<p>Here’s the story:</p>
<p>Applied to Stanford early. Got rejected. They don’t want appeals (I think).</p>
<p>Became a National Merit Finalist. Heard that Stanford is one of the top schools in terms of # of finalists.</p>
<p>Should I tell them this? I was thinking that since Stanford has so many finalists, it must be something that they’re interested in.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, I know that this could also go the other way: Stanford accepts many intelligent students, and it is reasonable to think that these students would also have high PSAT scores. So it is not the Finalist status that interested Stanford, it is the intelligence (and the Finalist status happened to go along with that).</p>
<p>The reason I’m asking is that I listed Stanford as my top choice college when I became a Finalist.</p>
<p>It’s a long shot, I know. Thanks for your advice.</p>
<p>Telling them could never hurt you. But I don’t imagine it will help you too much, sorry.</p>
<p>geometry, congrats on the NM Finalist designation. However, you are correct that Stanford doesn’t consider appeals of admissions decisions. Also, the great majority of NM semifinalists do go on to become finalists, so even if a college did consider appeals of its decisions, that probably wouldn’t be a basis for reconsideration. (Nor would having listed a college as your first choice on the finalist form have any bearing on the appeals issue.) I hope you are admitted to another college you are excited to attend. Good luck!</p>
<p>Even if you won the Nobel Prize, you couldn’t appeal your decision (though I imagine they’d happily accept you REA the next year). But NMF are a dime-a-dozen at top schools. The high number NMF at top schools is simply a reflection of a bright student body and applicant pool; however, receiving National Merit was almost certainly not the reason those students were accepted.</p>
<p>No. </p>
<p>Remember that 15/16 Semi-Finalists go on to become Finalists. </p>
<p>This just shows you aren’t in the bottom 6.25%. I’ve honestly never met someone who was cut at that stage. I wonder how that even happens.</p>