Yikes, scary times. Terribly sorry for your news @phantomranger. I took a nap this afternoon, and am now afraid to check the mail. @SparkleMom97, if by CFU you mean what I’m calling UCF, AND we both survive, we should talk. Fingers crossed and best wishes to all. Hugs to those with letters.
@SparkleMom97 What is CFU? Fingers crossed that you don’t get the same mail we did!
@phantomranger, one of the first things you may want to do is contact your school counselor today to see how they suggest proceeding with an appeal. I recall reading here on CC that the student must initiate the appeal, but your DS’s counselor may still have helpful suggestions or prior experience with this.
Also, you may want to search past NMSF threads where appeals are discussed. As I recall, there are mentions of appeals toward the end of 2013 threads and - even if specifics are not discussed - perhaps you could PM those CC posters who have appealed and are still “active” on CC. I might even suggest starting a new thread for helpful advice, though there may be a thread on this topic already.
I’m sure others will come along with better advice than this, and please keep us posted on how it goes for your DS.
@SparkleMom97, I may be recalling this incorrectly, but doesn’t your DC have one C in an honors or AP class? We have already seen a student with one AP C advance (upthread). I would feel a lot better if my DS’s semester C was in an honors or AP class. My DS’s class was an accelerated study of chemistry for sophomores, but it was not weighted. So having that UW C on his transcript probably looks a lot worse than having a C in an AP or honors class. I’m wishing you the best in this!
Sorry, I did mean UCF! 
We have one C, and DS has a lower weighted GPA than the 4.38 that was reported, so if I had to guess, I think we’re out. @pamom21 please feel free to IM me. Are you looking at UCF too? My son has his heart set on it.
@GoAskDad Good suggestions, and I will search. I wonder if there might be a kernel of hope for an appeal based on fact that grades, statewide, in NC public schools, are on a 7-point, not 10-point scale. Which means an 81 is a C here, where it might be a B anywhere else. I’m not remembering right off hand numerical scores on S’s transcript, but I’m betting those “C” grades were fairly highish. Anyway, I’m going to do more research. @PAMom21 yikes, fingers crossed for you!
@goaskdad Yes, the C was semester and it was in an AP class, but they reported the year grade as a B-. I had forgotten that previous post. I do remember your posting about that crazy advanced-but-not-advanced class your daughter took. To me, that alone would be a very solid reason to file an appeal. I think a non-standard curriculum class shouldn’t hold weight with this kind of thing. I’m not sure what grounds I would appeal on. My son is an editor on his school news magazine and spends upwards of 35 hours a week on that in the Springtime, so that is the reason for the C. Not sure that’s a good excuse.
@STEMFamily, you always seem to know where the good CC thread links are. Do you happen to have any suggested links for @phantomranger re: filing an appeal for NMF rejection? Even if there’s not a specific thread on that topic, I recall it being mentioned a few key places and I seem to think you linked to that thread at some point…somewhere…
If you are checking CC and know of any useful links, we could use them here! Thanks!!
Found the following thread dated 2013 about discussion on the appeal process
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1447001-appeals-process.html
I haven’t read through all comments though. Hope this helps.
Thx @Itazel for the link; that’s a good and helpful thread. I’m betting from what I see there that an appeal will not be fruitful, but we shall see. Sounds like NMSC is fairly callous in their treatment of appeals, even when there are severe circumstances such as deaths, depression, etc. We don’t have that. What we have is a couple of C’s in a state where it’s easy to get a C due to 7-pt grade scale. This is not the end of the world, but I am sorry if this really cuts Arizona State from consideration, as S was quite favorable to their Honors College. Perhaps we should contact ASU and see if there is anything they can do. We do have a more competitive offer from another school (small LAC), so it’s not that this is a disaster, but I really wanted him to have 2-3 good options to compare when decision time came. Sigh.
I would still appeal the decision and explain your very specific situation in your state with the unusual grade system. Fingers and toes crossed!!
@Itazel thanks for that thread. Boy, was it an eye opener and I’m kind of glad I missed it earlier. @phatomranger I’d still give the appeal a shot, you don’t have anything to lose…
Just for future reference- rejection letter here too. One C in Health in 9th grade. Hope everyone else fairs better!
Hi all, Just an update. Came home, reviewed transcript – S had 3 C’s. Will look into grade scale related issues if we can get in touch w GC tomorrow. This is super frustrating.
9th grade Health??? Seriously??? That is so wrong.
No news is good news here today, but this will be a long week. SO sorry for the no’s shared here, but I do thank you for sounding the alarm that it was time. I hope you folks don’t take this too harshly. It’s an honor to get this far. Best wishes with wherever you land.
This will be a long week of wondering and waiting. For those who have not advanced so far, please have faith! Some of these C’s in such minor classes - just wrong! Yes, it is a huge honor to get this far and you all have awesome records to prove it.Best of luck!
If someone was rejected because of a semester C in 9th-grade health, then DS does not stand a chance. @mittentiger, I am so sorry about your situation. Thank you for taking time to give us this information.
A poster on another thread indicated they also have a letter with one C - I believe for a semester. Same state as ours. Waiting on the mail, which is running late today, probably because we didn’t get mail yesterday.
@GoAskDad keeping my fingers crossed for you. You’ve been a great poster and I appreciate your insight.
The poster in KS I saw with the rejection letter had 6 semester C’s. Thinking of you and hoping for no more letters for everyone
@celesteroberts, I didn’t know that about the other poster. I asked the poster about his/her stats in the other thread, but I also feel guilty about asking someone for information at a difficult time. Thank you for letting me know about that.
@SparkleMom97, thank you for the nice words. I think all of us are rooting for each other. Even if my DS does not make it, I am still hoping the best for all the other DCs.
DS did not get a letter today, but it’s not uncommon for us to get incorrect mail. There are at least 4 other addresses that could have gotten DS’s letter, as we often get mail for these addresses at our house. So the waiting continues, and I will keep everyone posted on whatever we learn here.