<p>Where in Florida are you?</p>
<p>Central Florida. Southwest Orlando.</p>
<p>wow got a 210. really sucks that i live in florida</p>
<p>louisiana this year (2005 psat) cutoff is 209, as confirmed by my counselor.</p>
<p>I’ve read this entire thread and have learned alot. Thank you all!</p>
<p>Now, I have a question: My kiddo lives is a legal resident of State A, is finishing high school online via University online high school program based in State B, but will be taking the PSAT in D.C. where she attends an elite dance program. Which State’s minimum score should I be watching? The online high school’s state?</p>
<p>Probably best to call NMerit & get the official answer from them rather than guessing or taking the word of one of us in such a situation. Good luck to your child!</p>
<p>I live in MD, got a 226, and am a semifinalist</p>
<p>HImom is right; you should call NMSC (847/866-5100) and ask. We know the answer for boarders and commuters, but not for online schools. NMSC will say where she takes the test isn’t relevant; I’d guess they’ll say use state of residency over state of on-line school, but check with them to be sure. I’m sure they discourage nontraditionally-schooled kids from choosing the “lower” state, like the 8/28 post suggests here: <a href=“http://www.kolbeforum.org/viewtopic.php?p=167&sid=6060341c067a8c92f483ce2639cef15a[/url]”>http://www.kolbeforum.org/viewtopic.php?p=167&sid=6060341c067a8c92f483ce2639cef15a</a> </p>
<p>Let us know what you find out…</p>
<p>I guess I’m surprised that so many people still don’t know whether they made the cut for those who took the PSAT in 2006 as a junior. These scores and names have been released. You can use the internet to find articles from newspapers and individual schools that give the number and names of the local finalists. What gives?</p>
<p>Also, it seems that the higher the percentage of NMSemifinalists at any school could indicate a more competitive environment so that the guidance counselor info on that school could include that fact to help put the grades from that school in context. </p>
<p>My son (234) was one of 25 NMSemifinalists from the 2006 PSAT as juniors out of a class of 88 students, or 28.4%. What percetages have you seen?</p>
<p>That looks like a pretty high % of the student body. The year my S graduated (2006), there were about 35 in his class of 230 students, so a bit under 15% of his student body & >40% of all the NMFs in the state. This year, again they ahve >40% of the NMFs in the state, but have slightly fewer @ about 27 or so of >200 students.</p>
<p>re: Himom</p>
<p>When this percentage issue came up yesterday, I told my son that there were two schools in Hawaii that always had a huge number of NMSemifinalists. I imagine your son went to one of those schools. I forget which one it was, but it had the next highest percentage to my son’s school that the boys found on the Internet while searching Andover etc and the results in major metropolitan areas.</p>
<p>One of the reasons this came up was that my son’s school does not provide a rank in class number as part of the application for college admissions. </p>
<p>Other interesting issues are the sex and socio-economic mix of the school. My son goes to an all-boys school and approximately 20% of the students are on some kind of scholarship/aid. FYI there is an all-girls school that is their “sister” school,although they are not in any way connected financially,academically or otherwise. That school had 16 NMSemifinalists in the 2007 class of approximately 110 students.</p>
<p>What is the mix of your son’s school? There is a huge debate on the educational value of single sex and private vs. public schools. According to an article from the Chairman of the Board of College Board, the changes to the SAT (and PSAT), including the new written portion, is to test more the level of education of the student and less raw aptitude. It seems to me that the quality of the school is becoming even more important to success on the PSAT/SAT. Any thoughts in relation to NMSemifinalist percetages?</p>
<p>07DAD: % of SFs sounds good as a school-caliber indicator, but it would only be useful across selection units (e.g. states) with the same minimum. For example, NY and CT are both 221 this year, so you could presumably use % SFs to compare schools there. But every other state and selection unit on which we got data used another minimum (ranging from 204 to 225), so it wouldn’t work for them. Using % Commended might be more helpful since that’s a national #.</p>
<p>It would seem that colleges would prefer use SAT/ACT, since they’re longer, more accurate, more-oftenly- and more-recently-taken than the PSAT. That’s what we were told in college visits this summer/fall, and is consistent with the announcement in July 2005 by the U. of CA system that they would be redirecting funding from NM-based to other merit-based scholarships.</p>
<p>Re your question about why some people don’t know yet, it’s because not all schools handle notification the same way. With 28% SFs, you’re clearly at a top-notch school (nationally, SFs are only the top 1%), which is clearly going to handle them right. Check out post #629 for a counterexample!</p>
<p>Is there any way to find out the number of SFs in each state?</p>
<p>The private HS my kids attended is about 1/2 boys, 1/2 girls. It is nominally religous & they go to chapel periodically & hear about sharing, caring, etc., but not really very religous. Their school provides a decile ranking to colleges. Because of the very competitive academic environment, even kids in the lower decile rankings of the school get into decent schools and nearly everyone goes to 4-year colleges. My S was a NMF & barely in the top half of his graduating class, but still got some nice acceptances & merit scholarships.</p>
