<p>I heard that there is a committee that looks at each student's application to choose the 2500 students who get the one-time $2500 scholarship. I thought that they looked at PSAT and SAT scores, GPA and classes taken, and the essay/teacher letter. However, today I called NM, and their rep said that a "third party committee" makes the decision. He also said, "I think that the committee mainly looks at what is in the app--grades, essay, and letter--and not at the SAT scores. The SAT's are mainly used to determine who moves from semifinalist to finalist" (I asked if they look for a score of over 2000, and he said "Uh-huh"). He did qualify his answer by saying that "this committee is a third-party committee, not NM employees, so I can't speak for exactly how they make the decision". What have you all heard? Do they consider the exact PSAT score and the SAT in determining who gets the $2500 one-time scholarship?</p>
<p>There’s a thread from last spring where students who rec’d the 2500 posted their stats. That might help you.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1318232-2500-recipients-please-post-stats.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1318232-2500-recipients-please-post-stats.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks a lot, mom2collegekids! I’ll look at it. That sounds very helpful.</p>