1995Andrew

I got a 203 PSAT which was in the 97th percentile? Should I be safe for Commended? I know it's been around 200 to 202. Is there a chance it could rise further this year? What's the highest that Commended has ever been?

Descartesz

1) Chances are excellent but not guaranteed
2) Of course, yes, but more than a 2 point jump from last year's 201 is extremely unlikely.
3) 202 over the past five years. No knowledge of history before that.

emily95

So, anyone with a score above the commended cutoff but below his or her state's NMSF cutoff will definitely be commended?

Descartesz

Equal to or above the commended cutoff--yes.

emily95

Ooh. Ok, cool. Thx for answering.

perazziman

Commended is at 96 percentile, so you are in @ 97%, by my estimation. Anything over 201 will be commended, possibly less than 201 too, this year.

clapuma

To echo perazziman, a selection index of 203 is pretty much guaranteed to be Commended. A 203 is in the upper 97th percentile for the 2011 test. National Merit says that there are approximately 1.5 million program entrants, of which 55,000 will receive program recognition (at least Commended). Using those figures, Commended would be the top 3.67%, meaning the cutoff is somewhere in the low 96th percentile range. Check out this report here: http://professionals.collegeboard.co...sqt-scores.pdf

Note also that state cutoffs are irrelevant for Commended status.