National Merit Commended Scholar

<p>Is there any value to adding this to the the application? I did't even know about the commended status until we received a letter from the school to attend a reception. Looking it up I see that the cutoffs are different for different states. Our state has a cutoff of 215 for the semi-finalist designation and his score is 209 (above the cut-off for some states). Since he has already applied early action to several schools, is it worth adding this info to his file? I know being a semi-finalist or finalist makes quite difference but not sure about the commended status. Thanks!</p>

<p>I would put it on the application (I did for what it’s worth), but I really don’t think most schools care. To be honest, your actual test scores count much more and I think they just like to brag about how many finalists/semi-finalists they have. Obviously it makes your son look better, but it doesn’t make the university seem any more prestigious so they won’t value it much. I’m pretty convinced the only reason the scholarship exists is to make schools seem more prestigious. The actual value of the NMS is very low and the scholarship itself doesn’t seem to matter much.</p>

<p>Thanks - he just added into his Common App - so it should be seen by the colleges he has already applied to on Common App - right? </p>

<p>Can’t tell you for certain if they will or will not. I assume that they would (it’s electronic information after all), but I would not be surprised if they don’t.</p>

<p>Honestly, it’s not a make or break quality. If your son does not get into a college, it won’t be because of this one award. It’s a nice thing to have, but it would just make a good candidate look even better honestly. Maybe it would help break some extreme tie, but even then I think that his essays would differentiate him moreso than this single award. Don’t sweat it and honestly this award should basically be bragging rights; no more, no less.</p>

<p>its going to make 0 difference. </p>

<p>So unlike NMSF or NMF it won’t help with scholarship amounts either?</p>

<p>It will not be seen by schools he has already submitted to. Once the application is submitted to a certain school, it can’t be again. It will be seen by all future schools, however.</p>

<p>I don’t know of any schools that offer $ for NMC.</p>

<p>I was curious about the question and googled it. Couple of them offer only $500 and one offers 20% tuition(Union college, Nebraska).</p>

<p>There are many colleges out there which are a lot better for you if the kid has high SAT or ACT score.</p>

<p>Edit</p>

<p>This looks like a great deal.</p>

<p>Full instate Tuition (OH)
<a href=“http://www.wright.edu/raider-connect/financial-aid/scholarships/wright-state-university-commended-0”>http://www.wright.edu/raider-connect/financial-aid/scholarships/wright-state-university-commended-0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Is there any harm in listing his score with his Commended status? With Commended status at 201, and a state high of 224, there were a lot of kids who were short of the semi-finalist number in their state, but like your son, were well above the commended cut-off.</p>

<p>Great to know about Wright State @texaspg. That’s local and I have one more still coming to college a about 4 more years.</p>

<p>I don’t know how credible it is but there is an organization (Acadium) that provides a ‘certificate’ for commended students indicating the number of states they would have been an NMSF. They claim it is recognized on college apps and that it is free. </p>