I applied the last two years and both years I got an honorable mention. Not very much fun... This year is my last shot.
A lot of people complained last year about not finding out that they were ineligible until the notifications came out. I can see what that would be frustrating since it takes so much effort to apply. Maybe that's why they are trying to let those people know earlier, but it still doesn't help if you've already done all the paperwork.