They probably could give out more scholarships if they went electronic 
if you didn’t get a reject letter by now you are fine
Do most schools notify the kids? I find it strange that the school is notified first since the PSAT is optional at our school, and I paid for it. It seems like the students should be notified first.
its been my experience that the school is notified first, they tell the student and swear them to secrecy - a letter then arrived home about a week later- silly process in the digital age…
@chercheur I understand your frustration with the strangely delayed process, but NMSC is not connected to College Board so it doesn’t matter if you paid College Board for the PSAT fee. Believe me, I’d also love to make this process go faster.
Thank you, @traveler98 and @quinntheeskimo. I’m more anxious about this than my student!
@chercheur me too! I’m pretty sure my son has forgotten that this is the NMF notification window!
It is completely beyond me why this process takes what? 16 months. Seems designed for torture especially for those of us whose children are consistently on the “bubble” (SI score and grades here.) I see no reason it couldn’t have all been wrapped up on a much faster timeline. 6 months seems like plenty of time. Then the kids would have the info when completing their college applications. But who knows, maybe there is some mysterious behind the scenes process I don’t understand.
It’s Not A Sprint It’s A Marathon!
NMS Process did take this long before the computer/internet and emails.
It’s one class at a time, class of 2018 is almost over and class of 2019 Semifinalists process starts in April.
Here are class of 2019 NMSF Cycle/Timeline.
2017
October – PSAT/NMSQT at school 1.6M
December – Test Results/NMSC SI scores
2018
April – School Principal to Identify NMSQ students
Aug/Sept – NMSC releases names of 16,000 Semifinalists
September – Start Applying to Colleges
October - NMSF application
December - Last date to take the SAT(Done)
2019
January – Rejection Letter
February – Finalist Notified (first school then you)
March – Declare First choice college
May 1 Decision Time
My guess is that since NMSF are allocated around the country based on each state’s population of high school seniors, NMSC waits until fall to name the semifinalists to be more sure of the numbers of graduating seniors. Then the semifinalists need to have some time to take the SAT if needed for a confirming score, so I can also understand giving them a couple of months. That of course gets to the December holidays.
Could they allocate semifinalists based on graduating-senior data trends for each state over the previous several years? Probably. That would allow NMSC to choose semifinalists earlier and give students a chance to take the SAT before senior year if needed, although I think it’s only a recent addition for the SAT to be offered in the summer.
I can reason my way through January, but I have no theory about the process behind the finalist notification timeline. If NMSC knows in mid-January who ISN’T moving on to NMF, then that means in mid-January they also know who IS moving on. So why do they mail rejection letters three weeks before the NMF letters to schools, and why another week delay before the letters are sent directly to the students? Why two NMF mailings anyway, when NMSF are all notified through school? For that matter, why rely on mail anyway? They could do portal notification like colleges do, in mid-January for everyone. I’m interested to hear if anyone has a theory about the oddly timed finalist notification, because I’m sure NMSC has a reason but I can’t figure out what it could be.
As a total aside, I chuckle now every time I see @traveler98 show up in this thread. @traveler98, have you ever seen the “Travelers” Netflix series? It’s just mindless entertainment and pretty silly, but I sheepishly admit to watching it - albeit I seldom have time, so it takes me forever to get through the episodes. I believe there are 2 seasons and I’m on the second season. Anyway, to me you will always be Traveler 98! :))
Ha ha, I watch that show too @GoAskDad! I picked my username before I knew about it though.
IT CAME!! We received principal letter (we homeschool in MN) today that our daughter was named a finalist!! This is huge for her as she is likely to take a NMF package. Thank you all for your support during this LONG wait. I could not have remained as calm without you all. Good luck to everyone and know that some principals have the notices now.
It came in a big white 5 by 7 envelope with the certificate inside. Good luck to all!
Congratulations @Mnacttutor ! That is awesome! now we know to really start bugging our kid’s principals!
Congratulations! I expect ours to arrive by tomorrow then, hopefully. ;
That’s exciting! Congrats!
@Mnacttutor Congratulations!! I can’t believe the time has finally arrived!!!
Tonight my kid got a creepy phone message from a college encouraging her to apply and receive an automatic scholarship if she is NMF.
Yeah, congratulations ! This is a very very long process…