National Merit Scholarship Question

ladybrettashley
Mon, 22 Jan 2007 19:22:23 +0000

I’m not questioning National Merit itself, but Fordham’s policy. I’m sorry, but I do find it to be quite unfair that a Commended Student in a state with a high cutoff WITH higher grades and scores than a Semifinalist/Finalist from a less competitive state is not even considered for the same scholarship. I understand the purpose of the different cutoff rates. It is, however, as citygirlsmom said, one test on one Saturday morning. A student who was “merely” commended by National Merit can work their hardest and never even recieve consideration for the same award at Fordham that a Semifinalist/Finalist with a lower GPA and SAT score would. Suppose the Semifinalist/Finalist in question lives in a state with a lower cutoff. That does not mean in the slightest that their school would differ in difficulty in comparison to the hypothetical Commended Student’s school. Why is so much weight being placed merely on the test and not on the overall student, regardless of the award granted by National Merit?