<p>If there is a slower, more cryptic, process than National Merit, I am yet to see it. Why they can’t release the names of the NMSF in the spring is a mystery to me; they have obviously identified the top 50,000 in order to send out the April mailing. Then people could know what was at stake as they took SATs, as well as work on their applications over the summer. Does anyone have an accurate understanding of the minimum SAT score that they want to see as confirmation of the PSAT score? Finalist announcements occur too late to have any relevance to college admissions. The whole process of choosing the First Choice school is unclear, particularly about one’s ability to change that designation after the fact. It just seems the most curious process.</p>