<p>See post #2656.</p>
<p>NO UPDATES; JUST BUMPING THE LIST.
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>
<p>@wrights – I’m so sorry your S missed the cutoff 
but your positive attitude is commendable. How unfortunate that your state cutoff went up when so many went down. </p>
<p>C’mon guys; I may not agree with everything that’s been said, but I will defend everyone’s right to say it. Out of many discussions, perhaps we will all think a bit more about our personal perspectives and what we take for granted. I live in a town where people are afraid to have an opinon or rock the boat. It’s dreadful. It takes courage to mention things that others might be thinking but are afraid to say.</p>
<p>I was thinking about the poor kids last year when the scores uniformly went up so much. Must have been a rough year.</p>
<p>And back to this thread–looks like I’ll be calling NM bright and early tomorrow.</p>
<p>@illinoisan Everyone loves a good debate, and we know that you have very strong opinions about the topic. You may want to start your own thread to discuss the issue with others who would like to debate. I respect your opinion, but it is getting hard to find the information we need with this debate taking over the thread.</p>
<p>The thread is for people to learn more about the Qualifying scores, to cheer those who made it, and to support those who may be feeling disappointed (although, commended status is not a small thing!).</p>
<p>Illinoisan: I was a NMF back in the 70s and I recall that there were state cutoffs at that time. I don’t know if NMSC always used state cutoffs, but it’s been roughly 40ish years that I know of.</p>
<p>@wrights1994, I’m thinking of you & your DS. You have the right attitude here and, even though he’s probably very disappointed at the moment, he does have an awesome score - and an awesome parent to help him work through the disappointment, and on to the bigger, better things that lie ahead. </p>
<p>The road to NMS is obviously imperfect, much like everything else in life, and I hope this thread can come together now to support those of us remaining who are anxiously waiting for news either way. I agree that we should try to stay focused on the topic, espc over the next several hours as the official state cut-offs become known.</p>
<p>thanks everyone for the kind words. He is off to watch the XC meet (he is hurt so not running), and then off to work with a group on something for AP Bio. Then when he comes home we are going to finish the resume with NM commended and he will give that to his teachers tomorrow for LOR’s. Onward and upward! :)</p>
<p>I smell a ■■■■■. </p>
<p>Don’t feed it.</p>
<p>@wrights1994 You have the perfect outlook for this! “Onward and upward”, indeed! It’s good medicine.</p>
<p>To my own child I have said simply, “you should have prepared more” if you wanted tot make the NMSF cutoff in California. That is the cold, hard truth, no excuses. Many California students did prepare for the PSAT in some way, and you did not, and when you do not prepare for something you cannot expect perfect results. I believe that she has learned that lesson.</p>
<p>The question of whether to extend the lowest State NMSF-cutoff to low-income, disadvantaged, under-represented minority students from every State is not a “sour grapes” debate meant to advocate for a change of rules that would benefit my daughter. Quite to the contrary, we are Caucasian, we are middle class, we are transplanted-to-California Midwesterners and Southerners, and devout Christian to boot. There is absolutely no advantage in our status. </p>
<p>The question I posed about low-income, URM students is generated from our experiences living among the country’s largest Mexican and Central American immigrant population here in Southern California. I only meant to encourage a debate about educational issues and access to educational advancement for poor minority children, which I consider important questions to contemplate and address. </p>
<p>In light of the criticism, I apologize that I interjected these issues into this generally “me-” and “you-” (but not “the other-”) -focused thread (either, “Yay! My child made the NMSF cut!”, or the uber-supportive and -gracious – in light of the fact that your child made the cut – “Oh, I am so sorry that your child did not make the cut, but they will be a great success anyway!”).</p>
<p>Perhaps this is more along the lines of what everyone wants from me. I have said it in before in my earlier posts, and I truly mean it. Congratulations to each and every student who did make their respective NMSF cutoffs, it is truly a great accomplishment, and a big honor! And to those families whose students did not make their respective cutoffs, cheer up, given all the things that happen to children around the World, you will be fine. 
</p>
<p>Thank you to all who are refocusing the discussion back to its original purpose. Congratulations to all the students (commended and semifinalists). I know is hard for those who missed the cut by just one point, but as it was pointed out many times before on this thread, there are (and will be in the future) plenty of students who succeeded to get admitted into great schools, with scholarships, without the NMSF stamp. Good luck to all of you in achieving your dreams!</p>
<p>So, yes, it doesn’t look like FairTest is going to “scoop” the actual minimums this year before tomorrow – how did they do it anyway? A “mole” or a princi-“pal”? Anyway…so what happens now? I am certain many schools will not “get around to” announcements for a while.</p>
<p>I suspect that Fair Test likely scooped the National Merit Scholarship Corporation last year with the assistance and information of a teacher, principal, or school administrator who is sympathetic to the Fair Test agenda.</p>
<p>@illinoisan - wow. Just wow. Didn’t you previously post that your dd had the flu the day she took the PSAT? And that she has achieved a 2,300+ SAT score? And that she was in her room crying because she felt like not making NMSF was going to hurt her chances at top colleges because her school has sixteen or so other NMSF and she feels like she will disadvantaged by not being among them? And she is just one point shy of your state’s very high, discriminatory cut-off? </p>
<p>And you chose to go with telling her, “You should have prepared more.” I will reiterate: wow. Just wow. </p>
<p>Does anyone know if the WI cutoff is 209 for sure? My friend’s D sits at a 208.</p>
<p>Has Fair Test published the cut-offs for this year? Did I miss that? Still looking to confirm MO.</p>
<p>I’m a newbie to this site but the last couple of weeks feels like months…and I have to remark that compared to most public forums (fora?) there is great civility and an absence of ad hominem attacks…let’s keep it that way…and Hoggirl, your last post is your 666th…</p>
<p>If the PSAT superscored, D would be NMSF, but we knew she’d likely be commended as soon as the scores came back and everyone in our house is cool with it :)</p>
<p>I did want to point out, before anyone adds it to their resume, that “Acadium Scholar” is a bit of a joke: <a href=“http://freakonomics.com/2014/04/04/not-so-national-merit/”>http://freakonomics.com/2014/04/04/not-so-national-merit/</a></p>
<p>PS: Congrats to the NMSFs and particularly those who will be able to attend college for free or nearly so with it!</p>
<p>@rhando - I think you misunderstood me. I have two kids who got the AP awards, one received it in the mail about 10-12 days ago, the other didn’t. I checked their Collegeboard accounts and they both show the awards.
Either the mail is messed up or Collegeboard is messed up! The point really was the misinformation from the Collegeboard employee who tried to tell me that the certificates had gone out only a few days previous to my call (vs. 2 weeks previous, since I already had one award). If the awards are going out in batches (perhaps 2014 graduates first?), then say that, don’t just make something up. Still don’t have the second child’s award here, but do expect to get it eventually.</p>
<p>Congratulations to all the NMSF and Commended students! Although DD made it in CO still hoping to see a cutoff more in line with past year cutoffs. Tomorrow we will know for sure.</p>
<p>Did anyone else read the Post #2610 with a link to an article about MA - Alogonquin Regional HS NMSF? The body of the article and at the end says the information was submitted by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. How can this be fact if they don’t announce results until tomorrow? </p>