I have to say I was surprised, though of course pleasantly, when my son received a letter the other day saying he was selected as a NM $2500 scholarship recipient. DS is definitely at the top academically with a perfect GPA and a rigorous course load, but his SAT is “only” 1560 (commonplace among NMF in CA) and EC’s are good but not spectacular. He has limited leadership roles, and he has not started his own non-profit, has not participated in research, nor raised tens of thousands of dollars to cure cancer. (Our neighborhood newspaper is filled with stories of high schoolers like that.) I’m sure his counselor wrote him a good recommendation, but I think another of the 3 NMSF at his school is GC’s favorite. DS’s essay was interesting/fun/easy to read, but again not about anything spectacular. So I’m wondering, does NMSC prefer the kids in the valedictorian spot? My older son was also a NMF two years ago with similar stats and ECs, and that year the valedictorian at his school was selected as a NM scholarship recipient. Or in addition to distributing the scholarships by state, is there also some regional distribution that NMSC is trying to achieve? I read an old newspaper article about which high schools in our area had the most NM Scholars; they looked pretty well distributed.
Regardless, we are happy. Congratulations to everyone who made it anywhere in the NM selection process! I hope this encourages future students to continue in the competition even though you might feel that you don’t have a very good chance. And for those of you who do not make it as far as you hope, I’m sure you are all excellent students!