@agupte There are some, usually ones with multiple Cs on their transcripts. One person on CC was rejected this year with 1 C.
Clarifying a few points…NMSC no longer sends out Commended letters to a student’s home in April. They just sent letters of inquiry to the school principals to confirm whether students are still in good standing. Last year’s Commended score was basically winnowed down by homeschoolers and a few cooperative principals based on which students NMSC inquired about and what their scores were. IIRC no specific score was mentioned until September cutoffs were releases.
Unless a student’s score is several points above the highest historical state cutoff score no one can know for sure they’re safe as a Semifinalist until September of their senior year. Check the Class of 2016 NM discussion thread to see the ongoing statistical analysis about projected cutoff scores for next year’s seniors.
I qualified for semifinalist in FL.
Does anyone know if NM only looks at final or semester grades on transcripts when considering each semifinalist for finalist standing?
^^^ Look at it this way: If you end the semester with a “C” and you start the new semester with a 100% on a test in the same class - and you have an A in the class at that point, then the Semester grades count 
@lcgusa What does your transcript have? semester grades? year end grades? or both? Have you seen an actual official transcript? It’s not what your report card looks like.
Florida reports quarter grades and semester grades but only semester grades go on the transcript and count towards GPA. It is confusing because there are quarter report cards, but they don’t count in HS. So, each year long class has two semester grades that go on the transcript.
^^
Many schools don’t put quarter grades on transcript or use them for reporting GPA. So a student who got a B+ for one quarter, but A’s for every semester, can have a 4.0.
My kids’ school ONLY reported year end grades…unless the class was only a semester in length.
From FAQ:
"Q: What can I do to improve my chances of making NMSF?
A: . . . Sign up for the October SAT. It’s given about a week before the PSAT.. . . "
I am confused - is the reason for the suggestion to take the earlier SAT that the student would have the practice of taking the actual SAT before the PSAT, even though the student wouldn’t know how well s/he did on the actual SAT? Or what is the reason for this suggestion?
Thanks in advance!
Yes, the idea was that a person might do better on the PSAT by taking a test covering similar material a short time before in a similar environment. I happen to think that taking a timed practice test at home is just as good. Many people disagree and think taking a real test is better practice.
I my DD16 took the SAT after the PSAT in Nov and I so wish I had her let her take it in Oct before the PSAT. She really prepped for the PSAT and was just burnt out on test prep my Nov. She still scored well but think she would have scored even better is she had take the Oct SAT. My DS18 will take the Oct SAT and before the PSAT. They both took the PSAT and in 10th grade and the SAT in the Spring of 10th grade so they knew what they had to work on.
My application says it has been transmitted by the school official. Am I done now? Does that mean the transcript was included by my principal, or do I need to send it myself?
Yes, I believe you are done. The person who is responsible for doing the school portion of the applications enters in all the courses and grades from your high school transcript. (If you provided them with any transcripts of college or junior college courses you took, they enter those too.) You don’t need to send your high school transcript yourself. They also make sure that the letter of recommendation was entered into their portion of the application.
@folkiestcat you should be done. Your school submits the HS transcript. If there is a college transcript that must be sent (i.e. the courses aren’t included on the HS transcript) then that might be a different matter so talk to your school.
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am confused - is the reason for the suggestion to take the earlier SAT that the student would have the practice of taking the actual SAT before the PSAT, even though the student wouldn’t know how well s/he did on the actual SAT? Or what is the reason for this suggestion?
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to familiarize oneself with real testing environment, and to see how one does in a timed environment. A student who takes the October SAT and doesn’t finish sections would then know to be quicker when taking the PSAT.
My D ran into exactly what @mom2collegekids mentions. She didn’t manage her time closely on the math section of the Oct SAT and ended up with a number omitted, so she did much better during the PSAT and omitted none. “Practicing” the test environment via SAT just a couple weeks before the PSAT really helped her.
- Anyone have any idea why ACT scores are not accepted for NMF? Seems beyond crazy that colleges do but they won't?!
- Why in the world do they continue this practice of not notifying kids until late into their senior year? Kids will have already applied to their colleges of choice. What good is it to then get notified you made NMF(thus qualifying for full rides at some colleges) since it's past when the majority of top students will have already applied and submitted essays?
@moscott I believe students and their HS are notified early in the senior year (late Aug/early Sept). Agree it could be much earlier.
- Anyone have any idea why ACT scores are not accepted for NMF? Seems beyond crazy that colleges do but they won't?!
That’s easy, the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test is the PSAT, so they are aligned with the SAT, not it’s competitor - the ACT!
I read that the school has the responsibility of recommending students, sending transcripts, and contacting the students about other things related to NMSC. How does it work for homeschoolers?
I believe the parent is the principal for homeschool families. Homeschooling families are notified directly if their student makes semifinalist. NMSC should be able to answer any question about recommendations etc but it’s most likely the parent who writes that. Recommendations are always the responsibility of the school principal, even if delegated out to counselors in larger schools.