National Merit Scholarship

WordWorld
Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:22:35 +0000

Ditto here with the score better in sophomore year than junior. With his first try as a sophomore, S was very close to the cutoff had he been a junior, so we got him a little bit of tutoring. He went DOWN seven points as a junior. Grrr. Both DH and I were National Merits in the good old days of no tutoring, so we thought he probably had the capability (although it was definitely easier back then, my score would not cut it today). I still have no idea if the tutoring hurt or he just had a bad day. He was still commended, but that is a far cry from the opportunities that are open to the NMF crowd.
His first and only SAT at 2200+ (after some additional tutoring) indicated that he (relatively) bombed the PSAT. I don’t think our experience is common, but something to be aware of. Good luck!