NMF rejection letters will likely get mailed sometime this week.

Paying for College National Merit Aid
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@lcgusa, I’ve been sad about this all day. It may be one of those years where NMSC had to tighten the criteria - who knows? None of us can really know.

My DS also got a year-end “C” - but his transcript showed the “B” he got in the first semester, same class. What’s crazy is that he literally got the “C” and the “B” by just a fraction of a point (can’t recall exact details, but he barely missed a “B” and an “A”) and his particular teacher did NOT round up. But - the OTHER teacher for that class DID round up! So several of my DS’s peers DID get rounded up to the next letter grade, while DS and some others did NOT. To think that everything was riding on what amounted to a few test questions over the semester was maddening to me! In a way, I guess the PSAT is about the same set up. Miss a question or 2 - and miss the cut-off for your state. Ugh.

All I can say is that it sounds like you had some circumstances surrounding that “C” - be they health, family, whatever - and I definitely encourage you to appeal. Even if nothing comes of it, you won’t look back & wonder what would have happened otherwise. I would contact your GC tomorrow to get this going, if you have not already. Make sure he/she understands what this means to you (in terms of being able to attend college), so he/she can do his/her best in presenting your case.

Please keep us posted on how this turns out for you. Your stats are great, so you will have options. But I understand what that NM scholarship can mean, so I won’t pretend it’s not a big deal.

Now, as a parent, I’d advise you to make sure you share your feelings on this with your own parents, or a trusted adult at your school, and let them help you work through it. You may be keeping a chin up for your family, which I can understand, but the adults in your life have the perspective of time…and age!..and they can help you move forward on your way to a GREAT future. You’re clearly smart & you have a good head on your shoulders. That’s more than most young people your age have, believe me. In that alone, you’re ahead of the curve. Let trusted adults in your life help you navigate this disappointment, because that’s why they are there.

I’ll be looking for an update from you. It would be great if you could post your outcome here, so that others can learn from your experience & see how you did well in the end.

We’ve all been rooting for you, and that hasn’t changed. Hugs to you, @lcgusa.

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@GoAskDad I’ve had a long talk with my parents about this–though the odds are it while unsuccessful, it’s worth a shot to appeal just to see. My parents and I will contact my GC in the next day or so. Who knows, anything can happen. I’ve read a lot over the years, esp. three years ago, where NM just callously rejected the appeals. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an appeal being successful, but maybe I should just start thinking positive thoughts.

Thank you so much! There’s a lot I lament about the Internet and how it really has consumed us all, but without it I wouldn’t have the virtual support from strangers who have been in the same predicament before. I am forever indebted.

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sorry, I type really fast…“odds are low,” I meant

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@lcgusa I concur with the posts above that you should definitely appeal. There was a successful appeal in the last couple of years posted on CC – if you search “NM appeal” I think that post comes up in the first 3-4 threads that are listed. I think it was in Ohio, maybe? So not Florida, but still, important to know that at least one appeal has gone through successfully. Fingers crossed!

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@lcgusa Keep your chin up, you have an amazing record that many would only dream of. It all will be alright for you!

Has anyone else received NMF(acceptance/rejection) letters this week?

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@twosmartboys No one would receive acceptance letters at this point. Those are mailed to the schools in February.

If your child hasn’t received a rejection letter by, say Saturday, you can probably be assured that he wasn’t rejected…unless you have an irregular mail issue.

Did your child have a “black spot” on his NMSF paperwork?

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@mom2collegekids No, no “black spot” that we are aware of, but who knows? Thanks for your answer!

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@twosmartboys NMSF students only get rejected if they have a “black spot” …such as: GPA, Cs/Ds, SAT score below the minimum (which is usually 1960), discipline problem, didn’t fill out the paperwork, rude essay.

It’s not random. It’s not a “who knows” situation (thankfully!)…lol… If yoru child doesn’t have those issues, he will make NMF …congrats.

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@mom2collegekids How about a few Bs?

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B’s haven’t been reported as being an issue. What is the GPA? How many B’s. Maybe if someone had a 3.0 (all B’s), that could be an issue.

Some B’s are ok…they don’t expect all A’s.

@twosmartboys

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@mom2collegekids GPA 3.9, couple B’s /semester, no letter yet

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Still haven’t gotten a letter yet. I’m going to continue to worry until I learn I won for sure but I’ve got a bit of hope now. I had one C as a semester grade in AP Calculus that was hoping wasn’t gonna kill my chances.

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@twosmartboys Sounds like your child will be fine, but that GPA sounds weighted. Is it? What is the UW?

@jgriffen When did you take APCalc?? And what were both the semester grades? Does your transcript include a year end grade? does it include semester grades.

Some schools ONLY put year end grades on transcripts, so a student could have a C and A but the year end grade might be a B…and that may be the only grade on the transcript.

my younger son got a B+ one semester in high school, but the second semester was an A+, so his year-end grade was an A, which is all that was shown on his transcript.

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@mom2collegekids I took Calculus as a junior, a year ahead of most of my class and with a very tough teacher which is why I got a C. I got a B the second semester, but I think my school reports both semesters separately, not year end grades.

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@GoAskDad I have an update to share: my parents and I went to talk with my guidance counselor today about the appeal process. She had no idea that such a process existed, but then again my school doesn’t produce a NMSF every year. She said she wrote a good recommendation concerning the medical issues I was having freshman year when I got that C in math, but she still thinks that C and the fact that I was in an algebra 2 class that I withdrew from with a big fat WF (withdrawn fail) on my transcript, but then consequently went to summer school to make up, where I got an A, was the reason I got put on the chopping block. Yes, I had a rocky first 3 semesters of high school with lots of medical issues, but I had all A’s the rest of sophomore and junior years, and then all A’s the first semester of my senior year. We made a plan that I would call NM about their appeals process and what my GC had to do to initiate it and then fill her in on Monday so she begin the process.

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Best of luck with the appeal, @lcgusa. Very glad to hear your guidance office is working with you.

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@mom2collegekids UW 3.996

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I’m super nervous right now. My SAT score is 2050, lower than @Icgusa, and I’ve got a semester C on my transcript for one of my dual enrollment classes. I didn’t get a letter today thankfully. Do you guys think it’s safe to assume I’m advancing to Finalist?

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No letter in St Louis. Two semester C’s in AP Government and AP Pre Calc. Son missed 16 days of school last year which contributed. We alerted counselor and asked them to write about days missing, and had recommending teacher who had him for 4 years (Computer Science teacher) weave comments about health and missed days into the narrative. Starting to feel safer but am concerned that waves of letters, mail errors, or winter storms potentially are influencing letters not appearing. Guess we’ll all know in two and a half weeks for sure. Thankful we applied early at Alabama just in case it doesn’t happen as the experience was fabulous and an amazing scholarship even at the semifinalist level that just gets better at Finalist. Hoping for USC admission and National Merit half scholarship. Thankful four days have gone by since first rejection showed up and no letter has arrived and …like so many here, celebrate an uneventful mail day. Best to all those still in the hunt that are worried about C’s. Each day is increasing the odds in our favor.

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Agreed, I’m worried about mail issues too. The mailman that delivers for my neighborhood is unreliable and always drops off mail at the wrong addresses. I have a feeling that my rejection letter is sitting in someone else’s trash can or mailbox right now…