nsmqt commended + some venting :/

I’m a junior, class of 2020, and I recently got back my scores for the PSAT/NMSQT. Based on the trends in my state (semifinalist cutoff at 221, my si at 219), I expect to get commended. The day I got my score felt like the end of my world. I had prepared for this test since seventh grade, I scored 1550 on a SAT I took sophomore year, I worked hard the summer before junior yr, and I expected to get an si of 221. I would’ve loved to have that scholarship money in order to reduce some of the burden that is college tuition, but it seems like it wasn’t meant to be. Is there any chance that my SAT score will override the fact that I (probably) am not a NMS semifinalist?

I’ve just been really worried about college admissions this entire semester, as my grades haven’t been fantastic, and with a GPA of about 4.3, now I’m worried I might not even make top ten percent based on my school’s trends. In all honesty, this entire semester, I’ve felt like a loser and simply not smart. Sometimes, I wish my standards for myself didn’t exist…because I seem to be meeting none of them.

Time to get some perspective. Perhaps work with your school counselor. You may not get National Merit Scholarship status, but with your statistics you are a good candidate for other merit scholarships. This is not the end of the world.

You are fine, there are schools that give good scholarships that aren’t just for NMF.

It’s not the end of the world and you are being awfully hard on yourself. A 4.3 GPA is an accomplishment, I can’t see how that indicates that your grades haven’t been fantastic.

If you are worried about money for college I know there are several schools that now have an endowment large enough to meet 100% of every student’s demonstrated financial need (sometimes with very minor loans, less than $5000 at the college I went to). I would assume your college counselor would know which schools have moved to this system.

My son was a national merit winner.

Son wanted to stay in California. He did not want to attend some of the NM schools that were OOS.
His NM information awards came in after he turned in his applications. He mentioned it somewhere in his midyear report.
His NM funding is $2500 per year.

Is that what you were hoping to garner?
In the short of it, no one is going to really dismiss you because you weren’t “commended”.
The school gives you more money than the NM award does.

As people above have said, there are many schools who offer merit scholarships that are not NM based. You have a great SAT score and many schools will reward that. I’ve been out of this for a couple of years but some schools that come to mind are Pitt, UT Dallas, Alabama, Tulane, Case Western, ASU and I’m sure many more. I bet there is alot of information on this under Financial Aid and Scholarships at CC. Stay on top of your grades though. Rank will be important.

here is a list of colleges/ U’s that offer BIG scholarships to students like yourself.

http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/

The IMPORTANT thing to remember is that MANY of them have EARLY application deadlines. Do your research and put those early deadlines on your calendar so you don’t miss out.

Dont despair because you missed the cut off. With that SAT scores and GPA, there will be MANY colleges that will pay YOU to attend.
Happy New Year!