<p>^^^ I’m not sure that’s the “point”, it’s not something you see explicitly stated on NMF websites. The different cutoffs aren’t necessarily due to “poorer” state. It’s also a function of the number of students taking PSAT. Some state (like mid-west) are ACT-centric so they don’t take PSAT (they take whatever the ACT version is). So you may have a state where only 20% of students take PSAT, but the cutoff is set so 1% of the entire student population makes the cutoff. So with only 20% actually taking test, as many as 5% of the test takers make NMF cutoff. </p>
<p>Some states like MA have virtually ALL students take PSAT.</p>