<p>Today, my son and 2 other students from his school were called down to the principal's office and were told that they are NMSF (there are only 38 seniors in their class - so 3 is a good number). I was surprised that they didn't have to wait until Sept 18th to find out. However, the paperwork said that the principals are to notify students ASAP. </p>
<p>We're sooooo happy for him!</p>
<p>Oh... and he got a letter from a college today that practically made the announcement, too. The letter said it was reserving a NMSF scholarship in his name. The colleges must have gotten the list, too.</p>
<p>JLauer:</p>
<p>Congrats on your S's NMSF! And it's nice to know that at least one college is trying to lure him. It must be a good feeling.</p>
<p>marite.....</p>
<p>thanks... We were so surprise to get the news today. We assumed that we had to wait until Sept 18th.</p>
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<p>$grats,<$$</p>
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<p>Congrats to your son & his friends & all the NMSFs & commended students.</p>
<p>Last year, my son was notified shortly after school began in August as well; all the NMSFs were called into the college counselor's office (there were lots of them--about 15-20% of the graduating class).</p>
<p>My son's school notified students today also.</p>
<p>I think most students notify the students at the beginning of the school term, so as to give the student time to prepare their essay. Sept. 18th (or thereabouts) is the date set for public announcements to the media ... but then there is a pretty short deadline after that for the school to transmit materials back to NM, so it's good to let the students who have the designation early on. I know that in my community, the school contacted the local newspaper to interview my son, and they wanted to have the article written so it could be published simultaneously with the official announcement. (Son was the first NM finalist ever at his school, at least as far as the principal could remember, and probably the only one in town -- rather a surprise to us at the time, as we didn't have a clue and hadn't given it much thought).</p>
<p>Anyway, congrats to your son -- it definitely is a boost for college admissions and opens the door to some nice merit money at many colleges.</p>
<p>Does anyone know the essay prompt yet?</p>
<p>mac....</p>
<p>Son's counselor is making copies of all the paperwork and will give it out next week. I think the prompt is in the packet.</p>
<p>^^^ thank you!</p>
<p>D doesn't go back to school until Sept. 5. Geesh, I hope it's an easy essay to write!</p>
<p>mac</p>
<p>I don't think they are hard. Maybe some former NMSF can tell us what their prompts were.</p>
<p>I forget what the exact prompt was a couple of years ago, but it was along the line of "Discuss your achievements and your plans."</p>
<p>Marite</p>
<p>That sounds about right. I bet the prompt is very similar each year. I wonder if they actually get read!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all semi-finalists!!!</p>
<p>Congratulations to the newest NMSFs!</p>
<p>Last year's prompt was "Tell us about yourself. . .what sets you apart?"
I think it is pretty much the same thing every year--just a personal essay allowing the student to describe himself, his background, achievements, education, interests, goals, etc. It has to fit in a limited space. I don't think there is an exact word limit--I think my kid's was around 700 words.</p>
<p>Parents: If you know scores that made semi's, please post them on the thread under Financial Aid. There is a thread there that is trying to compile all of the scores for the states.</p>
<p>Basically, your NM essay is a chance to tell colleges something different about you, since they can view your essay also. Don't just recite your stats but put some thought & effort into describing yourself (also don't devote too much effort to it, since 15000 of the 16000 NMSFs become NMFs anyway). It is helpful to let a trusted teacher, parent or friend review it before sending it in (our son never let us see it & I'm not sure whether he let anyone review it other than the college counselor who may have viewed it before turning it & all the others in).</p>
<p>For those who were notified, how did the notification take place? And when must the students turn in materials to be eligible for the next stage of the process?</p>
<p>I ask because I have heard that notification is done through high school principals, and the principal at my daughter's school is away for a few weeks because of a personal issue. We and other families at that school will need to figure out whether the NMSF notification is being handled properly or whether it has been screwed up because of the principal's absence.</p>