<p>Okeydokey folks. My informal usurping of “The List” comes to a temporary close. Even my OCD for data has its limits. FWIW, I made the chore tolerable and multitaskable with other work by (a) using a Chrome extension called PageMonitor to alert me to changes and (b) having a textfile open with my last update. Hopefully someone will take up the torch.</p>
<p>Flummoxed by the fact that we have nothing from big states NY, FL and IL - school’s been out a few hours now and they must have tons of home schoolers. Maybe there is another CC in an alternative universe?</p>
<p>What happened to CA’s population of graduates relative to last year’s sample? Did they gain population of high school graduates? (I’m unclear if the relevant info is from the preceding year or current year anticipated grads–maybe somebody can help out with this.) </p>
<p>As I know I’ve repeated about here in NY, I suspect the graduating population has declined, but we will be balancing that with fewer PSAT takers, perhaps. </p>
<p>Another curious note that one poster mentioned pages ago: if the PSAT numbers are varied by state, and yet the ultimate SAT numbers needed to make National Merit are not, doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of varying PSAT numbers by population?</p>
<p>Looks like a lot of parents are getting anxious, as I am, with notification still several weeks away. Since last year’s scores are lost somewhere way back, I’ll repost them here for reference. Can we fill in with new scores when they come out, please?
Qualifying Scores for the Class of 2014 National Merit Semifinalists:</p>
<p>Class of 2014: Class of 2015 (test taken Oct 2013, notifications Aug 2014):</p>
<p>Alabama 211 Alabama ??? (+/-)
Alaska 212 Alaska ???
Arizona 214 Arizona ???
Arkansas 205 Arkansas ???
California 223 California ???
Colorado 215 Colorado ???
Connecticut 221 Connecticut ???
Delaware 218 Delaware ???
District of Columbia 224 District of Columbia ???
Florida 214 Florida ???
Georgia 217
Hawaii 215</p>
<p>@silverdrop, I don’t know if you have a prayer because I haven’t looked at the PA cut-off history - but I do really feel for you! First of all, Commended Student is a real honor and you need to remember that. Please don’t be down on yourself. My DS was just shooting for “Commended” in the first place. Only when he landed on the bubble did he/I hope for more. We are in this solely for the $ and you may be, too, so I can appreciate that - believe me.</p>
<p>If you haven’t taken the SAT yet, please do so. DS took it in January of this year and saw a very nice bump. A good SAT/ACT score will get you a long way in terms of merit $.</p>
<p>If you want better advice than I can give, since I’m espc brain-dead today, go over to the Parents of HS Class of 2015 thread and ask a few specific questions. Those parents are awesome & very helpful. Or post in the general Parents thread if you’d like to reach an even broader audience.</p>
<p>Most of all, Congratulations because you are at least Commended and that is something to be proud of!</p>
<p>Just to clarify how this works for those of you still waiting: my son was called to the Principal’s office and given a letter from NMSC. The letter explicitly states that this information is confidential until September 10 with the exception of the Principal and the student’s family. This would seem to imply that the school is under no obligation to keep information from the students until the September 10th deadline.</p>
<p>The school has a deadline of October 8th to submit the application required to continue in the competition.</p>
<p>The letter was addressed to my son and contained login information that would allow him to submit additional information to NMSC.</p>
<p>When I was a semi-finalist almost 30 years ago, the three of us who qualified were called to the office together. My son was the only qualifier in his HS, so perhaps that made the release of information easier for the school - or maybe they gave it to him today because my wife and I asked both guidance counselors about it last week.</p>
<p>In my area of NY, school starts on Friday. I asked my GC if she had received any news this morning and she said no. However, she did seem pretty unclear about the whole process. </p>
<p>@ILmom7 I think one poster pointed out earlier that the letters could be mailed from anywhere in the country though the HQ is physically located in IL </p>
<p>And since first class mail should really only take 1-3 days (per USPS), they are apparently touring the country on their way to our home states, LOL!</p>
<p>I saw an update for Washington state of 220, but didn’t see a post that correlates with that score. I’m nervous because my son has a 220 but hasn’t been called into the principal’s office yet, but then we just started school today. </p>