<p>The student needs to take the SAT and the SAT score needs to be high enough to confirm it, but that’s not generally a problem; I think the SAT should be above 1960. It does not have to match the equivalent score from the PSAT. The student needs to write an essay, but that just has to be decent, and his/her high school transcript should show good grades. A C in a class could be bad for finalist status, for example. The school will write a recommendation for personal qualities too, so legal/disciplinary programs could disqualify a semi-finalist.</p>
<p>Ninety percent of the NMSF will become finalists .</p>
<p>I’m a worrier my nature, but surely an SAT that tops the state’s required PSAT should be good enough, right? Especially with 2/3 ceiling scores? I’m still debating calling…</p>
<p>Hey guys, first time posting. Have a question. I’m a NMSF as far as I know and I heard that if you have C’s in your report card you won’t be able to advance to a NMF. I got 2 C’s. Both in English. My school block schedules and so my first semester grades for both classes were C’s while the second semester grades were a high B and an A. What are my chances of getting NMF status? Have got a 2310 SAT.</p>
<p>@Dudeiamis, none of us really knows, but over the years on CC we have heard stories of grades keeping students from progressing to finalist. As both your Cs were in in English, and during the same semester, I think that might be something you could ask your GC (or whomever writes your rec letter) to address in a very positive way by pointing out your work ethic and your stellar grades during the rest of your HS career! </p>
<p>Wondering what others on here think - since I first started following the whole NMSF thing for my class of 2010 son, I have a heard stories, but I don’t know anyone personally who did not progress. Our HS principal told me he had one student in the history of our HS who did not progress, and that was a student who had totally tanked freshman year grades.</p>
<p>For those unfamiliar with the NMSF-NMF process, make sure to read through the stickied FAQ thread here on the NM forums. It may answer a lot of the questions you have.</p>
<p>How NMSC views a student’s transcript has always been a point of concern. Up until a few years ago the standard reports were that a “few” C’s on a transcript were ok, but D’s were a reason to not advance to Finalist. Two years ago there were reports in these threads of at least one student who had a single C and was not named a Finalist, then last year it seemed like things were more “back to normal” and I don’t recall seeing any posts of a single C limiting a student’s progression. Many schools only list Semester grades on the transcript, so if the C was a quarter grade it might not even be seen by NMSC.</p>
<p>Bottom line is, unfortunately, that there are no definitive answers when it comes to the transcript. If your student has C’s that show on their transcript, it’s POSSIBLE that it might hurt their chances for advancement. No one knows if “all C’s are created equal” or not i.e. does a C in freshman gym class count against you as much as a C in a core class? What about C’s in AP classes since they’re equivalent to B’s GPA-wise? </p>
<p>All these questions have come up in the past, and no one knows the answers. What was “OK” one year may not be the next year, although any D on the transcript has generally been a killer. There were at least a few parents who appealed to NMSC when their student didn’t advance 2 years ago (the “tightest” year in recent history) and none of them reported a successful appeal.</p>
<p>My only advice would be that if there were any extenuating circumstances surrounding these grades, talk to the GC and teacher involved and see if the grade can be changed before the school sends the transcript in. If not, you can ask the school to send in a letter of explanation with the transcript. Whether or not it will help? No one knows.</p>
<p>If the worst case scenario does come to pass and the student doesn’t advance…check the scholarships at the individual schools carefully. There are at least a few of them that have automatic scholarships for any student who achieves SF status, so those might still be in play.</p>
<p>I started lurking here yesterday, hungry for news about results, and wanted to thank everyone for all of the great posts! </p>
<p>We’re in PA, and my son’s principal notified him yesterday morning (after I sent him an email, but maybe that was coincidental) that he is a NMSF. He is in PA. His score was 235. I don’t know the cut-off…he only knew scores of 3 of the 4 SF’s, and the lowest was 221. </p>
<p>Reminder…if you took advantage of sending a free SAT report to the National Merit office just in case, you may want to call the office to make sure that they have received it and linked it to the correct kid. The people who answer the phones are super nice and it only took a minute for me to get this piece of mind. </p>
<p>Our GC told me yesterday that my son was a NMSF…but they haven’t told the kids yet! I’m trying very hard not to ruin the surprise…but come on…how do schools sit on this important information for so long?</p>
<p>Congrats to all of our NMSFs! I’m cheering on those of you on the bubble and waiting for results. To those who didn’t quite make it…you are obviously very capable and you will surely have opportunities to pursue merit scholarships.</p>
<p>My son found out today that he is a Semifinalist with a 229 in Maryland. I realize that’s higher than last year’s cutoff, but the information was released today, so maybe some more numbers will be coming in soon!</p>
<p>@dave4041, that is not a change in the requirements, though. It’s the exact same language NMSC used for the class of 2010 and 2012, which are the other ones I have seen. </p>
<p>@Felicita, what info did you need to give the NMSC people to confirm that they had your son’s SAT? We have not received confirmation from the school yet, so I don’t have my son’s “secret code” or whatever you get from the letter. But if they don’t need that……….I can call to ask if they got his SAT and thereby sneakily find out for sure that he’s on the list!!!</p>
<p>No one else gets to steal my idea until after I call!</p>
<p>The SAT score needed to confirm is 1960. The essay does not count, so take the writing multiple choice score and multiply by 10. Add that to the CR and M scores. The total must be 1960. So that is the same as it has always been, or at least for the past 5 years.</p>
<p>Is it me, or does it seem completely ridiculous to have percentile cutoffs nationwide for all the other standardized tests, and this is by state?</p>
<p>And to be cynical about it, is it the state you took the test in, or the state you reside in? Could someone in NJ take the test in PA for example?</p>
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