<p>Um...ok I'm pretty sure my score is high enough for semi-finalist, but I'm not really sure what to do from here. Is it difficult to go from semi-finalist => finalist w/ scholarship money? What's the essay requirement? Also, at what time should i be expecting a letter outlining this stuff out? If someone could just explain to me the application process, I'd really appreciate it. THanks.</p>
<p>If you're a junior, nothing's going to happen for a while. Semi-finalists get sent applications sometime during senior fall. There's a pretty basic essay about what kind of studies/career you're interested in pursuing, a guidance counsellor recommendation, and you send them SAT scores to confirm that the PSATs weren't a fluke.</p>
<p>Almost everyone (15/16) who is a semi-finalist becomes a finalist, but most don't actually get an award. You find out in February of senior year if you're a finalist. At that point, you get priority if you are going to a college which sponsors scholarships or if you have a family member who works for a company that sponsors scholarships. If you don't have either of those advantages, then you can still get lucky and randomly get one of the unsponsored scholarships, but your chances are something like 1/10.</p>
<p>Becoming a finalist (which will happen if you are a semi-finalist without weird disciplinary issues or something) is the part that carries the prestige with it and actually reflects an achievment by you. Actually winning money comes down to connections or luck, and is much harder.</p>
<p>that was pretty helpful indeed.</p>
<p>oh ok thanks a lot</p>
<p>The big thing is keep an eye out in late August/Early Sept. for the paperwork. It will go to your HS. If your HS is not used to having NMS, it may verywell sit on someones desk unopened. Communicate to your principal that something is coming for him/her that is very important to your college plans. </p>
<p>But stay on top of it. The hardest thing for us and NM was having to depend on other people to get their parts done. </p>
<p>For S (first) principal called us, had us come in and congratulated us and gave us the paperwork within 24 of reciept, even though we could not announce anything for two weeks.</p>
<p>With D, different Principal, no notices whatso ever. It wasn't unitl we went to an honors function at a local college that we learned from other people that the information had been sent. Back at her school she had to ask them three times to look for the information as it was now 3 weeks after it should have been there. Finally found in a sec's desk dated 3-4 weeks prior to the principal. Our deadline was a couple days. Principal had to call NM and beg forgiveness, and thankfully she got some, but what a stress producer. </p>
<p>So my advice, ask ahead of time for your principal to watch for it and if you haven't seen it by the start of school, go in and ask again.</p>