<p>Bring up my post</p>
<p>Bump Bump Bump</p>
<p>anyone out there?</p>
<p>I've finally been named a National Achievement Semifinalist. My counselors are so clueless <em>rolls eyes</em>. I've been in their office almost everyday this week asking about it and when it finally arrives, they act like it's no big deal. One counselor told me that it had been years since she'd even had a National Achievement Semifinalist.</p>
<p>And, to make things worse, I didn't even get to see the packet. All I got was a photocopied version of the part of the application I'm supposed to fill out. What the heck is that? The head counselor who's handling the rest for me has no clue what to do. She didn't even know National Merit and National Achievement were 2 different things. Sigh. I hope everything turns out okay.</p>
<p>And why is this thread so quiet compared to the National Merit one?</p>
<p>I just turned in my application w/the essay yesterday.</p>
<p>^^^Pacers, what was your score? I went to the GC last week and she was just like, we don't have the information for "your" competition yet. Since the National Merit Semifinalists' names have already been released to the press National Achievement results should be in soon right?</p>
<p>Where is there a list of colleges that award scholarships to nat'l achievement semifinalists? Do the ones that sponsor Nat'l merit scholarships also sponsor nat'l achievement ones?</p>
<p>i got a 200. I have no idea what the average score is nationally or state by state. I wonder when they pick the actual winners, how much PSAT scores matter vs the other application data like the essay.</p>
<p>From what I can tell, the main thing that determines whether semifinalists make finalist is unweighted gpa. My S -- with a 1540 v, m SAT didn't make finalist, and the letter he got said it was because of his gpa, which was below an unweighted 3.0. </p>
<p>If you check the archives, you can find some info about scholarships offered to achievement scholars. You also can Google to find out such info. Typically, colleges offering NM finalists scholarships also offer the same to Achievement Scholars or give Achievement Scholars priority for merit aid. Most colleges are happy to attract outstanding black students, so being an Achievement Scholar or Semi finalist is a big tip factor except in the cases of places like HPYS, which get lots of applications from outstanding students of all races.</p>
<p>Here <a href="http://www.nationalmerit.org/faq_college.php#QF4%5B/url%5D">http://www.nationalmerit.org/faq_college.php#QF4</a> , it says that Nat'l achievement scholarships aren't given by colleges anymore. What, then, is the purpose of the first-choice college notification other than just to indicate to them that you're interested in attending? Would that even have any effect on admissions decisions, especially for the more competitive colleges?</p>
<p>There are several colleges that still do give very good Nat'l Achievement Scholarships. You just have to hunt for them. One of the best one's I have seen is the University of Alabama. It wouldn't hurt to go look at their site. Once your name is released, you will probably be overwhelmed by the offers you will be getting, but in the meantime, do your research.</p>
<p>should i be worried that i havent yet received word about the national achievement scholarship? I got a 193 and live in WA.</p>
<p>BUMP!!! I have the same question</p>
<p>I think most people who got to be Semifinalists have been notified already. There was a press release last week. </p>
<p>OK, can someone help me? I got 217 PSAT, 1970 SAT, and my GPA (weighted, I believe - I don't know how to get unweighted) is 3.2. Oh, and my class rank is 135 out of 350, but I go to an advanced magnet school. Do you think I have a chance? I'm just about to do my essay, and was wondering if I should devote a huge amount of time to it.</p>
<p>The press release for Nat'l Achievement doesn't come out until 10/27. Nat'l Merit was last week.</p>
<p>lgriffin0903, I am guessing you meant 9/27- this wednesday?</p>
<p>yeah, 9/27 :)</p>
<p>My D received a 199 on the PSAT, last year. As of today, she has not received any indication from her school concerning her National Achievement status. However, today, I contacted the National Achievement Scholarship Program, and was told that my D has been selected as a Semi-Finalist. I was told that high school principals were advised to notify students who qualified as commended/semi-finalists soon after the new school year began; obviously some high schools didn't take this advice to heart. Therefore, I am contacting my D's high school tomorrow. Did anyone else have a similar experience?</p>
<p>The press release is tomorrow!!!!</p>
<p>Anybody else excited?</p>
<p>I hope I made it. I still have not heard anything so keeping my fingers crossed.</p>