Chances for national merit semifinalist?

Paying for College Financial Aid (Need-Based, Merit Aid, Loans)
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<p>I just got my PSAT results from school today (it took a while). I got a 211 (kinda disappointed - I was aiming for a 220+), and I’m in Michigan. </p>

<p>Althought this website [National</a> Merit Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html]National”>http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html) says that Michigan’s cutoff for the class of 2011 is 209, I’m not really sure how reliable it is. Seniors who qualified for semifinalist at my school say that the cutoff for MI is around 219 (which is ridiculous, but got me worried). </p>

<p>Do you guys think that I have a shot at qualifying for semifinalist? I’m one of the highest ranked students at my school, but I suck at standardized testing…every year my school has about 15 people that qualify for semifinalist, and to people that know me, they expect me to qualify, but I’m too embarrassed to even tell people my score (there are really good people who got 220+). </p>

<p>So just be honest, and help me out here :)</p>

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<p>ambition44,</p>

<p>Students who made semifinalist in their state reported those scores. It is reliable, but you have to wait until Sept 2011 to get the official cut off score from NMSC.</p>

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<p>The seniors at your school are wrong. Mich’s cutoff is not close to being that high. Maybe the kids you’re talking to had scores that high and they are assuming that was the minimum. It’s wasn’t.</p>

<p>Mich’s cutoff has been around 209 in recent years. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/files/National_Merit_2010_Semifinalist_Cut_Scores_by_State(3).doc.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fairtest.org/files/National_Merit_2010_Semifinalist_Cut_Scores_by_State(3).doc.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You have a good chance of making NMSF. The cutoff would have to go up 3 points for you not to make it. It “can” happen, but hopefully not.</p>

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<p>If I recall correctly, from past threads, scores rarely more more than 1 or two points year-to-year. I suppose anything can happen though …</p>