Is it common speculation that the $2500 awards are given to NMF with high test scores? I wonder what criteria they use to pick the college-sponsored awards.
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NMCorp doesn’t have a criteria for college-sponsored awards…that is up to each college to decide. NMCorp doesn’t decide.
@Rdtsmith
Wait just was on their website. It says 16,000 semi finalist and then 15,000 to finalist. Then to 7,600 winners. Not bad stats I would say.
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I think you are misunderstanding.
All 15000 make NMF. So, nearly all make it. Making NMF is the real achievement.
The 7600 “scholars” are the ones who get money in some way:
2500 one time winners of $2500 awards
numerous corporate award winners
numerous college award winners
I don’t know how that 7600 number can be firm since some colleges award to ALL of their NMFs…and corps can change their numbers, too.
Every NMF that gets a NMF award … either from NMCorp…or …from their school…or from a corporation…are all scholars.
When a kid registers to move onto NMF, they list their parents’ companies. From what I know, the companies which participate are contacted right away by NMSC to make them aware that an employee’s child is NMSF.
My kid was one of the first announced in the school district a couple of years ago as a scholar, within a week or two of NMF announcements as a corporate scholarship winner. So it would make sense to me that they are getting commitments from corporate sponsors who sponsor employees’ children as soon as they can match a company to the kid at the NMSF stage. The way I see it, NMSC loses that scholarship if they make a big deal out of that C and ultmately, they are trying to have as many corporate sponsors pay up as possible to increase the number of scholars.
I was just parroting exactly what it says on their absurd. It even explains how corporate winners are chosen. Just like you mentioned. Regional or a parent works at that corp.
Website not absurd!
@mom2collegekids has given the correct explanation. Agree that their website can be quite cryptic, though! We found the whole thing very difficult to figure out, especially how to make sure my kid ended up with the most money out of it (she ended up with a college award, but we are still dealing with it 2 years later, as the award amount varies depending on whether the student is eligible for need based aid or not). For the last two years she was eligible for need based FA, and got the higher amount. But this year she won’t be… not sure whether they will drop her back to the lower amount or not.
For those of us waiting, a parent posted in the main 2015 NMSF thread today that her DS did not advance to Finalist - so letters are apparently en route. I am so anxious. I literally feel ill. But at least I know that we will have an answer soon, either way, though why NMSC relies on the US Postal Service, I will never know. Our mail is frequently mis-delivered, so even if that letter is coming for DS, he may not get it.
I’m thinking of everyone who’s waiting, and I especially appreciate the poster who shared her unfortunate news, even amid the shock of it all. That was considerate of her (assuming it’s a mom, but it could be a dad).
Also, on the topic of OU, we attended a NMSF dinner in our area for prospective students, and they definitely mentioned the “No Cs on Report Cards” matter. So it’s not like we haven’t been warned, but I’m trying hard to keep hope alive in my heart.
If we get a letter here, I will post.
@GoAskDad - I feel the same way. Very best wishes to all, but I am literally sick with the waiting. I will be so glad to know either way! We have one C as a semester grade, but a B for the year, so it could go either way. DS has a 2210 SAT, all Honors and AP classes, and is an editor on his school paper, with no discipline issues. We were told at a college event by the NMF Recruiter that some years one C is acceptable, and some years it’s not. Waiting, waiting. Thanks to all who are posting those tough notices to inform the rest of us.
The other side of the coin is it highly likely those with all As this semester and no negative changes should make it or is it totally a crapshoot? Did the schools send grades as I can’t remember? I only remember sending SAT scores. Do the essays count for anything? I seem to remember my son writing an essay…
The school sent their part in early October, right? Maybe even late September? So for most, not even quarter grades would be in. I’m a little worried that our GC sent whatever was in the system at that time, which can include place holding 0’s that early in the quarter, that would calculate some really ugly overall grades. For example, my son currently has 2 C’s and a B for this current quarter, which will most likely all be A’s once everything is properly submitted and graded.
@pamom21 that is my fear, too. If the HS submitted quarter grades, my S has some C’s purely because teachers put in zeros for homework and tests that hadn’t been graded by quarter end. I can’t imagine the GC would be so clueless, but she also told us that SAT’s would be auto submitted to NMSC from college board. They weren’t.
I’m also coming from a school whose only other recent NMSF did not appear to make finalist, despite being valedictorian, excellent SATs, straight A’s, etc. I have no proof, but suspect the school dropped the ball on that one.
I too thought that SAT scores were automatic and thankfully got a letter from NMSC saying my son’t SAT score was missing, so we quickly put a rush on it thru college board. If they hadn’t told us, I guess he would’ve been disqualified for that. There was no email just a letter thru snail mail in December
Does anyone who has received the dreaded letter still have access to the online account? I wonder if something would show up there for any of us. I just checked, and ours looks the same as it did months ago, and we still have access to changing the college of choice.
For those wondering about grades for 12th being submitted, this was also my fear as some teachers do not enter all grades until the end of the semester, so a student could definitely have a C, D, or F! Since it’s apparently my new personality to Freak Out about something related to NMF every week, I finally just broke down & emailed DS’s GC. They think I’m a nut in the office already, so I basically have no shame. The GC told me that no 12th-grade grades are submitted w/the NMF application - just a transcript that shows grades through the end of 11th + the 12th grade schedule. I specifically asked if any 12th-grade grades were sent…like at the end of the semester…and the GC said they were not.
Please do not take this as gospel, but I do think our GCs know what to do for NMF, and what is required for the whole process, since we have several NMFs each year. So maybe that helps those who are concerned about random mid-semester grades being sent.
Does anyone know that if a rejection letter is received, does it say why the NMSF was rejected? Or would we have to guess on the "why’?
I have heard that it does not give any reason.
The rejection letter says those that have a ‘record of academic performance that is consistently very high in all grade 9-12’
Apparently a C in Health does not meet that definition. Kind of a weird statement for them to make, since we know that dont have any grades for grade 12. A student could have all C’s in 12th grade and still make finalist.
I am wondering about how a C each semester in a year long AP Calc class would count. As one grade ? Thoughts?
Regarding the 12th grade grades, My opinion is that even if they were accidentally sent, NMSC wouldn’t accept them. They are not a part of the required application. Homeschool ‘principal’ here, and the application is clear that grades for 12th grade are not required and there is no place to enter them, only a list of current classes. Once the application is submitted, NMSC makes it clear that nothing additional is required on the part of the school. Also, no way to add grades electronically–once the application is submitted, schools no longer have access to the student’s application. They would have to mail the transcript to the office. @GoAskDad