<p>A goodly number of the kids at the HS are on need-based full merit scholarship, including 4 new students each year that are given to an incoming freshman which include full tuition, food, books & supplies. There are also many other students who receive varying degrees of financial aid, based on completing the Profile FAid form for private schools. Folks who are on staff get a break in tuition, so many folks angle to work at the school.</p>
<p>The school does not award any scholarships based solely on athletic or musical ability or merit. ALL aid is need-based.</p>
<p>retaetaem: The numbers of Entrants, Commendeds, and SFs are ultimately available for 51 of the selection units (50 states plus DC) in the NMSC Annual Report, issued in October each year. The most recent one is the 2005 A/R, issued in 10/05: <a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/05_annual%20report.pdf#search=“nmsc%20annual%20report%202005”[/url]”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/05_annual%20report.pdf#search=“nmsc%20annual%20report%202005”</a> It shows those numbers for the 2005 Program/2003 PSAT on page 17 (labeled page 15). So numbers for the current program (2007 Program/2005 PSAT) will be distributed in the 2007 A/R issued in 10/07. In prior years, people have posted the numbers to CC a year earlier than that, e.g. 9/04 and 9/05 for the 2005 and 2006 Programs, but not so for the 2007 Program, at least not yet. Pity.</p>
<p>I can’t belive how some school are when it comes to nm. I’m sorry for the person who’s school threw away the application. My school gave me mine at the very last minute and I’m just now finishing up the essay.
What happened this Friday was the last straw. In my whole school district only two people made nmsf. Me and a girl(who happens to be one of my friends) from the “rich” school. (In case your wondering I go to the “poor” school.) My school district puts out a newsletter that is given to all district employes(I see it because my mom is a paraeducator). I couldn’t belive it when I saw what had been written…I can’t find the newsletter but it went something like this: Congadulations to XXXXXX XXXX, a senior at XXXXXX High school. She was recently notified that she is a semifinalist in the National Merit program. Guess who’s name and highschool wern’t mentioned.
I’m so angry at how my highschool treated this and it makes me deppressed thinking about how hard I studied to just make National merit semifinalist and than to not even be recognized while my friend was. It’s even more horrible how some schools are totaly blowing of their sf’s like the case I mentioned earlier.
Anyway…sorry for ranting like this but I’m still pretty steemed by what happened friday.</p>
<p>Congratulations on being named a semifinalist! Yes, you should have been properly honored in your own hometown. However, it is what it is. Know that you have terrific potential, regardless of whether or not the people in your town acknowledge it. I promise you that you will forget all of this after you graduate & move on to college. You will find that it just didn’t matter.</p>
<p>It does depend on the HS, unfortunately, to make press releases. The family can also issue a press release and ask the school if the school wants to release it or have the family contact the news media and release it. We have done this in the past when some events were not otherwise recognized & it worked out OK.</p>
<p>jazzyrhythms </p>
<p>I feel your pain. My schools motto is “Exceeding Expectations through Academic Excellence” however in reality it should read more “through sports” because in really, all they care about it sports. </p>
<p>On Sept 4th I was called into the principal’s office. He greeted me excitedly and informed me I was a NMSF, you could tell he was so happy and so was my guidance counselor (who has been with me for the past 4 years helping me with scheduling and such). He was so exicited he wanted to put me on WOW Tv (our school’s news station) and announce it to the world, he was so enthusiastic I thought he might announce it to the world as well, but coulnd’t since it was confidential until the 13th. According to my English teacher who has been there forever, I’m the first one in years (and the only one).</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I am writing here because apparently announcing every play of every sports game on the 13th was more important than the fact the school had its first NMSF in years. None of our local papers or media had announced anyone’s semifinalist ranking, leaving a lot of the arrogant people who didn’t qualify (but don’t know it since they haven’t received their Commended Scholar packets yet) bragging that certianly their nomination will come “by the end of the month.”</p>
<p>Its not like I want a banner with my name hanging across the school, I want a 2 minute announcement and “congratulations” for my hardwork. I’ve worked my butt off for the past three years, and certainly will for the next, and my school never, ever recognizes those of us that try our best. It’s all about the chorus, or the drama, or the football team, or the basketball team. You get the point. And I think it’s great our principal wants to get involved and support those groups, but he needs to remember that the purpose of school is education and learning, and that he should concentrate at least some small part of his energies in that arena. </p>
<p>Sorry for the “rant” I’m just utterly disgusted with our local school system here and its hypocracy.</p>
<p>Lifeunfolding:</p>
<p>I sympathize with your frustration but know that as the only NMSF in your school you are moving forward with your life in a really significant way. A year from now when you are settled at a great school and continuing on your path of high achievement you will look back and wonder why you let this situation bother you.
If your school’s administrators do not appreciate the significance of your accomplishment it is probably because they have failed to even aspire to your level of excellence. You are moving forward and leaving them behind- Don’t look back.</p>