How valuable is the title "National Merit Scholar/Commended" on college applications?

Not everyone admitted has the national merit under their belt. But that should not be your concern. Your test scores should be. If you mean Harvard, Georgetown, and the like when you say elite, I say you have low scores. A 32 ACT is the low end of the middle 50%. You probably need a 34-36 ACT or a 2200-2400 SAT.