<p>My daughter got a national merit scholarship letter this week. She is supposed to name two colleges. She is seriously considering Tufts - it is her favorite school which she has seen. The question is what is the benefit of naming Tufts - what does Tufts do when it get these names? I am pretty sure that her score will not meet the finalist cut-off score for our state (NJ) - will being just commended help her in any way (either getting in or getting money?)</p>
<p>If your daughter names Tufts, Tufts will know that she scored high enough to be commended, even if she doesn’t qualify as a finalist. I chose Brown and another school and Brown sent me a letter congratulating me on my accomplishment (National Merit commendation). </p>
<p>Choosing Tufts might be a small factor in the admissions decision, but it most likely won’t play a big role. Unless your daughter wins the National Merit Scholarship, she won’t get any money. I would suggest picking the two schools that are your daughter’s top choices</p>
<p>Yes, I am from NJ and the same thing happened to me. High enough for commended, but didn’t make it to semi or finalist. Just have your daughter choose her top two schools, and forget about it. It won’t make or break an admissions decision.</p>