Congratulation to all the 2014 National Merit Finalist!

[Anonymous]

Results came out yesterday.

[Anonymous]

CAUTION: Any attempt to compare high schools on the basis of numbers of Merit Scholarship winners will lead to erroneous and unsound conclusions. The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The program does not measure the quality or effectiveness of education within a school, system, or state.

[Anonymous]

Like any of them read this site, who cares, has anyone in a job interview asked if you were a National Merit Finallist?

[Anonymous]

Yes

[Anonymous]

I put it on my resume right out of college. Mostly because there was nothing else to put besides a couple of summers of lifeguarding, but it did seem to help.

[Anonymous]

+ 1000

[Anonymous]

Also MD v DC v VA schools are all held to different standards. DC kids need to match the top state in the nation to qualify where as kids from VA and MD are only compared against students from their home state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also MD v DC v VA schools are all held to different standards. DC kids need to match the top state in the nation to qualify where as kids from VA and MD are only compared against students from their home state.

It's based on residence not school location. So many private school kids will be held to the MD and VA standards anyway. And for NMSF, is 1 point different than DC.

[Anonymous]

17:48 - I was a finalist and I can guarantee that it has never, ever come up in any context. The colleges make their decisions before the list comes out. The only way they know is when they get the check.

It's still a nice honor, but it's no sign of much of anything.

[Anonymous]

I'm a bit confused. My son was notified he is a finalist by his school a couple of months ago. Do you mean the actual scholarships came out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I'm a bit confused. My son was notified he is a finalist by his school a couple of months ago. Do you mean the actual scholarships came out?

Not everyone gets funded. A select few are funded by the board itself. Mine was funded by a local newspaper. Some never get $$

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:17:48 - I was a finalist and I can guarantee that it has never, ever come up in any context. The colleges make their decisions before the list comes out. The only way they know is when they get the check.

It's still a nice honor, but it's no sign of much of anything.

The students do know who is a semi-finalist early in the fall and can put that on college applications. Given that semi-finalist status is based solely on test scores that the colleges see, I don't think it's a big deal, although there are some colleges who publish how many NMSF students they have and perhaps at those places it confers an edge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CAUTION: Any attempt to compare high schools on the basis of numbers of Merit Scholarship winners will lead to erroneous and unsound conclusions. The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The program does not measure the quality or effectiveness of education within a school, system, or state.

Agree 100%, thank you. Singed parent of NMF at non-big X school who has made the same statement many times on DCUM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I'm a bit confused. My son was notified he is a finalist by his school a couple of months ago. Do you mean the actual scholarships came out?

Yes.