I didn’t have a foreign language in High School (homeschooled, not required by state, not required for college I’m going to, and I took it in elementary school so I have at least basic knowledge). Everything else on my application should be good (4.0 GPA, got my AA in junior year of HS through community college PSEO and CLEP tests, etc), but I feel like this might make me get auto rejected for finalist.
A member of NMSC called my high school coordinator (aka parent) and was asking some questions/verifying info about my transcript that all seemed negative: no foreign language in HS, no English in junior year (I was taking all math and computer science PSEO classes at that point), and I think one other I forgot, similar to the English question.
If not for that, I would assume I’m good to get the finalist from my semifinalist standing, but this is really concerning me since a full-ride scholarship is on the line for me. Any thoughts or personal experiences about this situation? Thanks.
Haven’t run into any issues with them wondering about no FL.
I took English freshman and softmore years I believe, and I passed the CLEP college composition test. Junior and senior years have been all community college PSEO classes (1 chem, 4 math, and the rest computer science). I should also mention that all my highschool requirements are fully met and that I completed my gen eds & AA at the end of my Junior year.
I guess the question becomes whether meeting all the high school requirements and passing the CLEP college comp test counts as “hav(ing) a record of very high academic performance in all of grades 9 through 12 and in any college course work taken”, as specified in the National Merit guidebook as one of the qualifications needed in order to advance to finalist.
OP, the “dreaded letters” were mailed out last Tues. Not sure where you live but at least one person on the eastern seaboard received theirs already. If you don’t get anything by mail for the duration of the month, you are most likely safe. Your homeschool administrator (i.e. your parent) will receive notification of any finalist standing by mid-February so you can always check with them to see where you stand.
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that I completed my gen eds & AA at the end of my Junior year.
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So, in addition to some high school English, some English CLEP, and CC level Frosh Comp (which is usually 2 semesters), why wouldn’t NMCorp accept all of these? This sounds sort of like what Wash state students do with Running Start.
I’m not really too concerned about the English, moreso about the foreign language. And I live in MN (so I’m close to Illinois), so no letter yet is getting me hopeful. Thanks for the responses everybody.