<p>I just took the PSAT yesterday, and I was wondering if NMF has a impact in terms of admissions to selective schools...</p>
<p>It depends how selective. At the very top, damn near everyone is an NMF.</p>
<p>Won't matter at a top 20 school. It's really only good for getting good merit money out of schools below that (I got 24k out of a #50ish school being a NMF).</p>
<p>well if everyone is an NMF like you claim at the top schools, then won't NMF really make a difference?</p>
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well if everyone is an NMF like you claim at the top schools, then won't NMF really make a difference?
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<p>Make a difference how? They're not going to give you merit aid for it. It's for getting money only; The SAT/ACT are really the standardized tests they care about. When I was a finalist I didn't even bother reporting it to my reach school because I knew they didn't care. Instead, I sent it to my 2 safeties.</p>
<p>gthopeful is right, the SAT and ACT are what colleges give importance to. You need to realize that nobody sees your PSAT score. A 213 NMF and a 240 NMF will look the same to the college because all the see is NMF. The money you may get goes from $0 from the Ivies (no merit money whatsoever) to full tuition and room and board at University of Alabama. Another thing, for the ones that don't make NMF, the test is at the beginning of jr year. Many students really focus and excel in the last two years of high school (and do very well in their SAT/ACT). So not being NMF but otherwise having good stats is what counts.</p>
<p>Mm. My sister won a National Merit Scholarship, but that still didn't gain her entry into any ivies. So really, it all depends on everything else. Usually if you are going to be applying to a highly competitive score, it'll just be another little plus, but nothing that will be much different than anyone else....</p>
<p>That's so very true.</p>
<p>i don't understand how being NMSF helps in admissions. It doesn't make sense. All it says is that you did well on a short version of the SAT. HOW does doing good on that test help your application if your application already shows really strong SAT scores? I feel it's very redundant to list it, yet some people believe it to be impressive. If you do good on the SAT, that shows them your level of achievement, and that's the achievement that COUNTS. You're basically restating an achievement on your application ( your SAT performance) and i seriously do not understand how it's worthwhile to list.</p>
<p>I'm not saying NMSF is not an accomplishment. It's a big achievement. You're among the top .5% PSAT scorers in the nation in some states! However, getting good SAT scores is also an impressive achievement. Since you have to list your SAT scores, and because doing good on the PSAT / doing good on the SAT are basically the same achievements, it's very redundant to list NMSF when you already have good SAT scores.</p>
<p>However, i may be wrong. Most of CC here think it's a big honor for college admissions. Apparently, it's listed as a category 6? award in the CC List of Top Prestigious Awards.</p>
<p>CC is filled with people who didn't make NMSF but did very, very well on the SAT. </p>
<p>I told S2 that no matter what his PSAT score, that experience will help him when he takes other standardized tests. He busted his tail for the Math Level II exam last June and surpassed his wildest hopes. The work he did there made the PSAT math section much easier, and he could see that in doing the practice tests.</p>
<p>As others have mentioned, there are some schools where NMF can be quite lucrative -- and I think there is an archived thread somewhere about scholarships for NMFs. It's a nice thing to have on your application, but is not a deal maker at tippy-top schools.</p>
<p>It may be that colleges regard the results as more spontaneous as opposed to heavily prepped later SATs and ACTs (in other words, no artificial enhancements). The colleges don't see your score but they see NMF (higher than 210 usually). I know that some people start prepping in 6th grade but I would bet that a lower than expected PSAT is a wake up call for more than a few students.</p>