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

Paying for College Financial Aid (Need-Based, Merit Aid, Loans)
1281

<p>@Wolverine86, thank you and that’s a good reminder for all parents to make that call on 9/10 if in doubt. Apparently our school notifies the students very late-in-the-game (even though NMS is a pretty big deal there). I seriously doubt that DS is in-the-running at this point, but mostly I’d just like his apps and his resume to be correct/updated as he sends them out. </p>

<p>At this point, I’m more of a bystander here but I’m rooting for all The Bubble People because I know what this kind of scholarship would mean to our family. And even if DS doesn’t make it, I will be so happy to see other Bubble DCs/families make it. After so many, many months, I feel a connection to everyone who is anxiously waiting!</p>

1282

<p>@PAmom21…If you’ve sent in SAT scores already which are above the “confirming” score then you’re all set. You can actually use scores up through and including the December SAT this year for confirming purposes if needed, so at least that part of the SF package can be sent later than the October deadline if necessary. You can call NMSC on Sep 10th to find out if the “confirming” score for the Class of '15 NM kids is still 1960 (using their formula) or if it may have changed.</p>

<p>@GoAskDad…Every year we see posts in these threads about students/parents who find out VERY late in the process window about their Nat’l Merit status. I feel terrible for them having to scramble at the last minute and having to deal with a school that doesn’t understand/appreciate what it can mean to some families. When you explain to them that they’re potentially costing your child $130K+ in scholarship money, it’s hard to maintain your composure.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, every year there are students who miss out on the possibility of that scholarship money and are completely unaware of what they might’ve had. Many of the NM kids choose universities that don’t offer them much (or anything) for their NM status, but I think it’s horrible that some kids that could really use that funding miss out because of their HS shortcomings.</p>

1283

<p>My concern was that the confirming score would rise. Good to know there is some buffer time if that does indeed happen. The boy would like to be done with SATs, so hopefully his current score is enough. Two out of three are great, but one could be better. He has some headroom, but I tend to be a worry wart, LOL!</p>

1284

<p>I’m confused. We have to do something so my son is marked as “commended”? I thought it would just be his score (212, below the semi-finalist cutoff I’m sure for NJ), as when I was a semi-finalist, we got a letter with my semi-finalist status and then instructions on how to manifest that into scholarships (which I could not get because I went to an Ivy).</p>

1285

<p>We have a college counseling information night scheduled for this coming week at D’s school. I am arguing back and forth with myself whether to collar the GC and ask whether they’ve received anything or to ask a public question during the Q&A part of the presentation. You know if I ask publicly there will be a landslide of parents behind me but it will also be more likely that she will swear to the heavens that the school hasn’t received anything.</p>

<p>@Wolverine, thank you for that reminder. I’ve put 9/10 on the calendar.</p>

1286

<p>It’s always possible that the confirming score could rise, but I’d be really surprised if it rose by any substantial amount. The 1960 benchmark has held for the last several years at least, and that was through some pretty wild swings in the state cutoff scores (as everyone here has noticed ~X( ). D2 isn’t on the bubble, but that doesn’t relieve the stress of making sure the school follows through on their part of the SF package in a timely fashion. We’ll make sure D2’s part of the package is done ASAP once we receive the login info, but trying to ensure the school portion gets done quickly can be tricky.</p>

<p>It does help some to know that our HS has had at least a few NMSFs in each of the last several years, and the school has managed to get all of their packages processed within the deadline constraints.</p>

1287

<p>@rhandco, I don’t believe you have to do anything re: Commended status. It sounds like all Commended Students will eventually get a certificate in the mail…or via their high school…? However, if your DS wants to list “National Merit Commended Student” on his resume and/or in his college applications, then you might want to get official notification from NMC or your high school before putting that in writing. I thought it would be best for DS to have somebody sign-off on him using “National Merit Commended Student” on his resume and apps, even though I know he will be one. So I plan to call on 9/10 just to get someone to officially confirm this for me and then I will feel OK having DS use this designation on his apps and resume.</p>

<p>I hope that answers your question.</p>

1288

<p>@rhandco…There should be nothing else for you to do if your Son will be at the Commended level. He will receive a letter later on in September (I believe those are mailed to the schools as well) but won’t have anything else to submit. Congrats to him/you on a great PSAT score!!</p>

<p>@3girls3cats…I’d recommend collaring the GC individually and asking the question. If they haven’t seen the letter yet, it may prompt them to actually start looking for it. You’re more likely to get a prompt(ish) response by asking directly and specifically for your student. [-O< </p>

1289

<p>@Wolverine86 Why is the benchmark score so low? And does this benchmark score apply for every state? If so, then doesn’t that nullify the entire reasoning behind having different NMSF cutoffs? </p>

1290

<p>@onlythebest13 Only NMSC knows why they do things the way they do, but yes, that is the score for every state. And it is set low enough (ie it has always been below the commended score) that it shouldn’t be a real problem for anyone. I think it is just to verify that there has been no cheating either by the student or by the student’s school which is responsible for administering the PSAT to its own students. I don’t think it negates any of the reasoning behind different cutoffs, whether one agrees with that reasoning or not.</p>

