<p>I know we are notified in February if we made finalist but I think if we don't make it we are notified in january...anyone receive any notification?</p>
<p>Anyone know from last year when the finalist letters go out?</p>
<p>The letter my S received last year when he was named a Finalist was dated 2/8/06.</p>
<p>don't know where I saw it, but I made a note that their notification date is Feb 2.</p>
<p>My D has a friend who did not make it and she already received notification.</p>
<p>Do the letters come directly to the house, or to the school? Also, swimcatsmom, any idea of why your daughter's friend didn't make it? Now I'm worried!</p>
<p>yea...im wondering what the requirements are for not being a finalist...</p>
<p>seeing as only 1000 do NOT get selected...and these people are all top students (or at least good test takers), what makes them not finalist-worthy</p>
<p>She didn't make it because of grades. It is really sad because if she had stayed in her home town high school she would have had really good grades. But she transferred to a really really tough high school (have to score in around the top 5% or above in the ACT in soph year to have a chance to get in). The kids come in with straight As - very few of them (maybe 10-20%) maintain that.</p>
<p>I think so long as your grades are good and your SAT score is good you do not need to worry. Plus it is probably a good sign that you have not heard anything.</p>
<p>It actually isn't for me. </p>
<p>It's for my other 13 friends who are NMSF...nobody's told me about any 'bad' notifications yet, so i guess that is a good thing...unless they are not talking about it. </p>
<p>My school didn't tell anyone about NMSF my junior year until after the registration date, so only about 20 juniors took it, not including me. Considering 13 out of 20 got it, that's pretty nice. I probably would not have done too well anyways, not a very good test taker myself. So i'm not all that mad.</p>
<p>Wow 13 out of 20 is 65% - a really high percentage to make NMSF - must be a smart bunch. My Ds school @ 25% made NMSF which is pretty good. Our local high school 3 out of 400 (0.75%).</p>
<p>This says that they begin selecting finalists Jan. 21st. High school principals will be notified on Feb. 2nd, and finalists will be notified at home Feb. 7th.</p>
<p>Swimcatmom, did your D's friend get notification in the mail?</p>
<p>Yes. I don't know if it came to her school or her house though.</p>
<p>Thank you. I just got my mail and nothing was in it, phew!</p>
<p>^^ that's a first. </p>
<p>Nothing was in the mail...yes! lol</p>
<p>"March 22 NMSC mails offers of National Merit $2500 Scholarships"</p>
<p>Does IVY league school offer $2500 scholarship to a national merit finalist? Or is it only given by non Ivy leauge colleges? Need blind schools just do not give this NMF money.</p>
<p>The official $2500 National Merit scholarships (2500 are given in total) are recognized by every single college in the country (including Ivies). Some colleges also like to recognize Semifinalists/Finalists (not official $2500 award winners) with their own scholarships but Ivies don't do this. The $2500 scholarship is like any other money scholarship; an institution can't turn it down.</p>
<p>If a student is awarded one of the $2,500 sholarships from NMSC does that make him ineligble for college sponsored awards (that are potentially worth more $)?</p>
<p>COMom - I have heard that that can be the case. So if one is offered a NMSC scholarship it is important to check before accepting it that it will not have a negative affect on other possible scholarships. One of Ds friends that is a NMSF and highly likely to be NMSC had pointed out to another friend about our State Us - they offer a nearly full ride to finalists but you cannot accept the NMSC money. I hasten to add that this is all anecdotal evidence which I have not deeply researched, but worth checking out further if you are in that enviable position where it might make a difference.</p>
<p>Thanks Swimcatsmom,
So you think that a student can choose not to accept the $2,500 award if it is offered if she thinks she might have a better offer from a sponsor school?</p>
<p>This is confusing and hard to figure out how to "play" if maximizing financial (merit and need based) aid is a priority in deciding what school to attend.</p>