<p>Ugh I just want to know already. I’m sitting right on the bubble in NJ with a 224, so as long as this isn’t a record setting year I should be fine… But, with my luck, the cutoff will be 225 this year. </p>
<p>So happy for everyone who knows for sure, but also so disappointed that no one from DC, MA or NJ shared that their child got notified and what their score is. Can’t imagine total cone of silence from the top cut-off states, but looks like a long, long, LONG few days ahead. :(</p>
<p>source: official letter from son’s high school. </p>
<p>Good luck to those of you still waiting. The good news is that most scores seem to be lower this year, including CA which was 223 last year. So hang in there, and I’m guessing that 224 will make the cut everywhere (from the info we have, none of the super-high cutoff states have gone up…) </p>
<p>Details @goaskdad we want details! How was your son told? </p>
<p>So when the NMSFs names are released on the 10th is the list traditionally published in the papers the next day?</p>
<p>We are still waiting here…</p>
<p>All of you are celebrating, but please remember that some of us in your community feel depressed and devastated by today’s news. My child attended school with the full-on flu to attempt the PSAT, and not surprisingly missed the California cutoff. This probably kills her chances of admission to her top choices or scholarships, as at least sixteen of her classmates made the cut and will now get the spots at those schools from our high school. My daughter is home from school early, crying in her room, and feeling that all of her hard work in high school was for naught. She has a 3.93 uw GPA, is a National AP Scholar, and has a 2340 SAT, but is feeling completely defeated because of this failure. So please be kind.</p>
<p>2139, 2138…so, in other words, physical letters are bulk mailed (or someone way up there said first class) instructing people to use the internet to get a list. I don’t always drink emoticons, but when I do I drink, =)) </p>
<p>Some papers publish it, some don’t. Our local paper interviewed the winners from some schools, but not others, and a full list was never published. For last year’s competition, I did find a link for our state’s list in a paper from a city 200 miles away, though 
.</p>
<p>@MamaBear16 Actually, I think all the states that were at 223 last year (second highest cut-off) have come down at least a point this year (sounds like 2 points for MD) but we don’t have any info that would help us figure anything out yet in DC, NJ or MA which all were at the highest 224 last year. I would almost guarantee that there will be no 225 this year, but also couldn’t imagine only those 3 states would stay the same. Congrats again to everyone’s kids - commended or SF!</p>
<p>Feel for you @illinoisan - my son had been home 2 days with a temp and bad cough but he and a big box of Kleenex dragged out of bed that morning. And sitting on the bubble, with a higher SAT score too. It’s up to us to play it down I suppose. Last year in his school more than a half-dozen kids got into Ivies and only 1 made the high cut-off. Everything happens for a reason :(</p>
<p>I feel as if I have so much free time now that I am not checking this thread constantly!!!
Congrats to all of the NMSF students and their parents!!!
Also congrats to all commended students and parents!!!</p>
<p>@illinoisan congratulations on your daughter’s amazing SAT score. I am sure she will find a wonderful college and do well. Sorry she took the test with the flu, that really is unfortunate.</p>
<p>I have been following this thread for almost a year now and I really haven’t read anything on this thread where posters have been unkind.</p>
<p>@realchk, I haven’t even had the chance to post that I called NMSF earlier today (finally) and the very nice lady I spoke with (bless her, she sounded rather tired) said that all info is sent in one package to the respective school and there IS still a chance that materials are being delivered today via the mail - because of the long holiday weekend. Her response was regarding my question about why DS’s HS told us they didn’t have the materials (as of yesterday). What state are you in? Maybe we can still make some Bubble-Intel-Headway this weekend!</p>
<p>@celesteroberts, my DS is elated and I actually saw him immediately after he received the news, so it was a very special moment for us both. (Kind of like a B Movie, but I’ll take it…and I’ll always remember it.) But I think my screaming & crying sort of embarrassed him…maybe that’s why he ran away from me… And although he’s proud & happy, he has NO idea of this week’s drama…so today was a bit more dramatic for me than for him, probably. We still have the NMS hurdle to clear, but this weekend I’m going to pull out all the mailings we’ve received for “potential” NMSs and we’ll start looking at his options more closely. Our state flagship does offer free tuition for NMS, and he really liked his Honors College Day visit this summer, so he could wind up there and we could manage room, board & books between our small savings, his savings + working, etc. (I welcome any advice at this point!) But he is definitely One Happy Camper! Thank you for asking (and for hanging on with me).</p>
