Comments on: National Merit Semifinalist essay

By: katie

katie — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:20:43 +0000

I think you should clarify that you do not submit grades, activities, etc. to the College Board but rather National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The College Board gives the test, but National Merit is a completely different comany who gives the scholarships.

By: ali

ali — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:31:53 +0000

i have to write my own essay for national merit finalist applications, and i have got to be the most scatterbrained person on the face of the earth. at my school, we had to turn in our applications separate from our essays, so i dont have my application any more, and therefore dont have the little sentence that says exactly what im supposed to write about. i was pretty sure it was just a general “tell us about your past and future” kind of thing, but i was wondering–does anyone know if there are more specific instructions on the essay?

By: the dop

the dop — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:13:45 +0000

edie will definitely make finalist. congrats on the 2310. 16,000 make semi-finalist and 15,000 make finalist. the fraction that does not get to finalist are usually people who did not submit their finalist application, submitted it wrongly, or had terrible grades…3.7 GPA is definitely reflective of easily qualifying grades

By: sheila

sheila — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:12:06 +0000

I think Edie is confused-she may be a semifinalist eventually, but that hasn’t happened yet, at least according to the college board. her scores are probably a lock, they just haven’t announce this yet

By: Patti

Patti — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 15:41:59 +0000

What is the cutoff score for qualifiying?

By: Edie

Edie — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:10:22 +0000

I took the PSAT in early October and found out this week (January 4th) that I am a semifinalist. I have two concerns.

1) When I got my PSAT scores from my guidance counselor, he said that there was a possibility that I might have to take the SAT as part of the process. I got a 2310 on the real SAT in December (with which I was satisfied) and, quite honestly, I don’t want to take it again. Since I took it two months after the PSAT, do you think I will have to take it again?
2.) My GPA is around a 3.6/3.7 on an unweighted scale of 4.0. I took really challenging classes, but do you think this will eliminate me?

By: May

May — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 05:55:23 +0000

Part of the application package also includes a recommendation from a teacher or counselor.