<p>See post #202 in thread
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=74297%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=74297</a><br>
for details.</p>
<p>It also includes a link to last year's Semifinalist cutoffs (the link below is for the year before that).</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Northwestern's merit aid to NMFinalists is quite small. It is in the range $500 - 2000.</p>
<p>The same is true at most elite privates, CollegeBound. For those schools, National Merit simply puts you in the range of their applicants.</p>
<p>Ok, so what I'm getting from this is that Harvard/Yale couldn't care less about NM. Anyone disagree/think it shows "interest?"</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know about Columbia, Georgetown and Northeastern?</p>
<p>Edit: also, what is this i see about changing through April? Could someone elaborate on that?</p>
<p>It doesn't matter for a top 10 school. Their entire class are NMS kids. They don't care.</p>
<p>ALL the kids I met at Columbia Days on Campus were AT LEAST commended. And all of the Kluge Scholars, or almost all, are Achievement or National Hispanic Scholarship winners.</p>
<p>I feel like an idiot now. I sent my score to Stanford and Caltech!</p>
<p>I mean, at least they know you'll attend if accepted.</p>
<p>I think I sent mine to Chicago and JHU.</p>
<p>Munchkin: There are several things that happen with NM. Any one who is at least commended will be notified in spring of their junior year. (I am going to assume you are a junior.) You have the opportunity at that point to have your name sent to 2 schools. This has little impact on admission anywhere. It will have NO impact at top schools. It essentially lets the schools know that you are interested in them. Less competitive schools will likely follow-up by mailing you information. </p>
<p>If you become a NM semi-finalist, you will be notified of that in September of your senior year. Semi-finalists can name ONE school that will receive the NM scholarship IF you become a finalist (and most folks do) and IF you attend that school. Top schools do not participate in the NM program so naming one of them at this point would be useless. You want to name a school you would like to attend that participates in the NM program. Once you pick a school under this process you can change it up until late April. After that your decision is final. You can also not name a school at all until later. Often times people wait to find out where they get accepted and then name the school where they are planning on attending if the school is part of the NM program. Does this all make sense?</p>
<p>If my score isn't good enough to become a semifinalist, would it help to send my letters to safety schools to increase my chances of getting a scholarship from there?</p>
<p>It certainly won't hurt. But at this stage of the game, I don't think it will have much impact. When you apply you will put on your application that you are Commended. If you show a lot of interest in the school it will have a much bigger affect than sending in the school's name in this process.</p>
<p>reporting to NYU and Northwestern would make sense right, since they both participate in NMS? The list someone posted was from 2001, but i assume it hasn't changed much?</p>
<p>I just called up WashU, and the admissions guy didn't even know what the College Reporting Service is. I think it might be sort of a hoax....I mean, it's 50,000 kids with 2 schools each? Probably 90% being sent to only 20 schools?</p>
<p>does anyone know whether getting this letter means you are a semifinalist?</p>
<p>no this letter means you are either commended, semifinalist, or finalist</p>
<p>Anyone have any idea where I should send to? My top 4 are Brown, Vassar, Wesleyan, and Haverford. Any ideas?</p>
<p>None of the schools you listed participate in the NM Scholarship program so it is meaningless to choose any of them. Here is a link to the participating schools:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nationalmerit.org/07_student_guide.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.nationalmerit.org/07_student_guide.pdf</a>
Go to page 18 of the guide.</p>
<p>Wesleyan will send a letter of acknowledgement if you name them one of your top two schools, and does track interest.</p>
<p>I'm not really worried about the money. Quite frankly, it's my last concern. However, letting the schools know that I'm interested, I thought, could show interest.</p>
<p>which schools DO give merit money for NMSF/NMF? I am applying to the following safeties:
Rutgers
Umich
Uwisconsin
NYU</p>
<p>Also, I am applying to:
Uchicago
Northwestern</p>
<p>which of those give out $$ for NMSF?</p>