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

[patesq]

I heard back from the GC and they figured out how to print out the letter so we'll have the login information tomorrow. If the school has the semifinalist information, they should be able to download and print the letter.

[momof2greatkid]

what does national merit consider an acceptable sat score? just wondering if anyone knows from previous experience. first time going thru this with dd

[earthdancer7]

I got a 215 in OH... should I be expecting a NMSF letter or not??

[chucktaylor1]

^^
earthdancer7: Yes, you should, because Ohio's NMSF cutoff is 212.

[clapuma]

I've seen posts that say the confirming score has been 1960-2000 but the instructions this year say the confirming score ignores the essay on the writing section. So I don't know how that translates in terms of a score.

[pineapple11]

State Class of 2013 Cutoff Scores ▲
International 221
New Jersey 221
District of Columbia 221
Massachusetts 220
California 220
Maryland 219
Connecticut 218
Virginia 217
Washington 216
Texas 216
New York 215
Delaware 215
Vermont 214
Pennsylvania 214
Georgia 214
Oregon 213
North Carolina 213
Minnesota 213
Illinois 213
Ohio 212
Kansas 212
Colorado 212
Arizona 212
Rhode Island 211
New Hampshire 211
Indiana 211
Hawaii 211
Florida 211
Tennessee 210
Montana 210
Missouri 210
Maine 210
Louisiana 209
Alabama 209
South Carolina 208
New Mexico 208
Nevada 208
Kentucky 208
Wisconsin 207
Nebraska 207
Michigan 207
Iowa 207
Idaho 207
Oklahoma 206
Utah 205
South Dakota 204
Mississippi 204
Alaska 204
Arkansas 202
Wyoming 200
West Virginia 200
North Dakota 200

[pineapple11]

PSAT- National Merit Scholarships and Semifinalist State Cutoff Scores

[chucktaylor1]

^^
momof2greatkid,
I saw a recent CC post where somebody explained the SAT confirmation score process. Basically, it's a matter of taking the multiple choice subscore from the Writing section's detail page on the SAT score report and multiply it by 10. Then, add that number to the Math and Reading scores to get an adjusted composite score. According to the post, if it's higher than 2000, you're good to go. I have no way of knowing whether the posted method is from an official source (NMSC) or somebody's best guess as to how the process works.

Here's a link to the thread to see it for yourself: Clarification of needed SAT score to advance to Finalist status

[expatlondon]

What happens if you have a qualifying score but are not listed? My daughter and at least one other student have scores that qualify. However, nothing has been mentioned by their school in the spring and no one had any information when I called the school last week. If the school has messed up, can you still qualify? I have sent Datnab a pm but haven't heard back. Getting worried :-(

[chucktaylor1]

^^
expatlondon,
In two days, if your daughter's school administration has not notified her that she is a NMSF, I suggest you contact the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Their telephone number is (847) 866-5100. I'm sure they can help you sort it all out.

[expatlondon]

chucktaylor1
Thank you. I will follow your advice.

[ADTolkien]

Hi,
I live in China, so I fall into the international field. I got a 228, a qualifying score according to this thread; however, I still haven't gotten any notification from my school or GC about making NMSF. Often the mail takes a long time to get to me because of China's slow postal processing services and stuff, so I've been continuously asking my GC and the receptionist in charge of mail if I or the school have gotten any mail from NMC. Should I contact NMC or wait it out a bit longer?
Thanks for the help. A quick and knowledgeable response would be greatly appreciated.

[earthdancer7]

^^
chucktaylor1
Thanks!

[thepats]

I'm a little confused. Is the MA cutoff 220 or 221? In the previous posts people seemed to say 221, but this website says otherwise PSAT- National Merit Scholarships and Semifinalist State Cutoff Scores

[Descartesz]

As I posted in #692, that site almost undeniably has obtained its data from here. Only a few days ago it posted exactly the same scores for exactly the same states with the exactly the same errors (and one misreading for MA) that could be found in an earlier list posted in this thread. They have updated since then--probably with data from here-- but did not correct the MA error they inherited from us. I still maintain the best easily available information about cutoff scores is in post #626 (until Sept. 12). If that list proves to be in error based on authoritative NMSC data releases we will correct it.

Have faith in our process where you can at least see the sausage being made.

What happens if you have a qualifying score but are not listed?

If your daughter is now a senior and did not receive a "top-scorer" letter last April, call the NMSC. They will probably be able to tell you at least whether or not she should have received one. You will probably have to wait until Wednesday to confirm her NMSF standing.