***Class Of 2015 NMSF Qualifying Scores***

Paying for College Financial Aid (Need-Based, Merit Aid, Loans)
2581

<p>Just adding comparisons to last year.</p>

<p>States that still need to be finalized:
AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, HI, ID, IA,
ME, MA, MI, MS, MO, MT, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY</p>

<p>AL<= 208, post 1963 (school notification), -3 from last year
AK=?
AZ=(<= 213, post 2045 school counselor)
AR=?
CA=(<= 222, post 1996, e-mail from school)
CO=(<= 218, post 1510 HSL)
CT<= 220 (post 1947)
DE=?
DC= 224, post 2457, GC, same as last year
FL= 211, post 1916, school admin., -3
GA =( 213<= GA <=215, post 1778, info from counselor, friends)
HI=(<=215, post 1873, Dean of Academics)
ID=(<=211, post 2058, student report, unknown communication)
IL=215 (post 2077, per high school admin) -1 from last year
IN= 212, post 1700 (per GC of friend) -3 from last year
IA=(<= 229, post 1792, notified by high school)
KS= 213, post1733, told by principal, -3 from last year
KY= 210, post 1406 (per high school with many qualifiers) -1 from last year
LA= 208, post 1803, 1856, told by principal, -1 from last year
ME=?
MD=221 (posts 2114, 2163, 220 didn’t make it, 221 did) -2 from last year
MA=(<=223, post 2283, GC)
MI= (<= 211, posts 2388, GC)
MN= 215, post 2575, GC, same as last year
MS=(<=210, post 2041, school?)
MO=(<=212, post 1937, school)
MT=?
NE=(<=209, post 2346, school)
NV=208 (post 2088/2089, told by GC) -4 from last year
NH=?
NJ=?
NM=(<=212, posts 2117,2142, official letter from school)
NY=(<= 218, post 1669, school)
NC=(<= 215, post 1988, informed by GC)
ND=?
OH=213, post 1756, told by principal, -2 from last year
OK=(<= 210, post 1796, student qualified, unknown communication)
OR= (<=222, post 1619, college counselor)
PA (<= 216, post 2003, principal notification) -1 from last year
RI=?
SC=(<= 213, post 1525, school emailed student)
SD=?
TN= (<=212, post 1809, son’s friend)
TX=218, post 1807, high school counselor, -1 from last year
UT=(<=211, post 1983, principal and GC)
VT=(<=224, post 1819, unknown)
VA (<= 219, post 2509, school)
WA= (<= 218, post 2157, student reportedly made it with that score)
WV=?
WI= (<=209, post 2207, GC/friends)
WY=?</p>

<p>SE Boarding Schools <= 218, school counselor</p>

<p>Commended (national cutoff) = 201</p>

2582

<p>Updating NJ : #2296
States that still need to be finalized:
AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, HI, ID, IA,
ME, MA, MI, MS, MO, MT, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY</p>

<p>AL<= 208, post 1963 (school notification), -3 from last year
AK=?
AZ=(<= 213, post 2045 school counselor)
AR=?
CA=(<= 222, post 1996, e-mail from school)
CO=(<= 218, post 1510 HSL)
CT<= 220 (post 1947)
DE=?
DC= 224, post 2457, GC, same as last year
FL= 211, post 1916, school admin., -3
GA =( 213<= GA <=215, post 1778, info from counselor, friends)
HI=(<=215, post 1873, Dean of Academics)
ID=(<=211, post 2058, student report, unknown communication)
IL=215 (post 2077, per high school admin) -1 from last year
IN= 212, post 1700 (per GC of friend) -3 from last year
IA=(<= 229, post 1792, notified by high school)
KS= 213, post1733, told by principal, -3 from last year
KY= 210, post 1406 (per high school with many qualifiers) -1 from last year
LA= 208, post 1803, 1856, told by principal, -1 from last year
ME=?
MD=221 (posts 2114, 2163, 220 didn’t make it, 221 did) -2 from last year
MA=(<=223, post 2283, GC)
MI= (<= 211, posts 2388, GC)
MN= 215, post 2575, GC, same as last year
MS=(<=210, post 2041, school?)
MO=(<=212, post 1937, school)
MT=?
NE=(<=209, post 2346, school)
NV=208 (post 2088/2089, told by GC) -4 from last year
NH=?
NJ=(<= 225,post 2296 told by Principal)
NM=(<=212, posts 2117,2142, official letter from school)
NY=(<= 218, post 1669, school)
NC=(<= 215, post 1988, informed by GC)
ND=?
OH=213, post 1756, told by principal, -2 from last year
OK=(<= 210, post 1796, student qualified, unknown communication)
OR= (<=222, post 1619, college counselor)
PA (<= 216, post 2003, principal notification) -1 from last year
RI=?
SC=(<= 213, post 1525, school emailed student)
SD=?
TN= (<=212, post 1809, son’s friend)
TX=218, post 1807, high school counselor, -1 from last year
UT=(<=211, post 1983, principal and GC)
VT=(<=224, post 1819, unknown)
VA (<= 219, post 2509, school)
WA= (<= 218, post 2157, student reportedly made it with that score)
WV=?
WI= (<=209, post 2207, GC/friends)
WY=?</p>

