<p>and happy pi day! Nxt year will be super pie day (3.1415)</p>
<p>@crtexxx, some colleges offer full rides, some offer nothing, some offer everything in between. If you make Finalist, it will be in your control to choose a full ride college if you wish. The actual scholarship from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is minimal and few Finalists get it, so most of us on CC, when we talk about National Merit scholarships, are talking about what colleges offer to Finalists, not about the small scholarship you may get from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (“NMSC”) itself. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>Your actual PSAT score does not matter, as long as it meets your state’s cutoff. You will need to have an SAT score that “confirms” your PSAT, so if you haven’t reached that goal yet, then you need to retake the SAT. The required SAT has been 1960 for as long as I know, but it could go up I suppose. The SAT essay does not count towards the 1960 score, so take your writing multiple choice score and multiply it by 10, then add it to your math and critical reading scores. If it is equal or above 1960, you should be fine on the SAT. Then they will look at your grades (should be ok with all A’s and B’s, and even 1 or 2 C’s), and you will have to write an essay and fill out an application where you can show your ECs and awards, etc. I don’t think the ECs and awards count for much, except perhaps in the selection of the students who get the small scholarship from the NMSC. All Semifinalists progress to Finalist if they get in the app in time, write an appropriate essay, get a good rec from the school, have good grades and meet the 1960 SAT score. </p>
<p>crtexx, I am not sure what you are asking. If you become a finalist you can possibly receive a one time award of $2,500 which can be used at any school. On other threads we have tried to figure out who gets these, but there seems to be no rhyme or reason. S1 did not get this, but S2 did. S2 had a higher PSAT score for our state but other than that they were pretty equal. Awards from colleges vary. ALOT of universities give nothing, especially the higher tier schools. Some schools will give $1,000 or so per year as the NMF award if you name them first choice. Some schools will also have a non-official award which are the awards that are bigger. A school like University of Alabama will give you the value of full tuition for 4 years, a stipend, one year housing and foreign study award. Another school might give you a flat award of $8,000. Again another school might not give anything but the official award. There is a great thread in this forum that will give you details.</p>
<p>Thanks Numbersfun! You know me too well. I was halfway through your post and thinking “hyper competitive east coast? PA?” and panicking, LOL! I’ve forgotten to check this board lately here in the state data “lull”. If I disappear, I will be back come April hoping for the commendation cut. In the meantime, DS is trying to maintain grades, send his SAT to the NM folks, etc. Fingers crossed!</p>
<p>Hi all,
Are we going to post the lowest numbers we know for the ‘high scorer letters’ or will that be another thread entirely?
I don’t want to miss the reports as they come in for discussion. If it winds up being a different thread would someone post it here? Thank you.</p>
<p>numbersfun - I noticed that NM no longer mentions the April letter on their web page where they list the sequence of events in the competition. Last year, there was a sentence about the April letter. This year, it jumps right to notifications in early and late September. Has it changed?<a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php</a></p>
<p>Wow, @luvmygirls, I think you’re on the mark – from that [website](<a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php]website[/url]:”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php):</a></p>
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<p>And I thought the waiting game couldn’t get any worse… :-S </p>
<p>It really seems that NM would like to retain some of the “surprise” element surrounding this contest. First, the change in being able to use current year percentiles, and now not being able to use the commended score to predict trends. It’s more than a little frustrating. I feel badly for those on the commended “bubble.”</p>
<p>Wow, ‘surprise’ is only one way to describe waiting until September to give any guidance. You are all correct about NMSC’s current wording about notification.
As so many of you have said before - the college search effort is largely over by next September. For kids that are on the bubble, September is too late to know if they made NMSF. Colleges want our kids to keep performing through senior year but, hey, take some time off during the fall to go visit a bunch of schools once you find out you made NMSF. At the same time, play a varsity sport, take the SAT/ACT one more time, volunteer, work, perfect your piano/voice/art accomplishments, see your family for an hour or so, fill out the common application and all those supplemental essays and don’t let your grades go down!
It was different back when I was in HS, 30+ years ago. NMSC has not changed their NMSF timeline in all those years (I was a commended student and notified in September), but so much else has changed. 30+ years ago, most schools, including top schools, accepted applications until Feb/March. And senior year was not scrutinized as closely as it is now.
21st century life, sped up by computers and FedX, requires better, faster communication by the NMSC.</p>
<p>I was under the impression that the schools were still being notified in April, perhaps to ensure students were admitted/qualified in other ways. I imagine that info will still get leaked somewhat. I’ve already emailed my GC about informing me when that happens. Hopefully we’ll get enough insight to discern the commendation cut score.</p>
<p>Ah, here’s what I was remembering…</p>
<p>“In April of 2014, NMSC will ask high school principals to identify any errors or changes in the reported eligibility of their high scorers (students whose scores qualify them for recognition).”</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf</a></p>
<p>Thank you. I thought I remembered there being a mention of April, but couldn’t find it when I went looking. </p>
<p>The whole process is irritating. It’s like playing a game where the rules keep changing. We are homeschoolers. I’m wondering if we will be contacted in April or not.</p>
<p>If students aren’t contacted before September, how would they know to take the SAT? Most students do as a matter of course, but if they’ve scored extremely well on the ACT already they might skip the SAT if they did not realize they might qualify as NMSFs. If you do learn in September, do you have time to take the SAT to compete for NMF spots?</p>
<p>Yes you can still take the October, November, or December SAT to be considered for NMF.</p>
<p>Well, this isn’t good news. For those of us with kids on the “bubble” for NMSF it makes making that college list much more difficult. I wish they would realize that Sept is too late and announce the numbers over the summer at least. </p>
<p>My son is taking the June SAT just in case… will that qualify or should we have waited until Fall?</p>
<p>Wrigts1994, Any SAT administration in the years 2013 or 2014 will work.</p>
<p>I think when the principals get the notices, the homeschooler “principals” (parents) should get notified as well. One way or another, it will leak out. SInce the commended cutoff is national, we only need a few to report on scores that qualify and we can figure out the commended cutoff. Let’s post on this thread (even if there is another thread going - we can post on both). </p>
<p>Anyone want to guess on the commended cutoff? Everyone send in a million dollars, and the winner will get as big a pot as the winner of the March Madness competition!</p>
<p>I predict…201. </p>
<p>I’ll play! I predict a 202.</p>
<p>Yeah @luvmygirls, that was my next guess. I don’t think it will be 203 again - but I don’t think the numbers suggest a drop to 200 either. 201 or 202 based on the numbers. Anyway, now that you placed your bet, don’t forget to send in that entry fee. I’ll send you the wire instructions in a PM. 
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