application is not complete, and provides extra time for completion if necessary.
My question is hypothetical. I am unaware of the details of the process, but presumably the requirements that must be submitted by the HS could be ignored. Are you saying the student and/or parents would be notified if the school failed to submit the required material?
Yes, that’s what I’m saying. I am quite sure that the NMSC does not want any student to not progress to Finalist due to a school failure or computer/internet error. So NMSC does contact the school and student if anything is missing. The student or parent can also call NMSC to confirm that the application is complete. I did that a couple days before the app was due, and a very friendly NMSC person confirmed that my son’s app was complete and his SAT score was high enough to “confirm” his PSAT score (we knew it was above the required score). Also, the student and parent can and should stay in contact with the HS counselor to be sure that everything is completed.
But remember that the process has changed since a couple years ago. Now, the student logs in and enters his/her own information and essay. Then, after the student submits his/her part, NMSC sends it to the HS counselor to do the HS’s part. So the student will know the student part is complete. And NMSC will know that anything missing is NOT the fault of the student.
Fair enough. I assume most experienced HS guidance counselors are familiar with the program and know what needs to be done. Some of the worried parents in other threads had me wondering, though.
NMCorp is pretty good about following up when materials aren’t received, so a school would really have to be remiss to ignore reminders, etc.
That said, when my son was going thru this, and everything was done on paper back then (not online), I did send an email to the GC asking if everything had been sent in…and she let me know that she had.
Back then, the student was given a large envelope with everything in it. Then the student completed “his part”, then it was returned to the school for the school to do “its part,” and then it was sent in from the school.
Now that everything is online, there should be a way that students/parents can go online and see if NMCorp has rec’d everything needed.
Not knowing that SAT scores need to be sent to NMCorp is a common mistake so that’s why it often gets mentioned here… code #0085
My GC said that this is the first year that SAT’s weren’t automatically sent and had to be sent by the student, which is why she didn’t know. Not sure that I believe everything she says is gospel, anymore.
^That is definitely not true. They were not automatically sent two years ago when my daughter was a semifinalist.
Also, this year the student could log in and track when the school part had been done. I remember nervously watching my son’s account. I also called NMSC at one point and they even told me who from the school had logged in and when, and then who that person had designated to finish the school portion.
Yes we got a letter in December saying SAT was missing and to submit ourselves thru Collegeboard. It was sent to our home address and not the school. Thank God too. I don’t know why I thought they had access to them!
The SATs have never been sent automatically. NMSC and College Board are two different entities and College Board cannot release a student’s test scores without the student requesting it.
“Grounds for a lawsuit” is an awfully broad area. What it means is that you can find an attorney willing and capable of filing a meaningful suit and that you can work out the finances with such an attorney. Having seen a number of what I think are frivolous law suits, I’m sure that something can be done with this, yes. Whether it would prevail or even be worth pursuing is a whole other issue.
@Cshecmia
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My GC said that this is the first year that SAT's weren't automatically sent and had to be sent by the student, which is why she didn't know. Not sure that I believe everything she says is gospel, anymore.
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Your GC is lying to cover her tush. They haven’t been automatically sent for a long time, it at all. We had to send our son’s and that was back in '06.
Thank goodness that I didn’t listen and sent them on my own. With this much $ at stake, you would think NMF would be a priority at our private HS, but it barely is on the radar.
Even if it were grounds, it’s hardly worth going to court over. Talk about a waste of time, money, as well as seeming petty and ungrateful to who helped you (not just the gc)
$120,000 isn’t worth going to court over, assuming negligence on the part of the GC was directly responsible for your damages? Insurance companies sue each other over $4,000 cars.
It appears that my hypothetical scenario is unlikely, if not impossible, but I don’t think a lawsuit would be frivolous. Would you thank your boss if he forgot to pay you for two years?
You do realize that several colleges grant automatic scholarships for NMFs?
What if a high school fails to notify a student that they were NMSF in the first place? That does happen from time to time and the high schools are the ones who get that information from NMSC and distribute it. At least I don’t think my kids ever got NMSF notification at home. The state lists are not easy to get your hands on. Of course a student might call NMSC after the public release date and ask about their status, but they have to know enough to do that. Or you might see your name in the local paper if they get the state list from NMSC and print the local names. But that’s all iffy and the high school is supposed to tell kids and give them their login info and etc. Does the NMSC follow up on students who never initiate the NMF application?
If you found out a year later that your score would have qualified you to attend college free or cheap had the envelope not gotten lost in the pile on principal’s desk, while you are currently racking up student loan debt, that could sting.
@celesteroberts your scenario, I believe, happens many times. I know about the whole NMF scholarship by own research. At our school (public, in the bay area, CA), sophomores are required to take PSAT, but most kids & parents believe it’s just a prep. for SAT, few took it seriously. Our counselors (3 for 2000+ kids) are not any help. The counselor assigned to my son is the worst. I had to cc our new principal in all my e-mails to her & I had to word my e-mail carefully because I didn’t want to burn the bridge, yet I’d like her to be aware that I know my stuffs and I’ll watch everything like a hawk. In my e-mail I told her what are at stakes (thousand of $ in scholarships).
Well…well the Principal gets it.Now all stuffs about NMF will be handled by Principal office, she interviewed NMSFs and wrote their recommendation letters herself. She also had the NMSF group photo posted on the school website. We have 16 kids. Right now the words are out, for sure this year we’ll have many more NMSFs.
It wouldn’t necessarily be $120,000. Someone with stats and grades good enough to have otherwise been a NMF would certainly have many other scholarship opportunities. Since the complainant would have a duty to mitigate the damages, the award might not be all that large. And if 1/3 of that goes to the lawyer . . . almost certainly would not be worth pursuing IMO.
Sad what a litigious society we live in that a hypothetical situation becomes a lawsuit.
3 counselors for over 2000 kids is horrible. Usually GCs have their hands full with suicide risks etc., college stuff is just extra for them. Son’s school has 800 students with 8 guidance counselors.
The school does publicize NMSFs and commended. Back when, by the way, we were told don’t bother to apply for NMF status if we didn’t need to, that we’d be somehow “taking away” from someone else if we applied and got it, and didn’t use it.
A couple of years ago, a student learned in late Nov that the school had neglected to let him know that he had made NMSF. A quick call to NMCorp took care of everything…deadlines were extended…and he made NMF