@cttwenty15 Wow, your scores are great.
@Joe2015 It was a new link addressed specifically to DS and just had the information for his scholarship. I don’t think you will see anything unless you receive something.
Congratulations to your son!
@albert69, Thank you. Hope you get the $2500.
The $2500 winners are prorated by state, just like the semifinalists, so the criteria to win one will vary by your home state.
High GPA and SAT seem to be the most consistent factors.
Based on @BobWallace’s post above, it seems that a state with a low PSAT cutoff is less likely to have many stellar SAT scores, so perhaps the criteria for the $2500 are a bit lower than in states with a higher PSAT cutoff for NMSF. My class of 2012 son (in Texas) had a 233 PSAT, 4.0 GPA and 2200 SAT and did not get the $2500. Class of 2010 son had a classmate with a 2400 SAT and she did not get it either, but she did not have a 4.0 and also had no ECs. I predict we will 0 for 3 on the $2500, but it works out the same when the university pays it.
@Barfly I see what you’re saying. I think there might be some high scorers in our state, though, from a couple of private schools and one particularly good public school, despite the fact that the vast majority of schools in the state are abysmal, from what I hear. Whatever, I should stop obsessing over it…
Hmm, just noticed this tidbit in one of the NMSC documents regarding the $2500…
“Because every Semifinalist who qualifies as a Finalist
has an excellent academic record and outstanding test
scores, the school official’s characterization of the student
and the student’s essay play an important part in the
process of choosing Merit Scholar designees. Activities,
awards, and employment are also considered. Winners in
each state (or other selection unit) will be the Finalists
judged by committee members to have the most distin-
guished credentials and potential for academic success,
without consideration of financial need, college choice, or
major and career plans.”
Maybe my synopsis that those awards are mainly stats driven is wrong…
I saw that the corporate awards have been awarded. When will the Merit Scholar awards be announced? And those are just a one-time deal, right?
@twinsmom15 March 25 is when the letters are supposed to be mailed for the $2500 awards. Check the osa portal though, it seems that the awards are posted on there before people receive the letters.
I called today, and NMSC said letters will be mailed and portals updated tomorrow, March 26th, for the $2500. scholarship winners.
Thank you for the update @ClueBus. Good luck to us all tomorrow!
Just checked my portal, nothing. 
Same here.
No change in the portal here. It is hard to determine whether it is bad news or no news. I think we need confirmation that the scholarships have been posted before we jump to conclusions…still hoping!
Same here, nothing
I’m going to post my stats for future reference - as a non-winner of the $2500 award.
PSAT:211
SAT:2030 (2050 by NMSC standards)
GPA: 4.0
Essay: Well written but not that exciting unless you’re a flying enthusiast
ECs and awards: I listed Civil Air Patrol positions and a couple awards I had gotten through CAP. Not much variety in the ECs and no scholastic awards, so that probably wasn’t good.
Rec letter: I don’t think it was bad (I asked my Calc professor at the community college), but I don’t know if it was amazing. I never saw it.
Nothing on my son’s portal either.
While we wait, I have a question:
DS is deciding between 2 schools and each offers a small NMF award ($1K/year for 4 years for only 3 students at one school, $1500-2K/year for 4 years guaranteed at the other). When I read the NMSC website, it sounds like if he got a one-time $2,500 award from NMSC then he wouldn’t be eligible for these college-sponsored awards, which are actually larger. Here’s the text I’m referring to:
To be considered for a college-sponsored award, a Finalist must meet all three of the following conditions.The Finalist:
- must have notified NMSC that the sponsor college is his or her first choice;
- must have applied for admission to that institution; and
- must not have been offered any other National Merit Scholarship
It’s that last bullet. Does it refer only to NM scholarships offered by other colleges, or to the $2,500 NMSC scholarship as well? I understand that only one NM scholarship per customer, but if offered two, it would be great to have the option of choosing the larger one 
Thanks
edited for typos
@Putterer…Your initial interpretation is correct. If your S is awarded a one-time $2500 scholarship from NMSC he will not be eligible to receive the school sponsored awards that you mentioned. Some universities will make up the difference between their school sponsored awards and the one-time $2500 awards so the student does not lose out on any monies, but not all universities do. Northwestern is one that comes to mind that specifically states they will not make up any difference.
I’d recommend you call the 2 schools and ask them directly what their policy is for NMFs who are awarded the $2500 scholarships. Hopefully they will fall into the category of schools who don’t wish to see students lose any money.
@albert69, Don’t throw the towel in yet, no news is not a rejection, it is just no news.