In the NMSQT/PSAT, what will only come up in the college transcript?

Someone in school told me that when you apply for a college, they can only see if you have been a semi-finalist or not. This confused me because it compromised what I thought about the National Merit Scholar. What advantages does a finalist or a winner get as opposed to a semifinalist if it is true that being a semifinalist is the only thing that shows up on the college app?In the NMSQT/PSAT, what will only come up in the college transcript?
The only reason I could think that being a semifinalist will be the only thing on it is you might have to submit your applications for college before you find out whether or not you are a finalist. But when you send in your application to be a finalist, I know you put at least one college on it that you are planning/would like to go to, so they would know that you were a finalist from that.