@Mamelot Thank you so much! Glad to know that I won’t have to sit through that extra time.
Do you all estimate that a 219 would make Semifinalist in Texas?
@scorpion110 these are the estimates I’ve been using http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/national-merit-semifinalist-cutoffs/
@nutmeg_shippy To answer your question it depends on the state and depends on how close home schoolers are to their state cutoffs.
Bigger states seem to figure it out faster since more people report. I knew my S missed by a point a full day before our administration got the packet through the mail. ( I was emailing the AP) I found out because another parent with a S with the same score was notified by his school that he did not make it. Our school does not officially notify if you don’t make it. They just call the kids to the office who do.
This year is unusual in that this thread is in this forum. There is a forum for National Merit elsewhere in college confidential where this activity was tracked in past years. There is a FAQ there as well.
Is there a possibility that AP or other news agencies will tweet out the list before it hits the local press? Even a day will help for those who are shut out of any “early” notification.
The AP is media and that is what the media release date is for. Outside of this site and a few bloggers you won’t see any list of cutoff scores. NM does not release one. They are compiled by narrowing in on who made it and who did not. After the media date you can call and find out your state’s cutoff.
Typically local papers publish names but by the time they do, your school has told you.
Last year the media date was September 9 but a list was already going by 9/3 of major stares. See link below:
Edited: by emailing AP I meant assistant principal. Hope I did not confuse anyone.
Darn @gettingschooled I DID think you e-mailed Associated Press and got a “scoop”. 8-}
I called NMC today and they have not yet determined (or are not yet willing to share) a confirming rSAT score for NMF. The rep I spoke to gave the most recent old SAT confirming score as a guideline, citing College Board concordance as one possible resource for converting that to a new SAT score. He would not say whether NMC would use the CB concordance when they set the confirming score, just that it was one concordance available. FWIW.
Edited to add: Everything mentioned was with the caveat that there is some fluctuation from year to year.
Interpretation: They are planning to use something near the concorded old score of 1960. Else they wouldn’t have volunteered any info. along those lines. “Some fluctuation” from year to year just covers their tracks in case it turns out to be 1400 rather than 1380 or something. There is obviously some noise around any concordance and they most likely never confirmed that the old score of 1960 was set in stone from year to year.
Has someone tried to confirm when the media release day is going to be?
“We will mail notifications of semifinalists to HS principals during the last week of August so they can notify their students. Then the official announcement will be in early September.” – phone call with NMSC today. I’d guess the week after Labor Day, since pretty much everyone starts school by then.
Really…they are going to ruin our Labor Day by having this hang over our head as long as they can. Ugh!!!
@ailinsh1 – thanks for making that inquiry! appreciate it At least there is a verbal confirmation the NMSF will come out late Aug/early Sept - a little over a month away.
Just a warning…it’s not regular first class mail, even if they say it is. It’s a bulk rate that moves only slightly faster than the pony express.
Last day to register for the SAT without extra charges is 9/1/2016.
Last year, notifications to home school parents were dated 8/28/2015 (9 days before Labor Day) then the corresponding ‘letter date’ this year would be 8/26/2015… this would give most kids enough time to register for the Oct 1 SAT. However, per the bulk rate Pony Express info, and the fact that the early notice goes directly to schools (not students) most kids will have to pay late charges if they want to register for the October SAT for NMS qualification purposes.
Perhaps I’ll call them tomorrow and point this out. Not that they will care…
Edited to say- I went back to last year’s thread and the letters were mailed out on 8/25 and the first Homeschool person to get received it on 8/29. Last year’s letters were late since Labor Day was late. I’m hoping we get them before Labor Day weekend, since last year a lot of scores were leaked by parents by 8/31 (7 full days before Labor Day).
Quite the coincidence, eh?
The Dookster needs to spill the beans before 9/1.
What is a Dookster?
@Dookster had access to last year’s magic book or a detailed guide or something and posted the real cut-offs on last years thread several days before the press release date: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18773876/#Comment_18773876
means that our home-schooled members will get it hopefully before labor day, and we’ll start figuring it out then.