<p>The cut off might be that in your region, but in the mid west I think it is 193. The National Merit Finalist is 204 in some regions. So, here the Hispanic scholars and National Scholars are just 11 points apart. </p>
<p>As far as why the cut offs are what they are, it depends on the total population of Hispanic high schoolers graduating in a particular region and those who score in the top (I think 5) percentile on the PSAT in that region. Considering that the NMF represent about a half a percent of all Americans in their region and Hispanic scholars represent a full 5 percent of only Hispanics in theirs, the 11 point difference, is actually quite small.</p>