<p>I suppose this should be on the SAT site, but I love the feedback from parents. My DS just got his PSAT scores back, and it looks like his score will be 1-2 points below the cutoff for our state. (Sometimes you wish you lived in Mississipi.) Two years ago, the state cutoff was 216. He got a 215. I’m so proud of him for it, but, a little part of me is thinking - “darn, wish he had got one more question correct.” It’s a purely monetary thing. It’s an automatic bunch of money at state schools in TX, even some free rides. The $50,000. would have come in handy!!!</p>
<p>Anxiousmom, I can sympathize. My son missed Commended by 1 point with a 201 (if the cutoff stays the same as last year). Although it doesn’ts come with any $$, it would still be a nice thing to add to his apps since he doesn’t have any national level awards. </p>
<p>My older son was a NMF and is on a full ride at UF, so I know what a boon that can be to the pocketbook. But you’re right, 215 is still a wonderful score and is something to be proud of.</p>
<p>Maybe you should head over to Sinners Alley for a drink to drown your sorrows ;)</p>
<p>I missed by two with a 220 in MA last year, and–worst of all–my older sister had gotten the requisite 222 two years previous! </p>
<p>I’m sorry you’re missing out on those possible scholarships. Don’t worry, though; lots of great schools will want your son (and be willing to fork over money to get him).</p>
<p>AM, if it’s any consolation, D made the cut-off quite comfortably…and it wasn’t worth a brass farthing at any of the schools she ultimately zeroed on, including the one she attended. There wasn’t even a school she felt worth designating when she was a Finalist. And I can’t quarrel with either her criteria or her process. I wince only at those times when I write a tuition check…like today, for instance.</p>
<p>Ditto everything TheDad said. My older son didn’t get zip from anything associated with NMS, despite having easily surpassed the CA cut-off, being a National AP Scholar, and having submitted a bang-up NMS application and achieving Finalist status. Don’t fret about it too much, anxiousmom, a lot of times NMF is meaningless in the dollars department.</p>
<p>Thanks for the support! … I know that it is not much for some schools in the money department - but it’s a lot at the state schools. (And I think it helped my DD get a loan-free F.A. package at her school.)</p>
<p>“I wince only at those times when I write a tuition check…like today, for instance.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, congratulations - you only have four more to go, and then you’re free! (maybe…;))</p>
<p>anxiousmom~</p>
<p>I can totally relate to this! My son missed the cutoff for NMSF by two points. The exact score he received qualified for NMSF for both the year prior to his and the year after! <em>lol</em> Ironically, he totally outscored the two kids who did make it on all of the other testing. At our h.s., they do a VERY poor job of communicating the import of the PSAT, so most kids here think of it as simply a “practice test” for the SAT. </p>
<p>But, take heart! The fact that my son was not a NMSF did not hurt him in any appreciable way. He came out beautifully in the college app. process, garnering significant merit awards at quite a few great schools. While it’s true that he was looking mostly at schools that do not financially “reward” students for NMF, I think he would have come out great even if he HAD been.</p>
<p>I am sooooooooooooo sorry for your son’s disappointment. We certainly know exactly what it feels like! Hang in there, O.K.?</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>Mini, I had told D that grad/professional school was on her. I already feel my resolve weakening. She’s looking at a four-year program. Oy vey, Maria.</p>
<p>Hey, what else were you going to spend it on - real estate? (that’s an inside joke…)</p>
<p>Well, I guess since I’m reading this while inside, so it is.</p>
<p>Another Commended just missed the cutoff here. Also outshone the other finalists on the SAT - yep, its frustrating - made no financial difference, though, just bragging rights.</p>
<p>I’ll be pleased as punch if my younger d. gets within 50 points (but it doesn’t worry me in the least - she’s going to go far!)</p>
<p>Another parent of kid (S1) who missed it by one point. This did not reflect what he got on either the SAT or ACT which were higher, and he got into four of six high reach schools. His sister did get NMS and got to keep $1500 for one year at Swarthmore. Hardly worth blinking at, but at the time I was a single parent and was glad for everything.</p>
<p>Your youngin’ will be fine; no need to be “anxious” :)</p>
<p>Thanks all! You’re great!</p>
<p>Oh anxiousmom-
Bummer. Thats so frustrating. Like everyine else said, it may not end up mattering, but geeeeeeez, I know its hard to still be so proud of him (which you should be) whil still wishing he’d gotten just one more question right… Grrrr. </p>
<p>And TheDad- I moved to the computer with the small screen and the teeny micetype. I read your “brass farthing” as “brass farting”. It was funny, though I didn’t understand it at first.</p>
<p>Jym, I have little doubt that many college’s Financial Aid departments, like Monty Python, fart in our general direction.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>There actually are a few scholarships for Commended students. If you check the archives, I actually posted such info about a year ago. One college offering such a scholarship is St. Olaf, a nice Minn. liberal arts college known for music and science.</p></li>
<li><p>If a student scored high enough to almost make Commended or NMS, with study for the SAT, the student should be able to score high enough to qualify for scholarships based on their SAT scores. There are plenty of public and private universities that give such scholarships. Google can be your friend on this. Depending on how flexible a student is about where they go to college, students with high SAT scores may be able to get far more than the $2,000 scholarship that NMS finalists can earn.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>S made Commended, scoring a few points above the qualifying level. His SAT score last May was 130 points higher (referring to the v, m parts) than what his PSAT score was (when you translate the PSAT score into SAT scores, eg. 72 v PSAT = 720 SAT v).</p>
<p>hi anxiousmom -</p>
<p>First of all, congratulations, your son did an outstanding job on the PSAT. </p>
<p>And NSM is right; there are many opportunities for high scoring kids (both PSAT and SAT) other than NM. Texas and Texas A&M have tons of freshman scholarship opportunities for high achievers…not guaranteed like NM, but generous in award amount. (Check out the Texas Exes scholarship program…they are looking for high scorers in the top 5%.) Baylor has a lot of guaranteed money and they get pretty aggressive with the recruiting. (Despite the killer new, state of the art Sciences building and a bunch of scholarship money, my D wasn’t interested in Baylor at all darn it.)</p>
<p>Last year, the cutoff in Texas went up to 217 and I understand from several counselors they expect Texas to continue to rise. My D barely squeaked in there with a 220, but she will actually get more money from state schools from being a Nat’l Hispanic Scholar than NM. (Texas and A&M don’t stack the awards.) And the private schools that interest her offer nothing for either.</p>
<p>My daughter was a member of the PSAT “one point club”. Her SAT’s and SAT 2’s, in particular, went up significantly from there. Thinking back, there was no difference in the acceptance rate to elite schools between the commended and those that were NMSF at her school. One of her friends did get some $$ from Stanford.</p>