But be clear,I’m not apologizing for anything, nothing to apologize for.
@johnquian at post #4496 - just as a reminder this thread is entitled “National Merit Cutoff Predictions - Class of 2017”. So naturally there’s going to be some discussion of high PSAT scores, high SAT scores, and potential colleges pertaining to those, and even some sharing of college visits (imagine that - on a college forum no less!).
snicks1234 - by your series of posts, it’s easy to tell that you were really stung by that comment. I don’t think you need it, but I just wanted to offer some encouragement. When my slightly slacker S15 made NMF, I was downright giddy and I expressed my happiness for him on more than one occasion on the class of 2015 parent thread. I received nothing by congratulations and kind comments from the parents on that thread. We were all just so happy for each others kids and even those parents with talented kids that didn’t quite make the cutoff in their state(s) were happy for the ones that did because we all took that ride together. My son (who had no desire to even apply to a top 100 school) is attending our state university on a full-ride scholarship and finding his way through. No matter what happens though, he’ll graduate absolutely debt-free & in these times - that’s a real accomplishment!
Anyway, I wanted to say that I’m really happy for your son (and you) for his great score - you indeed should be very proud! My D18 took the 10th grade PSAT this school year (the same test your son took - I think?) and got a 219 SI. I’m also totally excited for her & she’s looking forward to trying to duplicate that effort next year when she takes her junior year PSAT that counts for NM. I’ll bet that you (even more than your son) can’t wait for those results to come out in a few months - I remember that feeling - I was full of nervous excitement & my son was oblivious to the whole process!
Cheers
@Mamelot @LMHS73 yes and thank you both for your kind words. I have to admit was a little taken aback at that particular post. One thing I do know s that from the very first time I started reading this thread and st as rted chiming in here and there,in spite of the fact that I was obviously new and lacked knowledge of the national merit process,everyone was so happy for my child and encouraging and empathetic. I appreciate every one you ho have nursed me along on here. I am always excited for a parent or child when they shoe pride in their hard working childs accomplishments and my heart is always touched when I hear disappointment in the words of a parent or child who as a score that they feel might not get them what they obviously so desire and have worked so hard for. In fact I haven’t seen one post that wasn’t encouraging or filled with the spirit of mutual encouragment. So really,I guess I was a little startled by that post. But, I still will brag on all children regardless. I don’t think any child can hear enough praise.
And forgive my typos. lol!
Where does my son send his sat scores for national merit what state is it in
@mamelot @snick123 I too came to this forum to learn about the new NMSQT changes, since it impacts my child’s chance of getting scholarship. My child has near perfect new PSAT, ACT , and new SAT. Yes I am proud of him. However I don’t say he is in a band of ELITE student nor my child will be given preferences. That is elitist thinking. That is saying I am better than you. I always tell my child that I am proud but if you are fortunate enough to attend the so called IVY league schools please don’t forget who you are. Please give back to society. Remember many parents come to this forum having learned that their kids did not make the cut to NMSQT. Please have some sympathy for them.
Hi all – we’ve all learned & shared a lot along the way – but let’s try to stick to the topic of the thread -
“Does anyone have predictions, with a rationale or support, for the sate cutoff scores on the PSAT for the class of 2017?
Some predictions are here http://blog.prepscholar.com/national-merit-semifinalist
but I do wonder if they are likely to be accurate?”
I hope CB posts the revised SI concordance tables soon. Thanks everyone!!
@fun1234, the National Merit folks are in Illinois.
@johnqian No one is elitist, particularly at my income level. They are at the highest score band, have worked hard and should be proud and should be praised. We all , all the time, also ackowledge that some luck is also involved. That getting that particular score is sometimes chance. Please, allow us to feel good for our children while feeling sympathetic and empathetic for others.That is exactly what everyone here is. Your tone is insulting. If you knew my child, or his parents, you would know how little stress or pressure he feels from us about anything, much less college. I take all that for him. This is my last post on this or any other topic on here.
One last post, a big thank you to everyone. You have all been very kind and it has been an education in the Psat process. Good luck to ALL of your children. I hope everyone, especially the children, the best possible outcome.
@fun1234 your son should be able to click a button on his online score report (on the CB website) that takes him to the score report order page. Then he can search for National Merit Scholarship Corporation in Evanston, Illinois. That organization should come up no problem. I wish I knew the code number but that’s one thing I couldn’t find (although it might be on the link that @Tw1sst posted . . . ).
The Code for NMS is 0085, shows up as NMSC Scholarship Admin, in Evanstan, IL.
Well I wouldn’t say that. It’s comparing students against their peers like elite admissions say they do. In general, students in NJ schools have better resources to help perform better than students say in Mississippi. Elite Adcoms say they evaluate students in the context of their situation and the state cutoffs for NMSF do this in a way also.
I guess I have to now pay for his score to be sent. I guess I might as well wait for the score and see if it is good enough to send. The Sat scores for April tests for Sat are out the 18th
I never hear anyone mention the University of Evansville It is a college that offers free tuition to merit finalist. Does anyone know of someone who has gone. They have an honors program. They also have a physical therapy program and direct entry to Physician assistant program if your grades are high
@Dolemite unless you comparing a student in Newark vs. a student in private school in Jackson. A highly selective school will take each of these situations into account - NMS will give the student in Newark a 225 cutoff (Class of 2016) and the student in the private school in Jackson would have a 209 cutoff (Class of 2016).
@snicks1234 You don’t really want to leave. 
But if you want to take a break, maybe check out this thread since you mentioned you are going on some college tours in a couple of weeks. Best of luck to you and your son on his college search!
@dolemite those schools compare students against their peers on much more of a national than a ‘state-representational’ basis. look at University of Notre Dame, to name just one example of a highly selective school that doesn’t award National Merit Scholarships at all. It has stated that a good number of it’s accepted students submit test scores that are consistent with National Merit potential. However, many of its students hail from IL (215 cut-off last year but a state that historically has favored the ACT) while many others are from high cut-off eastern states such as NJ, NY and MA. In other words, they get a LOT of applicants who are admission-worthy but who are not designated as NM’s. And then, they say that they don’t really select according to state criteria but look for overall merit regardless of the state the applicant hails from.
For these very highly selective schools where the mid-50% of test scores will easily span the entire gamut of the 99th percentile, it’s almost arbitrary whether an accepted applicant who took the PSAT actually happens to be an NMF - he/she might have just missed the cut-off in NJ, or might have cleared the cut-off in IL by a wide margin. The actual SAT/ACT scores themselves drive the admission decisions much more than do the geographical location.