@janara They revamped the test. It is not even on the same scale as before. There are no longer any deductions for incorrect answers which compressed the scores at the top. In short, the format of the test is not the same as last year. You are comparing apples to oranges in comparing last year’s cutoffs to this one. This is part of the reason we have a 451 page thread to discuss this. It is a new test this year.
Just checked D’s number by her name - definitely a college major code.
Do the semi-finalists get a letter? Does it come from the principal or through Guidance Department? Our school in CT has said nothing to my child, who I think will be the only semi-finalist this year. Don’t know if I should call GC today or give it another day…just want it official, darn it!
I think many schools will be calling kids to the office today to tell them. Today is the official press release day, and many schools wait until that date to tell students. I haven’t told my son that today is the day, but hoping to get an excited text sometime this morning.
6763, I feel your pain. In the same situation.
Call the principal or the GC. They should have this info - its pubic. That said, it would be great if someone can post a list of all the names in the country. Someone has it.
New York state results in full, from Buffalo Business First.
They have a database sort program embedded in the article to see winners from any school in NY. So it seems clear that they have access to the full data. I don’t understand why NMSC doesn’t just make it available directly, instead of counting on newspapers to do it all.
http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2016/09/14/nationalmerit2017.html
I wish someone would do this for our state. Still waiting to hear anything from our school…
@chillkitty and @Kmon today is the day you can verify your (or your kid’s) status with NMSC. They will answer questions about the cut-off and they should be able to tell you whether the name is on the list. Congrats to all!
@janara as many have already explained to you, the methodology for selecting cut-offs is clearly laid out by NMSC in their PSAT/NMSQT guide. It hasn’t changed a wit from prior years. There is not need to “figure out” anything.
Here it is once again:
“NMSC designates Semifinalists in the program on a state-representational basis to ensure that academically able young people from all parts of the United States are included in this talent pool. Using the latest data available, an allocation of Semifinalists is determined for each state, based on the state’s percentage of the national total of high school graduating seniors. For example, the number of Semifinalists in a state that enrolls approximately two percent of the nation’s graduating seniors would be about 320 (2 percent of the 16,000 Semifinalists).
NMSC then arranges the Selection Index scores of all National Merit Program participants within a state in descending order. The score at which a state’s allocation is most closely filled becomes the Semifinalist qualifying score. Entrants with a Selection Index at or above the qualifying score are named Semifinalists. As a result of this process, Semifinalist qualifying scores vary from state to state and from year to year, but the scores of all Semifinalists are extremely high.”
(page 7)
http://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/student_guide.pdf
Just saw my child’s name in the paper as NMSF. Only one from her school, and school still hasn’t told her!
@Ynotgo Thanks for the information on what that code to the left of the name is for. I knew someone on this site would know. We were wondering about that at the breakfast table this AM.
40+ kids from our HS this year. I saw a few in Silicon Valley that had 45 - not sure if any had more than that. There are a few pockets in CA that seem to have the bulk of the semifinalists. My senior year we had 8 semifinalists at our school - this year the entire town has none.
That text from NMSC booklet really means nothing and it doesn’t add up when you do the math [properly]. NY had 990 SFs, how many CA had – anyone has the total for CA?
CA will have approximately 2,100.
What does the code besides the name mean ?
That’s a major code.
Update: College major, that is.
@janara - did your child miss the cutoff by 1? I’m sorry - it must be frustrating.
we have a 000 code , I am assuming it means my S did not specify any major…does it matter?
@StressedinCA I thought I read that the major codes are helpful for certain corporate scholarships or something. Someone please provide a correction/clarification! Your S should have a chance to specify a code on the application for NMF.
I’m actually a bit uncomfortable with the fact that they listed the major code as well. However, only the NMSF’s and their families know what they are, I guess.
@JBStillFlying – That is correct. Below is from the current NMF application (my caps). Looks like students can change intended major and career choice on the app itself, so it doesn’t matter what they put down a year ago on PSAT.
“Who can win a corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship award?
About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be offered in 2017 to Finalists who meet specified criteria. Most of the 230 corporate sponsors that underwrite these scholarships designate them for children of their employees; however, some sponsors specify their awards for residents of communities in which the company has plants or offices, or for FINALISTS PURSUING COLLEGE MAJORS AND CAREERS THE GRANTOR ORGANIZATION WISHES TO ENCOURAGE. (See Sponsors of National Merit® Scholarships which is posted online in the “Competition Instructions” section of the OSA.)
INFORMATION FINALISTS SUPPLY ON THEIR NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS WILL BE USED TO IDENTIFY CANDIDATES FOR CORPORATE-SPONSORED AWARDS. NMSC’s professional staff will choose almost all recipients from the pool of eligible candidates, based on an evaluation of their abilities, academic records, and accomplishments both in and out of school. Officials of a few sponsor organizations will make their own selections from eligible Finalists.”