<p>OP here. to get the thread back on track–we are east coast in a high scoring state (>219 cutoff). I still think a junior spring release of SF names would be a huge improvement. You pretty much know that your kid WILL be a Finalist if all else is in order when the NM application is filled out in the fall. And there ARE a number of top tier colleges that offer not only NM scholarships but their own much more substantial merit money. Like Vanderbilt, Case, etc. The SF status puts your kid on their list as having merit potential and triggers scholarship mail–letters about large institutional merit awards–not just the standard recruitment stuff. This year it is hard to know whether those awards will exist for HS class of 2011–which is why contact from the colleges would save many hours of speculation and/or correspondence.</p>