1291

<p>Making some clarifications based on what I know from the past.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If people know the commended cutoff and you have made it, then you are already commended irrespective of when the letter comes. From what I know, NMSC lists about 50,000 as commended across the nation and finds 16,000 out of that list to designate them as NMSFs. So if people got a letter in April stating they have reached some exalted status (I have no idea what this notification states) it would normally mean commended status as the first cut off.</p></li>
<li><p>Most schools misread the instructions and sit on the notification letters until September 10th (it was funny to see this stated in the wikipedia entry about national merit). They are supposed to gather the students who reached the cut off, notify them prepare their promotional mateiral ready to present them to the papers and ask them to sit on it until 10th for publication. Some have taken group pictures etc so the pictures can be turned over for publication. However, from what we have seen on CC over the years, some schools are run by dunderheads who don’t open their mail, don’t have the curiousity to check with NMSC to see if they are missing stuff, and messed up their students so much that people had to call NMSC to beg to extend their application deadlines because they never were told by their schools. Being here on CC has helped a few in the past to go pester the school admins.</p></li>
<li><p>CC crowds have been very helpful. When 10th rolls around and there is a big gap in our knowledge base, many have taken the responsibility of calling for a state on a given day and update the CC thread. So a person who wants to be helpful can call a couple of times during the day and get at least 2 state cut offs.</p></li>
<li><p>I believe if someone has more pressing needs and wants to make sure their kid is ON THE LIST because of the school claiming they have no information or homeschooled kids not receiving any mail, I believe NMSC may be obliging in giving out that information.</p></li>
</ol>

1292

<p>@texaspg, my DS did not receive a letter in April notifying him of any status, but he should definitely qualify for Commended. I think that letter may have been discontinued as of this NMS cycle, just based on what I’ve read here on CC. So that’s why I was hesitant to have him put “National Merit Commended Student” on his resume and apps, because no one has notified him officially that he is one. If I wasn’t on CC, we wouldn’t know squat. I plan to call on 9/10 so that I can have that official word from NMSC because I don’t want to wait for our school to notify DS.</p>

1293

<p>I am curious if no one here has heard anything from NMSC about being in top 50,000. I am under the impression NMSC has discontinued asking people to designate colleges to notify in April but not discontinued the notification to students.</p>

1294

<p>Yes, only the schools got that letter (or homeschooling “principals”). My son’s school definitely got the letter, but they (said they) could not share it with me. They said it merely asked them to verify that he was indeed a student there, and that his name was spelled correctly. Hopefully my asking about the letter encouraged them to respond. </p>

<p>I have no idea if the school would have contacted me on their own, but I kind of think they wouldn’t have, until this newest batch of information in September. Nothing official was ever sent. Their confirmation just came via email to a request I had made.</p>

<p>The notification has changed somewhat. TWO years ago, our school always listed the “qualified” (commended plus) students on their webpage in April. This past year, and again for my son, they have taken no such initiative. I suspect that has to do with the change in the wording of the letter received in April. In 2013, they waited until September and then posted names of students who made both cuts, and I hope they’ll do the same this year, though I’m not expecting much company, even at the commended level.</p>

1295

<p>We got a notification in April that our daughter was one of the 50,000 - the letter came to us directly since we homeschool.</p>

1296

<p>Since this is my 3rd NMSF rodeo, let me just add that there is NO reason for anyone to be overly concerned about missing any deadlines for the NMSF paperwork. NMSC is VERY cooperative in this regard. There are always students who don’t get paperwork from the school, so when the “deadline” (and I’m using the term loosely) passes and NMSC is missing paperwork from a student, then NMSC become proactive, contacting the school and, I have heard, even the students themselves. NMSC is also very helpful over the phone as well at that point. </p>

<p>We were advised by one university to get a copy of what the school turned in on my son’s behalf. I asked, and was surprised to be given a copy by the HS. Good thing, because the GC had left off an entire section of the application - she had left a big fat blank! I called NMSC, and they said the GC could submit an amendment and it would be added to my son’s application. Then I confirmed with NMSC that the GC did send the amendment. NMSC was super helpful and clearly did not want a student to be dropped from consideration due to someone else’s (like the school’s) error.</p>

<p>As for the confirming SAT score, it is one score for all, so unlike the PSAT, there is no super high hurdle for students in some states and a lower hurdle for others. On the other hand, for students who scored a 202 and made NMSF in a low-cutoff score state, the 1960 may in fact be a challenge, but the student has time to study and can make several attempts at the SAT. As far as I know, the score has always been 1960, and I suspect it will not change this time. I don’t believe it is supposed to be anything but a “confirming” score - to prove the PSAT score was not a complete fluke. </p>

<p>One last point. Some have questioned why the NMSC would tell you over the phone that your student is on the list without confining your identity. But remember, at that point, the list of NMSFs has already been made public. They are not telling you over the phone anything that couldn’t be released to the press. I haven’t confirmed this, but I suspect there is something on the form when you sign up for the PSAT that gives them the right to release your name to the press. </p>

<p>Good luck, Everyone! My son is sitting at 219 in Texas, last year’s cutoff, with 2 older brothers who are NM Scholars, and as much as he wants to be a NMSF, it is more important to not be one-upped in any aspect of life by, egads, a brother! If he does not make the cutoff, then perhaps he will be nominated for Homecoming King. His brothers never got THAT! </p>

1297

<p>I’m rooting for him @Barfly! That sibling competition can be rough!</p>

1298

<p>Barfly, when S got his PSAT score, the first thing he did was run to older D’s bedroom and wake her to gloat. “I got 5 points more than youuu.”</p>

1299

<p>What is the essay for NMSF? Is it the same every year? Thanks!</p>

1300

<p>@isaelijohjac…I don’t know that it’s the same essay every year, but I believe it’s been the same prompt for at least the last 2 years so there’s a decent chance it will be the same again this year. From last year’s thread, I believe the prompt was this. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Many students already have written an essay for some other purpose which will fit this quite nicely. There was some discussion last year about whether it was word or character limited, but the consensus seemed to be that it needed to “fit in the space provided” which fell somewhere between 500-750 words…although it doesn’t need to be that long. The essay is really just to give them a little insight into the student, and isn’t a critical part of the overall process. If a student completely blows it off or makes disparaging remarks towards NMSC (has happened in the past) it can impact negatively, but a modest effort to put something readable in the box will suffice.</p>