<p>Indeed, the state-by-state cutoff is the most preposterous aspect of the NMSQT process to me.</p>
<p>I can understand why it is necessary to ensure that not all the National Merit Scholarships go to kids in just a handful of states, but it does seem kind of ridiculous that a kid with a 201 can get a full scholarship while a kid with a 220 doesn’t make the cut, depending on state of residency at a particular moment in time.</p>