<p>SE Boarding Schools <= 218, school counselor</p>

<p>Commended (national cutoff) = 201 </p>

2583

<p>@illinoisan - from your post</p>

<p>"but why shouldn’t Latino students have the same opportunity to attend the State flagship Colleges and Universities on scholarship, just like the NMSF/NMF students do? "</p>

<p>I think you are in CA? Which state flagships give NMSF scholarships? I could only find CSU-Long Beach
and it is a competitive competition and includes valedictorians. If you know of any, I would be happy to
hear about them! </p>

2584

<p>Thanks Wolverine! It’s nice that S made the cut since he is interested in schools that give $ for NMF. They’re having a breakfast for them tomorrow, so I’ll see if the GC knows any more state cutoffs and is willing to share the info. It would probably just be the midwest states if he does.</p>

2585

<p>@MomMe32‌ The NMSC sends all HS principals both a guide with all the cutoff scores and a booklet listing the names of all Semifinalists nationwide. This was told to me on the phone by an NMSC person. The information is out there and apparently is in the hands of at least one student. As a parent from a state with a cutoff score still unknown to CC, this annoys me. Some principals are very free with the information while others are still not even acknowledging receipt of any mail from the NMSC. The NMSC person I spoke with said I could tell my daughter’s principal to call the NMSC and they would tell him he could notify individual students that they made Semifinalist before Sept. 10. I just couldn’t see being that pushy, especially since my daughter is on the bubble in NJ with a 223, and I would probably have ended up being embarrassed if she didn’t make the cut.</p>

2586

<p>I have been checking the Fair Test website and have not seen cutoff scores posted this year. Oh well, Sept. 10 is tomorrow.</p>

2587

<p>Looking back through the many anxious posts on here, I couldn’t locate the phone # to call tomorrow. Could someone share? Principal still won’t reveal and I need to know before they come home tomorrow as it looks like I will celebrate with tw2 but have to console tw1 (1 point apart). Thanks to all who have taken the time to share news and especially to those who have updated the state lists.</p>

2588

<p>@‌twinsmom15 <a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/contact.php”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/contact.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

2589

<p>@HeliMom74 Thank you :slight_smile: Posted it by the phone - 25 hours and counting!!</p>

2590

<p>Can someone answer this- will my daughter’s package to University of Iowa automatically be increased based on new information or do we need to ask for it to be reevaluated? </p>

2591

<p>Fingers still crossed for those of you still waiting to confirm cutoff scores!</p>

<p>For those who are waiting for AP Scholar stuff in the mail, it is posted on the student’s Collegeboard account so you can check for it online.</p>

2592

<p>@binatang: If you are valedictorian, then PSAT is sort of moot! I’m guessing you have many options at this point. Congratulations!</p>

<p>Another way of looking at this cutoff thing, I suppose, is that commended is the “qualifying” score, meaning that everyone above that is “worthy” (as are many below who didn’t realize the import and didn’t study); and then the specific number above that is just a simplified way to allocate across the states. </p>

<p>The college model is unsustainable, as economic students from Harvard reported this week! So here’s hoping that prices will come down, and aid, in whatever form, will be available across the board for students to study in the field of their choosing. </p>

<p>The amount of angst associated with this dumb test and all the other tests is really sapping the joy of being a child out of most of our youth…I hope students will remember perspective and to enjoy the ride.</p>

2593

<p>To the poster above asking why California’s excellent public Universities and Colleges do not offer NMSF/NMF scholarships and awards, it is because they consider that the National Merit testing and selection process discriminates against some groups. </p>

<p>However, a student is not required to attend college or university in their home State, are they?</p>

<p>Attached is the National Merit organization’s own list of all the excellent State Universities and Colleges, including many Flagship State Universities, which award even (in some cases) non-resident NMSF/NMF students some sort of scholarship money. <a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_Sponsor_Leaflet.pdf”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_Sponsor_Leaflet.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Many URM students from poorer households (the kind of families that most need scholarship money) in those States with the higher/highest NMSF cutoff scores are precluded from the option of these schools because they may have attained a cutoff score that is high enough in IL, KY or WV, but not in CA, MA, MD, NJ, or DC. That does not seem quite fair, though I understand that life is not fair.</p>

