Official National Merit Semifinalist Qualifying Score Thread for the Class of 2013

[mwpjlp]

can anyone conform MS at 204?

[Descartesz]

IN says 211 on post 626 but 212 on post 624? My kid got a 211 so does anyone know which is correct? (Hoping for the latter post!)

There is no inconsistency. #624 says "<=212", less than or equal to 212, and #626 says "=211". 211 is the IN cutoff score, so congratulations.

[perazziman]

mwpjlp, you are going to have to wait until the 12th for someone from your school to confirm whether 204 made it or not. The unofficial report is that 204 makes it. So, if your counselor has told you that you have not made it with a 204 then let us know. Thanks.

[jsmith1125]

Yep, and my D made a 220, which according to the postings makes the cut-off. We have a College Guidance meeting for all seniors tonight; we'll see if anything is said -

[leapyea]

any hope for 213 in texas

[CTScoutmom]

No, cutoff for texas it 216. 213 gets commended status.

[EastGrad]

Descartesz or Perazziman, first, thank you for all the work you have done. Datnab too! I am wondering if you can confirm Utah at 205? The post that established that number must have been included in the deleted thread, because I can't find it, but Utah is on the final list that has been posted at 205. Thank you!

[mwpjlp]

okay, i'll let you know when i get offical word. thanks!

[intparent]

Cannot understand why it takes some schools so long to notify. My D has been back in school since 8/27. Last night they had a senior parent/student potluck that was 2 hours long with all kinds of info about senior year (a great opportunity to announce this if they were going to do it that way). Not a peep... I know my D made it (she cleared the cutoff in our state by 20 points, so there wasn't really a question), and Datnab confirmed. Talked to parents of another kid on Datnab's list last night, and their kid had gotten tired of waiting for the school and sussed out the cutoff online (probably from this thread). I confirmed for them that he was on Datnab's list for our school.

At this rate, all four of the NMSF's from our school will know before the school bothers to notify.

[Stonemom]

I wouldn't have known if not for cutoffs on this site and Datnab's confimation. I spent 3 hrs at my daughter's school yesterday going thru their mail to find the booklet and we still can't find the separate letter with her app info for finalist! They are supposed to call NMSC today to get a new one sent but they are so behind due to scheduling problems that I will really have to stay on top of them to make sure they do what they need to do before the due date. I am so grateful for this thread!!!

[Descartesz]

EastGrad: to the best of our unofficial knowledge, 205 is the lowest qualifying score in UT.

Let me point out that Seriwe has offered to confirm cutoff scores, too, if you send her a PM.

[EastGrad]

Works for us! Thank you, Descartesz.

[mom2collegekids]

Cannot understand why it takes some schools so long to notify


Some schools think the media embargo date applies to them, so they wait til that date.

I guess they've never considered that there hasn't been a school or NMSF that has gotten into trouble for telling/knowing prior to the embargo date.

[intparent]

Does anyone know the exact wording of this "embargo"? Are the schools really supposed to wait?

[CTScoutmom]

I wouldn't expect them to announce anything at a public event, as that would violate the instruction to not publicize the list. Telling the individual students is not the same as making a public announcement. That's why many schools call the students down to the office to tell them. Perhaps the smartest ones do it individually, rather than as a group, to avoid any possibility of a leak of the full list. For those that are afraid the kids will blab, I think they're smart enough to keep quiet if they are told to do so until the public announcement.

For kids who are working on early applications (Our state flagship requires application by November 1st to be considered for the best scholarships), they also need time to complete the NMS paperwork, and delaying notification makes it more difficult to manage time effectively. I know the timeline for National Achievement is very tight:

September 26 Names of 1,600 National Achievement Program Semifinalists are released to news media by NMSC (and released by schools who hold onto this information)

October 12 Schools transmit completed National Achievement Scholarship Applications to the National Achievement Program using the OSA

That allows for just 2 weeks to complete the application, when our school asks for 2 weeks notice just to send a transcript. Even if you know you qualified, you can't log in to OSA without your temporary Username and password.