<p>My son will be a NMSF (230) next year, and will likely make the cut for NMF (3.85 gpa, no C's, 2140 SAT, etc.). He just took the ACT test and we had been so focused on the SAT because of the national merit process that I didnt' think much of it. Without any studying or effort he got a 34, which translates into about a 2250 in the SAT world I believe.</p>
<p>So, he is thinking he should send his ACT scores to the schools he is applying to instead of the SATs. He is looking at schools that provide good national merit scholarship money (USC, Northeastern, etc.). Will sending the ACT instead of the SAT cause any problems when we want them to know he is a NMSF and want them to award money based on that fact? We will not be eligible for need based aid of any sort, but like many families out there, we still cannot afford to pay 60,000 per year for tuition so we are looking at the NMF awards from the school as a great alternative for him.</p>
<p>My D was a National Merit Scholar whose ACT (35) was higher than her SAT (which I don’t remember; maybe 2260 or so). She submitted her official ACT results. </p>
<p>Her colleges all said that she could choose to submit either ACT or SAT. If you submit both, the college will essentially consider the higher one.</p>
<p>There is a place on the Common App where he can state that he is a NMSF (under awards), so sending the ACT won’t cause any problems with letting them know he is a NMSF. Also, there is a way to tell the college that you want it to award money based on his NMSF status; you can do so by declaring your first choice college on the official NMF form in April. There is another CC thread on NMF strategy that goes into detail about declaring your first choice college, and if your son is a finalist, you will receive detailed but hard-to-decipher instructions.</p>
<p>congrats to ur kid on great ACT!!! and national merit etc. That is wonderful. I agree with what’s been posted here based on research I’ve done, not first hand knowledge. I can say USC seems very laid back on scores and I can’t imagine would care if u sent in ACT rather than SAT. and the higher score can only help with scholarships. I assume you know ur kid will get 1/2 tuition scholarship to USC due to NM so long as he names USC as first choice school by whatever deadline is and he should apply to USC by Dec 1st. How exciting for your family!!!</p>
<p>My D is in similar situation. However, they can’t really claim NMSF or NMF until it’s official, can they? I actually told her to start her online app for Alabama, but I’m now wondering if she should wait. Or can those be updated as awards are finalized?</p>
<p>A student’s “unofficial” scores are included on each transcript that is sent from his high school.</p>
<p>Every time your child takes a test, the test results are sent to the high school. The high school is given these “little stickies” that have the scores on them. The GC puts a sticky on a sheet that’s part of the transcript (if your child takes a lot of tests, there will be a whole bunch of stickies plastered on that sheet). </p>
<p>So, colleges get all the scores (unofficially) whether you like it or not. :/</p>
<p>However, you still have to send your scores (officially) to most schools. Some schools, who are desperate for more applicants, will agree to use those score stickies to save you money.</p>
<p>And i lost my last message to Berrie but wanted to point out that there is no harm in applying now. Mom2collegekids can help me here but I’m sure Bama would let you apply and allow you to supplement the national merit info once we get more details in September and February. and yes, you can’t claim NM info til it’s official but if ur kid clearly made NMS status, Bama has been doing this long enough to know your kid made cut even with unofficial copy of scores.</p>
<p>Our HS no longer reports test scores. Our HS policy was changed due to the score choice reporting.</p>
<p>Don’t wait to apply to Bama. Do it now. Lock in the Presidential Scholarship. You can update for NM later. You can let Bama know that student hopes to be named NMSF.</p>
<p>Just to clarify: when colleges give merit aid, it is usually based on a combination of test scores (ACT or SAT) and grades, not necessarily NMF status, so you should be fine sending any or all of that info in. And I think I remember my daughter having to indicate which colleges were to be notified of her NMSF status when she filled out the application for NMF, so the colleges she applied to all knew anyway.</p>
<p>Honestly, the top schools (HYPS, top LACs) don’t care because many of the kids who apply are NMF and they only give need-based aid–it’s those second tier schools that offer serious money to sway students with top scores.</p>
<p>Just wanted to give a heads up that admissions acceptance is NOT automatic at USC for National Merit Finalists. We visited them this summer and they clarified the situation for me. IF a NMF student gets accepted – then he or she will receive the 50% tuition discount. But just making NMF is not an automatic “in”. </p>
<p>That discovery was a wake-up call for me. I thought that these schools who are actively recruiting NMF’s with $$ would automatically accept them, but apparently not so.</p>
<p>Calbearsmom, it’s quite true. There are other schools like Carleton and Bowdoin that offer smaller NM scholarships, but the schools are not safeties for anyone.</p>
<p>I’m actually in the same situation–230 PSAT (no Cs, 3.96 GPA), 2170 SAT, 35 ACT. I’ve been told by my counselor that it looks peculiar if you report NMSF or especially NMF without an SAT score, so I’m just sending in both. As long as the SAT isn’t terribly low (in which case you’d never become NMF in the first place), I doubt it can hurt. Some people even say that a high SAT and ACT (which you have) can be a plus over just one high score.</p>
<p>I’d disagree with your counselor. Colleges know that it costs a ton of money to send in another set of scores, and that it makes sense that you just send in a single set of scores. Colleges also know that for many people, the ACT is higher than the SAT (or vice versa), and that having a higher score on a single test is quite normal. Being a NMF (which you’ll definitely get) without sending in SAT scores shouldn’t look bad – after all, your SAT score is high enough to get you to finalist status.</p>