<p>In any case, we are not a URM family, but I do like my children to consider whether we give some disadvantaged groups (in this case low-income URMs) the same access to opportunity in different areas of our society, but particularly in questions of education.</p>

<p>We clearly see some greater societal value – (which I wholeheartedly agree with, I am not one of those parents complaining that my daughter’s CA 221 should beat out a TN – our former State – score) – in not having a National NMSF cutoff, but rather a state-by-state evaluation that allows for greater representation of bright students from rural States, or high-unemployment industrial States, or historically poor Appalachian States. </p>

<p>Similarly, why don’t we see also see some greater societal value in undertaking a distinct evaluation for low-income URMs, so that a bright, low-income African American or Hispanic student from Maryland who scores a 210 on the PSAT can be considered for the NMSF/NMF scholarships as are all students in those States in which the NMSF cutoff is equal to or greater than 210?</p>

2594

<p>And by the way, I believe that raising children who will be good people, as well as accomplished students (which all of us here on CC desire), requires us to think about how we can help others as well as ourselves.</p>

2595

<p>Nice, @illinoisan! And also FYI, I was told expressly that colleges are recruiting students from Appalachia. </p>

2596

<p>@illinoisan (not to be argumentative or devisive, but simply to present a viewpoint):</p>

<ul>
<li>Many state flagships do not offer NMF scholarships. MANY students chasing scholarships will need to look at lower ranked schools.</li>
<li>The NHRP thresholds are significantly lower than the NMF cutoffs. According to “college planning simplified” (dot com) these were the 2014 cutoffs: 2014 National Hispanic Recognition Program Cutoff Scores<br>
New England (missing), Mid Atlantic 188, South 199, Southwest 182, Midwest 197, West 186. So basically, a student that scored lower than a commended score could be eligible for a generous scholarship at one of the previously mentioned schools.<br></li>
<li> NMSC has given an opportunity for more URMs to be recognized, and some colleges have taken the opportunity to financially entice these students to attend their universities. At what point does the process become equitable?</li>
<li> NMF scholarships are not the only programs out there. There are others. Many require need; many require URM status.<br></li>
</ul>

<p>I understand and support your progressive stance, but my own sensibilities tell me that we also need to recognize and reward our highest achievers, REGARDLESS of racial or socioeconomic status. </p>

2597

<p>

This is already addressed by the National Achievement Scholarship Program (for black students) and the National Hispanic Recognition Program. Many colleges give the same scholarships and recognition to these 2 URM distinctions as they do to NMF.</p>

2598

<p>@greatfallsmom‌ Congratulations on your son achieving AP Scholar with Distinction at the end of 11th grade! The fact that your son’s school does not report rank or GPA will not affect him. Not all schools, even large ones, report rank, and colleges will be looking at his HS transcript to see individual courses and grades.</p>

<p>I appreciate your encouraging words and well wishes to both me and others as we wait for the official word from the NMSC!</p>

2599

<p>To all our Bubble Friends, I’m sure there are many of us here waiting with you for news either way. Please keep us posted on how you’re doing today. It must be incredibly stressful, but you are not alone because we’re here with you, fwiw.</p>

<p>@binatang, ranking first in your class represents 4-years-worth of performing at the highest level virtually every day - and having the intelligence and wherewithal to navigate the many challenges & pitfalls of high school. Being a NMSF is a great achievement, but it does just reflect that one day - those few hours in time - and anything can happen in one day, good or bad. So while NMSF is awesome, ranking first - or even in the top few percentiles - in a class speaks volumes about who you are and what you can accomplish. I understand how you’d want to be Valedictorian <em>and</em> NMSF/NMS, but if it doesn’t work out, you’re probably much better off being Valedictorian. (And just to be clear: any NMSF notification will not come in the mail to you at your home @binatang. Your school has to notify you <em>but</em> you can call NMSC tomorrow (9/10) to see if your name is on the NMSF list. @HeliMom74 posted the NMSC contact info above, and here it is again: <a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/contact.php”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/contact.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I haven’t had any luck finding info for MO below a 212, but that doesn’t mean it’s not lower. I believe my friend’s DS needs a 211 cut-off, so I’m waiting along with everyone else. As a Soph, he scored significantly higher than a 211, so that’s just another example of someone having “not-a-great-day.” However, I believe the DS has excellent grades and a 34 or 35 on the ACT, so he will fare well with scholarships even if he isn’t an NMS. </p>

<p>Thanks to everyone who’s keeping our lists updated. It’s officially Tequila Tuesday for those over 21. It’s Chai Tea Tuesday for the students among us, plus those like me who don’t imbibe :-)</p>

2600

<p>@MomMe32… - Thank you very much for sharing the cut off and Congratulations to your son! My D has a 217 and so looks like she made it then! but, will wait one more day I guess - LOL!</p>