Unofficially Officially a Finalist???

<p>Okay...this may become a moot point in kiddo's case (because hopefully she will have the information needed)...but looking at the NM timelines (thanks to those who've posted them!) and my d's personal needs...got a question.</p>

<p>She is NMS, and seems to have hit all the benchmarks (GPA, did the paperwork, no skeletons in her closet) to move on, and there has been no contact at home from National Merit (as it sounds like the no letters have started to hit mailboxes). So...notification is mailed to schools on 2/1. Her school is not super-fantastic about notifying kids about this silly non sports stuff (shame on me!), so I'm not sure when they'd get around to telling her if/when she makes the cut. Normally not a big deal, as a letter would be coming to her home after 2/8. However....she's auditioning for schools offering musical theatre majors...and we will be travelling out of state on 2/4. Among her schools on this audition tour is the University of Oklahoma, where she's been academically accepted, and keeps getting letters from the NM office, encouraging her to attend as an NMS. The acceptance into the BFA has the other hurdle of auditions, and they will accept less than 1% of the kids they see (but that's for my own sleepless nights....). Here's the question -- IF she hasn't heard from her high school before we leave town, since the notification will be sent 2/1, would it be okay for her to change her resume that she'll present at the 2/6 audition to "finalist"? (Assuming that there's been no news...). Would NM let her know if she called after the 2/1 date and explained the situation to them, or does she need to wait until the snail mail makes it to us? Gets complicated!</p>

<p>I’m not sure, but since I was able to call and find out whether they had received Ds completed National Merit forms, I would imagine that they would also be available to let you know if your D made it as a finalist. As long as you wait until after the published notification date, I don’t see why they wouldn’t answer that question for you.</p>

<p>If you are visiting OU, let the National Scholars Office schedule a day for you. They do an incredible job and really roll out the red (er…crimson) carpet! My son attended a class, visited one on one with a dean and multiple professors. He got a private tour of their engineering facilities, lunch, etc. Good luck!</p>