<p>due to stupid mistake, i don think i made national merit semifinalist, although i made commended..
does NM matter alot in admission?
im applying to ivies and is not being semifinalist going to really hurt my application?</p>
<p>No (10 char)</p>
<p>National Merit status (SF/F or Commended) is certainly not a major factor in admissions at the Ivies and similar elite schools. After all, it just reflects how you did on one particular test on one particular morning. Your GPA, the rigor of your high school courses, your SAT/ACT scores, and your class rank are FAR more important. </p>
<p>However, being named a semifinalist will get you more attention at some lower tier schools (for example, University of Arizona and University of Tulsa) that give out National Merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Unless you're a finalist/winner, the NMSQT doesn't really matter. And even then it's not really a big deal.</p>
<p>If you're a "finalist/winner," how much more impact does it have on your application?</p>
<p>National merit varies so much by state....you can be commended in one state and finalist in another...</p>
<p>What about National HISPANIC Merit Scholar Finalist? I received this award, and don't know if this a big deal or not.</p>
<p>You're a high-scoring hispanic. That in itself is a big deal.</p>
<p>Private high schools love this award and in my area put in huge ads in the local paper that boast of the number of Commended and Semi-Finalists. Parents considering a particular private school do consider it as a reflection of the school's quality. At my son's high school, students who score highly as sophomores on the PSAT are highly encouraged to attend a rigorous PSAT review class on the school's dime in their junior year. Although the time required eats into ECs and class preparation, it is good timely prep for the SAT, which is far more important from a student's perspective.</p>
<p>Another person just asked the same question, if you go on the main page you should find it. Anyways, my response to him was...</p>
<p>Yes, especially for scholarship reasoning, you should correct this. I know it was an accident, but it's a larger mistake on your part than adding a few hours to your comm service total or something. I would email my admissions counselors and let them know to change it, or send a new version of your resume or whatever.</p>
<p>^and my response to you is read the first post before responding to a thread.</p>
<p>ehh apologies, I scanned it quickly. no need to be harsh :)</p>
<p>anyroad, I don't know how you can compare how it will "hurt" it to not be semifinalist, but it's great that you got commended anyways. With Ivies--they'll be getting a lot of finalists, semifinalists, and commended, so have that as an additional fact, but keep in mind what you can do on your app to make yourself an individual. Those levels are just from a test grade, one that many others will pass, but you definitely can make yourself appeal more with ECs and essays.</p>