Being an actual finalist helps because colleges like to use that as bragging rights. But I don't thibk being a semifinalist helps as much.

As a former National Merit kid myself it did seem wildly overblown. And they just deducted the 2k from my financial aid grant so it ended up making basically no difference.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But for the schools less than top tier, it gives them bragging right - "we have 100 NMSF in incoming freshmen class" or what not. Again for top tier schools, not relevant.

This, for sure. If you're a semifinalist, there are big name state schools that will give you a free ride plus various forms of coddling/pampering while you're there (internships, stipend, etc.)

+1
Some of the schools DCUM would scoff at, but it's a good deal. Two of my kids got full rides based on PSAT and being a NMS.

NP. Rising senior will likely be a semifinalist. Unfortunately none of the "generous" schools are on his list. Did you find that these schools reached out to you after the individuals are announced? Thanks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But for the schools less than top tier, it gives them bragging right - "we have 100 NMSF in incoming freshmen class" or what not. Again for top tier schools, not relevant.

This, for sure. If you're a semifinalist, there are big name state schools that will give you a free ride plus various forms of coddling/pampering while you're there (internships, stipend, etc.)

+1
Some of the schools DCUM would scoff at, but it's a good deal. Two of my kids got full rides based on PSAT and being a NMS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being a semifinalist is just based on PSAT which is not that important to top colleges.

Being a scholar takes into account recommendations, essay, activities, grades etc

This^. Only 1200 get selected as National Merit Foundation's own scholarship. Really exclusive at that round.

As I understand it those NMF scholarships are only awarded to kids who didn't get one of the other scholarships (school funded, corporate funded). So, it's a limited number, but it's not necessarily something awarded to the top students overall who might have gotten money through one of those other avenues.

Anonymous wrote:But for the schools less than top tier, it gives them bragging right - "we have 100 NMSF in incoming freshmen class" or what not. Again for top tier schools, not relevant.

This, for sure. If you're a semifinalist, there are big name state schools that will give you a free ride plus various forms of coddling/pampering while you're there (internships, stipend, etc.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a national merit Scholar (2021 grad). 36 ACT, did not get into top choice schools. Currently at their safety with lots of merit money and is vry happy. I thought the results were a golden ticket, but I was wrong.

why? don't you think it helped him get a lot of merit money?

Yes to the merit money, but it wasn't where she wanted to go. It was her safety. Every parent hopes their child gets in where they want to attend.

Anonymous wrote:Being a semifinalist is just based on PSAT which is not that important to top colleges.

Being a scholar takes into account recommendations, essay, activities, grades etc

I suspect that based on the timing of the announcements for National Merit finalists (February) and the timing of college application deadlines (by January), if schools care, they pay attention to the semifinalist round rather than the finalist round. The colleges themselves will also receive recommendations, essay, activities, grades, etc., so they don't need the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to further vet the kids. if NMSC thinks they're not worthy of becoming a finalist, there's a good chance the schools would also already have figured that out by the time the press releases are out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being a semifinalist is just based on PSAT which is not that important to top colleges.

Being a scholar takes into account recommendations, essay, activities, grades etc

This^. Only 1200 get selected as National Merit Foundation's own scholarship. Really exclusive at that round.

But: If what you want for your kids is a high income and a big house, golf, tennis, sailing and fraternity skills beat the hell out of a National Merit Scholarship.

The parents here who obsess about the SATs and don’t talk about their kids’ golf handicap seem pretty innocent.

Anonymous wrote:Being a semifinalist is just based on PSAT which is not that important to top colleges.

Being a scholar takes into account recommendations, essay, activities, grades etc

This^. Only 1200 get selected as National Merit Foundation's own scholarship. Really exclusive at that round.

But for the schools less than top tier, it gives them bragging right - "we have 100 NMSF in incoming freshmen class" or what not. Again for top tier schools, not relevant.

Being a semifinalist is just based on PSAT which is not that important to top colleges.

Being a scholar takes into account recommendations, essay, activities, grades etc

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only about one thousand students become National Merit Scholars to qualify for National Merit Foundation's scholarship on their personal merit. They can pick any college but still be scholar and get their scholarship.

Most become scholars because they pick colleges or have parent's employer sponsoring scholarships. If they pick non participating elite college, they don't become scholar and stay finalist unless parent's employer is a sponsor.

All 3 of my kids were NMF/NMS and it's really no nevermind as far as admission at top tier schools is concern. They all went to state flagship and received significant merit scholarships (probably partially due to NM status) but, other than that plus life long NMF status, it didn't matter much.

+1. A kid who got good PSAT scores is almost certainly going to get good SAT or ACT scores. So the test score advantages are already going to be baked into the selection process, regardless of national merit designation. The marginal advantage (on top of good test scores) of being designated a National Merit semifinalist or finalist is going to be small anyway and will more or less disappear when you're talking about very highly ranked schools.

I was happy to be able to brag to my parents that my son was a national merit scholar, because it made them feel good. It also got him a couple thousand bucks a year at a state flagship which is nice but not life changing.

It absolutely matters. It would be foolish to not include it in your college application. It is prestigious and it does not matter if you get the scholarship money or not. Just like people who go to compete in Jeopardy don't do it for the money but for the prestige. People don't try for NMS for the monetary value but rather as a signaling device to colleges (and yes, there are a bunch of colleges that will give you a full ride and more with NMS, especially if you indicate that you are interested in a hot major like CS.

When you apply to college for the EA/ED round (in September or October), all you have is the results up to SemiFinalist or you are listed as a commended scholar only. To be considered a Finalist, you have to write an essay (that you can repurpose for common app), have a high proof SAT score, write a mini application and have your school also write recommendations etc. So the process of application to the NMS Finalist round itself is very helpful in getting you started on the rest of your college applications.

My kid is going to flagship in- state school. When he applied, he was only a Semifinalist. The college gave him a generous merit scholarship to sweeten the deal (well, keep in mind that for an in-state student, the costs are already low. So even getting $10 K a year from the college takes care of the tuition or dorm fee).

After the admission, he got the result from NMSC that he was a NMS finalist. At this point the state flagship school sponsored an NMS scholarship for him too and gave him 4K more. So that was in addition to his generous merit scholarship.

TL;DR version - yes, it is a prestigious achievement to add to your application. It does give your application a boost - BUT, NOTHING IS GURANTEED as far as admission to highly selective colleges are concerned because their criteria are not transparent at all. Legacy and race trumps NMS, 1600 SAT and 4.0 GPA.

Anonymous wrote:Nope, semi finalist doesn’t count.

Semifinalist DOES count because you dont find out about finalist status until well after the early decisions are in.
So if you are a competitive applicant, that may count.
(My DD was an eventual NMF winner and is going to HYP)

Anonymous wrote:Only about one thousand students become National Merit Scholars to qualify for National Merit Foundation's scholarship on their personal merit. They can pick any college but still be scholar and get their scholarship.

Most become scholars because they pick colleges or have parent's employer sponsoring scholarships. If they pick non participating elite college, they don't become scholar and stay finalist unless parent's employer is a sponsor.

All 3 of my kids were NMF/NMS and it's really no nevermind as far as admission at top tier schools is concern. They all went to state flagship and received significant merit scholarships (probably partially due to NM status) but, other than that plus life long NMF status, it didn't matter much.