<p>Me too MissMichelle, haha, our school has no clue what to do. They've been having me fill out most of the form that is labeled "school official only" :/</p>
<p>^ Um... you might want to talk to your school about that. This seems like the sort of thing you could be DQd for...</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>argh....our school still hasn't released the information yet. I asked my GC about it, but she said our principal probably has the list somewhere on her desk and is waiting until the 9-14 media release date to release it. That's just great you know, knowing others have gotten theirs well in advance and I will have to rush on the essay :(.</p>
<p>How important is national merit semi-finalist standing? I missed the cutoff for semi, but I am commended. About 30 students at my school made it. I'm afraid this will look bad on my college application. </p>
<p>Other than that, all my SAT I (2250)/ SAT II (790, 770, 760) scores are great and I've taken the most rigorous course my hs offers.</p>
<p>Other than the automatic finalist money you'd miss out on, in some schools, it should mean nothing. Absolutely nothing. Ivy's know it for what it is--three hours out of your life in October of your junior year.</p>
<p>yea, your psat score is not factored into admissions at all. besdies, you have a great SAT score, which is higher than the required psat score for semi.</p>
<p>Most Finalists do not win the $2,500 NMS Scholarship, esp. if they don't qualify for a university or corporate-sponsored award
(the former, you have to attend that univ; the latter, usually based on parent's employment at said corp.)
So these are not "automatic" by any means...</p>
<p>Elphaba88 - A few days ago, I called NMS to ask several questions, one of which regarded font size on the essay. You may type your essay in any size font as long as it can be read without a magnifying glass. Affix it to the page with non-glare tape.</p>
<p>My school is wildly inefficient about these things. Today, they called us down to the principal's office to let us know we'd progressed to semi-finalist status. (I already knew, of course, because of cc, but I didn't tell them that!) For some reason, though, they didn't give us our packets to fill out, and when I asked about them, I was told that the guidance counselors would provide them at some undetermined date. I hope they give us enough time to actually complete these things!</p>
<p>YES!! It's confirmed. My counselor ran into me into the hall today and she said congratulated me. :) yayyyy</p>
<p>Now I will go dance in my birthday suit.</p>
<p>So you went home to dance in your birthday suit?? Please tell us that is what you did.</p>
<p>Wow, people just getting their packets from their schools? I turned mine back into my school today!</p>
<p>My school hasn't even announced the names of the semifinalists yet... how's that for inept?</p>
<p>well, theyre supposed to be announced on september the 14th technically</p>
<p>Yea, its "confidential" until NM releases it to "national media" on Thursday... I don't see why its such a secret... and why you have to keep quiet about it too...</p>
<p>It's just one of those things...</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Hey! I just found out I was a National Merit Scholarship Semi-finalist and I was just wondering if anybody knows what is the student profile for students who are finalists. Are their SAT scores usually like perfect? Thanks a million.</p>
<p>Read some of the previous posts. I think they'll give you an idea of what a finalist has to be.</p>
<p>Summary:</p>
<p>You only have to show that the PSAT score wasn't a fluke on the SAT, you dont have to get 2400. Generally "good" students will get it unless there is something really wrong with your app.</p>
<p>Remember, 15/16 people go from Semi to Finalist.</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Ampersand - The cover letter specifically says, "Please give the Semifinalist Packet to your Semifinalist as soon as possible." The packets were mailed to the schools on August 22, so you should have received your packet during the third week of August if your school was in session. The suggested deadline for the student completing his/her portion, including the essay, and returning it to the school is... September 12. That's right - today!</p>
<p>The cover letter also says the date for the names to be released to the media is Sept 14, and that the school should ask the student to keep the information confidential until then. There's no reasonable excuse for a school to wait until now to notify semifinalists.</p>
<p>The deadline for the information to be mailed back to NMSC is October 12. Check with your school to find out when you need to have your completed portion turned in to them. Obviously, for those of you who don't yet have packets, that date will not be the NMSC suggested date of September 12.</p>
<p>does anyone know if they look at sat scores in deciding who to give the $2500 merit scholarships to?</p>