<p>Garland - Your principal and our former principal must be twins. At an awards ceremony for seniors, fancy framed printed certificates were awarded to students for being named "National Merit Finalists for Outstanding Performance on Advanced Placement Tests".</p>
<p>On the other hand, I must say that my son's Guidance Counselor (who usually isn't too dynamic) called him at home to ask what college to put as first choice on the National Merit finalist application. I think my son forgot to fill that in or something, since the colleges he was applying to dont give NM scholarships. It was good to know the counselor was carefully reviewing the application before sending it.</p>