Question about the National Merit Scholarship Program?

Question

When I take the PSAT and they give me a letter of commendation just what does that mean to a college?

What I mean is, is it extremely helpful? "Hi, I didn't win, but I was in the contest"....

Answer 1

Hmm..Don't bash those letters of commendation, receiving one is a pretty impressive accomplishment.

Approximately 1.4 million students take the PSAT exam each year - of those 1,400,000 test takers, approximately 50,000 are selected for special recognition.  That's only about 3.5% of all the people who take the test.

Out of the 50,000 who get some form of recognition, most receive only a letter of commendation. That's about 33,300 students. (The other 16,700 are declared semi-finalists and some eventually become finalists)

So - out of 1.4 million people who take the PSAT, 33,300 of them get a letter of commendation - that puts you in the Top 2.5% of all test takers. That's nothing to sneeze at.

When you apply for college, there is a section on the application to list your accomplishments. Being a National Merit Scholarship Letter of Commendation recipient is an accomplishment you should list proudly, and it is guaranteed to catch the attention of any college's admissions department.

I hope that helped! Good luck on your PSAT.

Answer 2

What did your letter say?  Just because you didn't win doesn't mean you should include a copy of the letter with your applications.  All it means is that they are giving you a note of recommendation; praise: commendation for a job well done.