<p>@kli586, I guess you got the email AFTER your child got the letter from the school with the access code to the NMSC and entered information including your email address. Would you confirm it?</p>
<p>hmm … I think you might be right …will find out</p>
<p>My daughter got the official word from her school on Friday. They gave her the letter with her registration and password. When they register, one of the steps is that a parent must give permission for the child to move forward. The child enters the parent’s info, and then the parents receive an email. So @Kli586, I imagine that’s what happened - your child started the registration.</p>
<p>Still crossing fingers for those of you still waiting to hear!</p>
<p>I just got off the phone with a pretty helpful guy at NMSC, who confirmed that only the boarding schools are tied to regional state scores, but DC does have it’s own selection score like any state based on how the kids in DC performed on the test. He also confirmed that every principal gets a book with cut off scores from every state, but that they are told on the first page not to share the information with any student, never mind give it to them. Hopefully this is good news for NJ moms on the bubble who might have been worried that NJ had to also be 224 if DC needed to be tied to the highest performing state. DC students had never performed at that level before last year, when the test was obviously much easier for every state, but I guess it is what it is. </p>
<p>What does that mean my D got an official packet from College Board with access code for college application guide and scholarships? The packet title is “Realize Your College Potential.” What is this? I think this is for everyone, right?</p>
<p>@greatfallsmom Thank you so much for the info from the NMSC. I am still hoping for you and your son that the cutoff score is lower than 224 for DC. I still don’t think that the info you got from the student is that reliable.</p>
<p>@ililgoo, College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation are different entities, so what you received is not related to National Merit, if that’s what you are asking.</p>
<p>@greatfallsmom. what do you mean by “DC students had never performed at that level before last year”? When I look at the historic cutoff scores, DC is always equal to the highest state score, isn’t it? I don’t see a single year where the DC cutoff is not the same as the highest state. Or am I missing something?</p>
<p>Just want to confirm that the parent email comes after the student gets their letter and logs into their account. D logged in this weekend and my email showed up right after that. </p>
<p>Thanks, Barfly…</p>
<p>@Wolverine86 I wonder what SAT scores play in the further competition. So if the student has a 1960 or over this year, that meets the requirement----but how high does the score have to be to qualify for the next level and is that a big part of advancing? Anyone know about this?</p>
<p>@Barfly What I meant was the cut off score had never been 224 before last year. It was a 3 point jump. It had been 223 a few times over the years (MA tracked the same) but the cut off for NMSF had never been 224 by any state before last year, where we all could see crazy jumps in states of 3, 4 and 5 points from the year before. DC is always tied as the highest state, but the scores last year were abnormally high. Since the Commended dropped 2 points this year, and every other state dropped too, this was not predicted. But quite a few kids from my son’s school got into Ivies last year and missed the cut for NMSF, so there’s life after this week. Commended Scholar is still a great honor </p>
<p>Pretty soon all these stats will be thrown out the window. Brand new PSAT and SAT. Glad at least that my son got to take this version of both and didn’t have to study new formats! </p>
<p>I just found this thread while trying to find out the cut off score for VA. My daughter has a 228 and has not been notified of anything yet by her school or by mail. We are anxious for some news and starting to get worried that she didn’t make the cut off. Anyone have any scores for VA? Sorry if it is buried in here somewhere, I skimmed through but haven’t read it all. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>does anyone know the minimum qualifying score for MI?</p>
<p>@81223mom…It can be a bit confusing trying to keep the whole process straight. :-/ Before the students can be awarded any of the “official” NM scholarships (one-time $2500, school-sponsored award-usually $1K-$2K/yr, corporate scholarship, or special scholarship) they have to progress from Semifinalist to Finalist status. Of the 16,000-ish SFs that are in the process of being notified now, about 15,000 of them will progress to Finalist status. Part of the package that must be submitted to be considered for Finalist status includes sending NMSC a “confirming” SAT score which must be at least 1960 using the M+CR+(10 x MC sub-score) formula. For this step in the process, it doesn’t matter whether their score is 1960 or 2400…it just has to be above the minimum of 1960.</p>
<p>NMSC then convenes a separate board to consider all the Finalists for possible receipt of the one-time $2500 awards. This is where the student’s SAT score MIGHT make a difference. They will consider all the Finalists “holistically” to determine which will be awarded the one-time $2500 awards. IIRC, about 2,500 of the Finalists will receive this award. It is useable at any accredited university. </p>
<p>The rest of the Finalists are eligible to receive a university sponsored award from any university which offers it (usually in that $1K-$2K/yr range) assuming they name that school as their first-choice. If the Finalist is a child of a corporation that offers NM money, they may be eligible for that award. Corporate awards normally have their own process for application as well, so that must be done separately and sometimes well before the stage we’re currently at.</p>
<p>A student who is awarded ANY of those scholarships (one-time, university, corporate, or special) is considered a National Merit Scholar.</p>
<p>The big dollar scholarships at schools like Bama, Oklahoma, UCF, UKy, etc. are called “unofficial” NM scholarships because they are administered from the school itself…not through NMSC. In order to receive those, a Finalist must still name that school as their first-choice with NM prior to the school or NMSC’s deadline…whichever comes first. Most times, a small portion of those big dollar scholarships (usually $500-$2K/yr) is earmarked as the “official” portion so that the Finalist can still be considered a National Merit Scholar. That small portion will be sent from the school to NMSC, who then turns it around and sends it back to the school. That way, NMSC is “administering” a portion of the scholarship making it “official” and warranting the NMS designation.</p>
<p>A Finalist can only be offered ONE of the four types of official scholarships. If a student is awarded one of the one-time $2500 scholarships they are not eligible for the smaller “official” portion of one of those big dollar packages. Most of those schools will compensate $2500 award winners with the difference between that and say a $1K/yr award given to a different Finalist attending that school to make sure all the NM kids get the same amount. I would recommend directly calling the scholarship office at any school a student is considering that offers NM money to see how they will handle a $2500 winner versus what they offer as a university sponsored amount.</p>
<p>Overall, about 8,500 of the 15,000 Finalists receive SOME type of official NM scholarship and are considered NM Scholars. The other 6,500 choose to attend schools that offer no NM money.</p>
<p>For those able to finish the whole novel, hope this helps understand what can be a confusing process. #:-S </p>
<p>ETA: SAT score level could also matter for SOME of the competitive university sponsored awards (possibly like USC’s half-tuition etc.) but as far as NMSC is concerned 1960 vs 2400 only matters in regards to the one-time $2500.</p>
<p>@margs6 your daughter definitely made it in VA with a 228. No state is higher than a 224 this year, and some VA parents already posted that their kid was in with I think a 222 or 223. The schools in a lot of states are just in a cone of silence. Congrats!</p>
<p>through 2012
DC
222 221 222 222 222 ? 223 221 221 223 223 221
MA
222 221 222 222 222 224 223 221 221 223 223 221</p>
<p>Both went upto 224 last year.</p>
<p>So DC has always shared the top or almost score each year with MA.</p>
<p>@xcrunner2011…Our D2 received her notification this morning of NMSF status here in MI. They wouldn’t confirm the actual cutoff, but the lowest score at her school that qualified had a 211 so that score or higher should make Semifinalist. What was your PSAT score if you don’t mind telling us?</p>
<p>@greatfallsmom Thanks so much for the info. I still wont relax until we get the official word. It’s frustrating that the schools don’t notify the students as soon as they get the results. There is so much that these kids need to do and consider.</p>