<p>Too much pressure over a single test taken on a single morning. There is much more to a college app than a PSAT score. Congrats to all that made the cutoff but to those who did not there is no shame in being part of an elite group of commended students. Test scores don’t reflect nearly as much truth as we give them credit for. There are many brilliant students who did not make the commended list. Some kids just don’t test as well as others. My heart breaks for the daughter crying in her room. This testing thing is out of control. And what is up with kids and parents left hanging with no info! Thought I would drop this thread once I found out what I wanted to know but just too much empathy. Hoping the best for all those still waiting!</p>
<p>@illinoisan: I’m so sorry your D is devastated by this news. It is understandable when she is clearly a very high achiever. Have you read some of the earlier posts by people whose children missed the cutoff and, in retrospect, saw that is wasn’t the huge academic derailment they thought it would be (like the one I pasted below)? I keep going back to some of those,as we sit here and wait for news, because I really believe our kids will thrive wherever they end up - one bad test can’t undo all of her achievements. IMO, her GPA and AP scholar status will mean more to college admissions officers than the absence of NMSF. In fact, some schools we’ve visited made a point of saying they don’t even require SAT/ACT scores anymore because a student’s 4-year HS track record speaks volumes more than how they did on a single standardized test. Hopefully once the sting of this has subsided, she will see that everything she has accomplished so far really is something to be proud of. Because it is.</p>
<p>Posted yesterday by ctl987: “to those on the bubble”
“just wanted to share our story, My son was on bubble last year and missed by one point. While getting ready for college a couple of weeks ago, he mentioned, huh, had i made the national merit cutoff, i’d likely be on my way to University Central Florida. he was quiet for a couple of seconds and then he said something along the lines i’m glad that didn’t work out. This is said with no disrepect to UCF, who at least last year, offered phenomenal scholarships to national merit scholars. We even visited the school, lovely campus; he would have been happy there. but during the course of the summer between his junior and senior year, he realized he wanted to be close enough to come home whenever he wanted to, live in a big city, and other priorities that put other schools above UCF or any other generous NM schools. He ended up with full tuition at a school he really liked and had other scholarship options too; the scholarships were not as generous as the big NM scholarships but they were still sizeable. So it worked out very well for him, it also worked out well for other bubble kids, and it will work out for your kids too. being on the bubble was a beyond maddening experience. i think it is silly for the NM folks to drag things out this long with the technolology advances since the program began decades ago. to those who make it, hurrah!!! You will have some amazing scholarship options and it is a nice thing to add to one’s app. but for those who don’t make this cut, things will still work themselves out. Mine is loving college so far and is happy he is where he is.”</p>
<p>My oldest (not a NMS) was rejected from the college she wanted to go to, and cried in her room for hours. It was incredibly hard to watch from a distance. She did of course get into some other schools, and is doing quite well at the moment. It does work out. My heart breaks for those close enough to track this thread, but falling short at the bitter end, especially in those high cut states. Virtually hugs. This same child also tested sophomore year with a full on flu, so I get that aspect too. Life is not often fair.</p>
<p>Wish I had more info for all you waiting in Massachusetts. My son got called down to the principals office today to be notified that he made the semi-final cut. He scored 226, but he doesn’t know what the cut-off score actually was. Good luck to all of you sitting on pins and needles in MA. I will sleep much better tonight!</p>
<p>Reporting in from Washington. I don’t know the WA cutoff, but one of the semifinalists from D’s school reported that they scored a 218. So, for Washington it should be 218 or lower. </p>
<p>@illinoisan, sorry about your daughter. Ours also took the PSAT under less than ideal circumstances, with all of us worrying about my husband who was in the hospital with viral meningitis. Unless our state cutoff is unexpectedly low she won’t make it, but we’ve had plenty of reassurance that there are many opportunities for high scoring students without NMSF.</p>
<p>We live in Michigan and my daughter scored 215. She as not heard a word from her high school. We have a new principal this year (last years assistant principal) needless to say he does not like my kid. My kid has called him out on a few lies already this years. My kid had the emails and other paper work as proof to prove that he was lying. He likes to back track on what he tells the kids. What a loser he is!</p>