Hi CC people- I am starting to apply for colleges with national merit in mind. I got a 218 on the PSAT and live in Florida so I think I have a good chance of being a finalist with my other grades and scores being in line. Ok so my question is, how does the process of applying to college work when you don’t find out if you’re a finalist until January or February? For now I will apply to a few colleges, some for if I am a finalist and some for if I am not. It’s not like I can apply for NM scholarships now, when I don’t even know for sure if I’m a semi finalist. Do I contact the colleges once I find out about NMF and inquire about getting a full ride or whatever then? So I have to be accepted normally and then they’ll just add on the scholarship later? But then I know that most schools only give a limited amount of NM scholarships, and I know some only give a scholarship if you put them first on some national merit list or something… HELP!
Start here, this should help you: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1365011-faq-for-the-psat-sat-nmsf-nmf-process.html#latest
What YOU MUST do is take the SAT, if you haven’t already done so, and go see your HS counselor next month. .
If your PSAT score is above the FLA cut off score, then he will receive a packet from National Merit in late Sept. / early Oct containing a recommendation form that he fills out and an essay for you to fill out.
BE SURE YOU GET IT FROM HIM.
Fill it out and make sure he sends his recommendation form too.
95% of the time- if you are a NMSF, and send in the essay, and dont have a big black mark on your school file or have very low SAT scores, you WILL be announced in March as a NMF.
So there is no need to wait to apply to colleges to see if you qualify.
Participating colleges only award NMF scholarships to students who they have accepted AND who have declared the college to be their first choice college- i.e. where they have decided to enroll.
You DONT have to send in the card stating what your first, second and third choice colleges are when applying to colleges, but it MUST be filled out and sent in by May 1, after you decide in April where you ARE actually going to college.
Here is a link to the national merit program- scroll down until you see page 35- that shows which colleges [ and corporations] participate in the program and offer NMF Merit scholarships.
http://www.nationalmerit.org/annual_report.pdf
by the way- IT WILL DO YOU NO GOOD TO LIST ANY COLLEGE THAT IS NOT A NATIONAL MERIT SPONSOR AS YOUR FIRST CHOICE COLLEGE- IF you want to be awarded college sponsored national merit scholarship $$
.
this is a list compiled by CC parents, of the colleges that DO participate.
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/
I can speak to other schools but if OU is on your list you can go ahead and contact their National Merit office now. They will create a file of your interest and keep you informed about important events and help you with anything you need. If you visit they will make a customized tour for you and will even pay for lodging.
Note: The following is from my memory and is based on last year’s process. Verify all of this for yourself by calling the National Merit office or another reliable source. My information could be wrong or outdated!!
You should get notified if you are a semi-finalist around mid-September. There is then an application to be sent in to see if you qualify for finalist. The application includes an essay and a summary of awards/extra curriculars. You also need to make sure you send your SAT score to the National Merit corp. It is not automatic; you have to ask for the score to be sent. Last year the application was all done online, so I’m not sure what a previous poster is referring to when he/she says “mail in” things. Your high school counselor will need to do part of the application, too. I think the counselor includes your transcript as part of the application. Make sure you, and the counselor, meet the deadline you are given!! I remember it seemed like a rather short time in which my child had to submit the application for finalist.
Definitely consider applying to any FL schools you are interested in, and look up the Florida Incentive Scholarship. If that scholarship exists next year (it might get voted down by the state) you could get offered a free ride to several of the state schools if you make it to National Merit Scholar (not all of the schools participate in National Merit).
If you plan to apply to UCF, you might want to wait until your semi-finalist status is announced. If they operate the same way they did last year, they will contact you and will waive the application fee and the essay requirement for semi-finalists. UCF will invite you to a couple of events for semi-finalists/finalists. (again, if it is the same way they did last year).
The process is a bit confusing. You will eventually have to name a first-choice college on the National Merit site. Make sure to do so by the deadline. Don’t be afraid to call the National Merit Corp office to ask any questions. Don’t blindly trust what people post on this site (although most times the info on here is pretty accurate) including my post!! Verify, verify, verify!!
Good luck!!
The best way is to contact them.
What is the next step now when student made a cut off? Did anyone get login information yet? What is the deadline to submit application?
read post #4
Just to clarify, the Florida Incentive Scholarship is only available to Florida residents, and it could be cut by the FL legislature at any time.
Sept 9 is the day for public announcement of National Merit scholarships I was told today. High schools are aware right now and cannot disclose to the public until that date I believe.
Sept 9th is the embargo date for the media…only. Anyone else can tell whoever they want. Schools don’t have to worry about telling students earlier. There is no punishment or anything. The embargo date is simply for the media so that nationwide the lists are announced on one date.