@JBFlying It’s frustrating for sure, but in our case, not many kids here take the PSAT or SAT and only a few of those know about the benefits of NM, so the school just isn’t familiar with the process.
No letter yet at daughter’s school ( but she did find out she was accepted to the University of Florida!) Just remember, if all else fails, the student or parents can call National Merit Corporation beginning Monday afternoon to confirm finalist status. Off to buy more Gator gear. and chocolate. How many of you have been stress eating waiting on the NMF news?!
@IABooks I’m just grateful for my D’s school which takes the time to learn about these things so it can attract the kids who might do well and go on to be NMF or scholars. They bestow the accolades on them as much as on the kids who are signing commitment letters to play college sports (there are usually a handful of them each year as well).
Would be nice if NMC just posted the decisions to the portal and let everyone check there and send the certificates to the school.
@paveyourpath - Ha! They are probably deathly afraid that some super-bright NMF will hack into the system and post the results on CC . . .
@JBStillFlying Good point, although, the posting decisions to the portal idea is really for the benefit of us parents not the students. :)) These kids are all so incredibly patient.
I doubt the school didn’t know about nm process, given it has 10+ finalists every year (12 this year). Maybe it is just a mixup with the scholarship winners.
If son didn’t make it, it is probably due to low SAT score on the old test.
@paveyourpath yes! I know my kid’s letter is mired in the swampy mailroom, glued to the underside of a doughnut box. But at least the pep rally was a smashing success!
My daughter’s letter to the principal arrived on Friday. 
She had asked in the office what time the mail arrives, then got permission to leave class at that time, intercepted the letter in the office, and hand-delivered it to the principal. Otherwise it probably would have been mired in the swampy mailroom.
@Mommertons your daughter thinks like the resourceful nmf she is!
I called the NM Foundation today and apparently I’m a finalist, I hope this helps someone with C’s and B’s in the future panic a little less than I did haha
@Tgirlfriend Congrats to your S for making NMF!!
My S is considering two of your S’s schools, so we’d love it if you’d share some details of your visits to Texas Tech and/or OU. Are you also looking at UT Dallas (another NMF full ride)?
Finalist! It may come to naught still, depending on where he lands, but we are happy for the honor in its own right.
Daughter is a finalist! Agree that it’s so helpful to know stats for future candidates so here it is:
PSAT: 222
SAT: 1490
ACT: 35
11 APs
Oops, stats and application advice for future worriers:
PSAT index 219 (IL)
SAT 1520
No Cs, three semester Bs in honors classes
5 APs
No disciplinary record
Students and parents at sleepy schools: you are reading this so you already know the PSAT is potentially significant. If I had known, I would have had my son take a practice test or two – and definitely would not have let him go to a Chance the Rapper concert the night before, coming in at 2am, haha.
Get a jump on things once you are a semifinalist. Review the application right away, ask for a letter of recommendation from a teacher if your school requires it. Our guidance counselor had never done NM before, so the semifinalists were sort of on their own, scrambling for recs a week and a half before deadline.
I wish I had known that semifinalists often edit down their common app essay for the NM essay and apparently that is fine. That would’ve saved him a lot of time since he composed a new one the night before during a really busy school week.
We weren’t going to pursue NM since he had done well on the ACT (34–he practiced) and were worried a bad SAT for confirming score would damage his college applications (for schools without score choice). He insisted because he thought he could do well and was interested in Northeastern. He was right. In general, trust your kid to know her/himself more than I did throughout the crazy college process. I wish I had. It would have been more peaceful for me (he isn’t a worrier).
So crazy for the journey to be over. D is so happy & is on pinterest planning her dorm room. I honestly can’t remember her stats except ACT 33 and PSAT SSI of 219 , Accepted to her 1st choice,University of Florida and as a NMF, will receive the Benacquisto Scholarship which is the Cost of Attendance .
To future PSAT takers in Florida. It matters! Full rides to in state universities for all Florida National Merit Finalists. We didn’t know that when our D and S took the PSAT. No one at our children’s school or school district ever sent out any info on the Benaquisto Scholarship which in hindsight might have been a good thing. D took the PSAT with little pressure.
My D did well on the ACT and she did not take the SAT until she needed to take it for a confirming score for her National Merit app. She did not stress too much over it because it was in the fall of her senior year and she felt confident without review. I am the worrier and am so thankful for the CC community for all the info. I would have never known that D was a NMSF until the letter arrived at her school without all of your knowledge and insights. Thank you, thank you.
Back to planning the perfect dorm room.
@floridamomof3 Congratulations! It’s nice to hear of stories where the NMF is getting a full ride.
@floridamomof3 - The Benacquisto is a beautiful thing for NMF!! Go Gators.