<p>I know that many people who have not achieved the NMF status have been accepted, but does being Asian and NOT having this or the Commended award hurt your chances...even the slightest bit?</p>
<p>Oh, and one more thing...I know most ppl who apply to Stanford are NMFs, but does this count as an outstanding award, or typical? or equivalent to placing in another nationwide competition of some sort?</p>
<p>I don't think it counts for much. It is an award based entirely on one 2-hour pretty easy test. They won't even know if you took that test. And NMF sure is "nothing special" at Stanford.</p>
<p>Wouldn't they wonder why you weren't a finalist, though? I could be wrong, but I would guess that virtually all applicants have taken the PSAT. Because it seems like anyone who thinks they have a shot at Stanford would also think they had a shot at being a NMF.</p>
<p>^ I honestly don't think they will care about one test score, especially one taken in the beginning of junior year.</p>
<p>I don't think they'll spend any time or energy wondering why you're not NMF.</p>
<p>It's certainly not do or die...though it would help to be commended. Not because it's prestigious it's just that if your PSAT is an indication of your SAT score sub-2000 SAT scorers don't fare favorably in an admissions process as competitive as Stanford's.</p>
<p>I never even took the PSAT, but things worked out for me. They would rather look at your SAT or ACT score and see what you have to offer there. Besides, if you typically have a high SAT score, that means you would have had a high PSAT score. It is no big deal. A high test score is a high test score. Its like a pre SAT "High Score" award.</p>
<p>Most students have other more impressive awards they'd list on their application, so if you don't list it they probably just think you've done other things that are more interesting than doing well once on a test you took that is very similar to the SAT...</p>