@Willis1313 If you got that email back in February, it was just telling you what to do IF you happen to make the 50k in April.
Did you ever receive the paper score report in the mail back in February? If so, was your SI score 209 or above?
If not, you were not one of the 50k and won’t advance in the competition. In that case, you would not have received the April letter that is being discussed on this board. Only homeschoolers, and only the ones 209 and above received the letter in the mail at home.
If it was 209 and above, it may be an issue with the school code that was listed on the test document the day of the test.
My residency and home address are in Texas, however my online high school program is located in Nebraska. I took the test in Chile down in South America because I am living here temporarily, so I’m not sure at all about how NMSC views my location. Here is the copied text of the email I received directly from my school, for clarification UNHS is my high school program:
"Hi Bryan!
Congratulations on your PSAT/NMSQT Score! Your Selection Index score places you among the 50,000 high scores who qualify for National Merit Scholarship Program recognition. A copy of the School Report is attached. Next September, the NMSC notifies high scorers that they have qualified as either Commended Students or Semifinalists.
To compete for National Merit Scholarships, students must advance to Semifinalists, then the Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling several additional requirements. It is important to plan ahead for earning National Merit Awards.
Requirements for finalist standing:
Continue to meet all requirements for participation in the competition.
By September 2016, be enrolled in the last year of high school and plan to enroll full time in college the following fall, or be enrolled in the first year of college if grades 9 through 12 were completed in three years or less;
Maintain a record of consistently very high academic performance in all of grade 9 through 12 and in any college courses taken;
Be fully endorsed for Finalist standing and recommended for a National Merit Scholarship NMS by the high school principal (or school official designated by the principal). We will be happy to fully endorse you and recommend for the NMS. We will appreciate receiving a resume prior to the writing of your recommendation letter.
Complete the National Merit Scholarship Application with all information requested (This is an online scholarship application called the OSA. Semifinalist candidates will receive this information via mail from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation next September. The application is due in mid-October.)
Take an authorized administration of the SAT, earn scores that confirm performance on the PSAT/NMSQT taken for program entry, and arrange for the National Merit Program to receive an official score report (Take the 2016 May or June exam so that the National Merit Program will have your scores by July 2016).
Provide any additional documentation and information that NMSC request (personal essay, biographic information, list of activities/volunteer service, leadership positions, awards, employment, college choice, college major, and career plans)
The National Merit Organization considers all online and distance education programs as “home school” programs and will therefore will send further information directly to you in September. Bryan, we are very thrilled for your excellent scores and your opportunity to advance in the competition. Please keep in-touch with me and let me know when you hear good news! The UNHS will be happy to provide additional information to assist you with future forms."
I will have to go and check once I get on my laptop to see but I believe my SI was around 206/207 so I wasn’t expecting much, if anything. Anyone have any ideas of why I would have received this in February? As well as where I am classified for cutoffs, so that I can tell other students here who take the test how they will be classified? If I am receiving a letter it may be in the process of being forwarded down to South America, which would explain why I wouldn’t have received it. But I dont see why I would get any of this if what I remember my SI to be is accurate.
@Willis1313 Thank you for your letter. Now that the official commended score is known at 209, and if you didn’t score at least 209, perhaps you can contact UNHS and ask why the letter was sent to you. In any event, job well done at 206/207 if that’s your score. You should be proud at your accomplishment!
Nope but this one may.Lol! I think that possibly it’s because there has been no new info to talk about.No sense rehashing,I guess, is the feeling. But,it shouldn’t be long and SAT scores should be coming in. Don’t know how that effects anything, but maybe there will be more to draw from.
The only thing that might be helpful is if they release the “College Bound Juniors” state reports in mid-May as they said they would. It will also depend on how they report the information. In previous reports they showed how many students scored in the 75-80 segment of each section. That was helpful because it did a pretty good job of defining where the top 1% fell in each state. If they choose to report something like the 700-760 range for each section on the new test, that will be less helpful.
Question…my S was getting tons of emails and snail mail in February in the last few weeks he has gotten nothing from any colleges on our list. In Texas with a 221 should I be concerned?
S’s mail has also slowed. I think college admission offices are busy with the 2016 crop and will get back to perspective 2017ers after the admissions crunch is completed. You’ll get deluged again once summer begins.
We were the opposite from you, @Tgirlfriend . We are getting more now…but thought it might be regional mailings. I am trying not to look too far ahead…the time is flying by!!
Don’t worry about the board’s inactivity – just a lull before another spark hits. S gets his SAT results on May 10th – I suspect we’ll be hearing from a number of those on this thread around that time.
mailings/ emails have slowed down considerably in the last couple of weeks for my son as well. What he has received the last two weeks have been postcards to register for information sessions being held “in your town”. Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Penn and Stanford have a tour they are doing which you can register for at Exploringcollegeoptions.org. There is another for MIT, Yale and Brown. The third was for west coast schools. We attended the MIT, Yale and Brown tour last year and it is actually what led us to take the trip to CT to visit the school. There were good questions asking each school admissions person to compare/ contrast their schools and campuses to each other.
D3 has gotten those postcards as well. Also, she’s been invited to a few independent student leadership conferences sponsored by various institutions. The George Mason one knocked $1,000 off the tuition but she’s not interested in attending.
A friend who has a junior daughter called today and left a message that her HS (private Catholic) put her D down and a couple of kids who scored the same as my S on a short list of kids who will be recognized as NMSF in September. I told her that they probably put a list of kids down who scored above the commended cutoff and are in the running for NMSF. I asked her if the counselor has a firm number. I want their kool-aid.
dd is also registered for the exploring college fair. As well as the other one. What is the website for the west coast college fair? I think we did not get that one.
