Hello, I am a junior who took the PSAT this fall. For some reason, there was a mix-up when our school sent in our tests to Collegeboard to be scored, and some students’ tests were not scored (I was one of these students). At first, I was angry but since then I’ve taken the old SAT twice and got a 2290 (800CR, 770M, 720W) and don’t feel a need to take the new SAT, as I already feel pretty confident in my scores and don’t want to waste anymore money on these tests, haha. However, today we were told that they have found and will score our tests, but they will not be used to qualify for National Merit (which is why I wanted to take the PSAT in the first place). They are also going to allow us to take the March SAT to qualify for the National merit. My question is, should I pay the late fee (~$80) to take the SAT in order to qualify, or is it not worth my time and money? I’m aware that being even a semifinalist brings with it many benefits but I am mostly looking into public state colleges (CSU’s and UC’s) and I don’t think being a finalist is as important there. But I am afraid of regretting not taking this opportunity. Thank you in advance!
A lot of good state colleges will give you a $100,000 to $200,000 scholarships for National Merit, plus you get to live in special dorms, and so forth, and will be in an honors college where all the students have a high SAT or ACT score. A lot of times there are free computers and free trips to Europe. At Oklahoma they have an administrator who acts as a sort of concierge for enrolled Finalists, to handle any little problem they might have.
If you have plenty of money, I wouldn’t worry about it. But if a hundred thousand or so might come in handy, go ahead and take it.
I don’t think you necessarily need it, from what you say, and it may not necessarily pay off with a small scholarship depending on where you go, but it would be a nice little thing to be able to mention at parties, add to your resume when you look for a job, tell to your kids in twenty years, et cet. That might not be the best reason to take it. I would say it depends on how much you like taking tests and whether you have anything else to do that weekend.
ignore, sorry
I was a national merit finalist about thirty five years ago, and even with a professional career it’s nice to be able to say it.
@CorpusChristi Someone mentioned on another thread that their boss hired someone based on the fact that he was a NMF. They didn’t think it was that big a deal, but their boss did, so that was all that mattered.
@CorpusChristi Thank you for your help. I am getting a stipend soon, maybe I’ll use it. Once again, thanks for your advice.
@EarlVanDorn you’re exactly right. People think it’s a big deal ergo it matters to them. Whether the OP thinks it’s important to him if it matters to other people is the main thing. He’ll do fine either way. If there really is a huge scholarship potential because of it of course that’s a big deal.
@EarlVanDorn Hm. Thanks.