@lovenlearn sorry about the confusion! @jswani confirmed my name in the book (bless) but told me that I was the only one from my school. I know someone from my school who (i thought) had a 217 but there must have been a mistake on my end.
@jswani Do you know the cutoff for Washington State? Thanks.
My D was called into GC office and was told she is NMSF which we expected due to her high score here in CO, but as others have said it was reassuring to get official confirmation. She was also told she is the only one in her HS with a graduating class of about 600.
My question is for those posters reporting big number of NMSFs in their schools. How is that possible? Does the school emphasize PSAT test preparation? Or you just have so many smart kids in your schools? The reason I ask is because I always thought our big suburban HS in a very wealthy area offering gazillions of AP classes and Calc 3 plus Diff EQ is the best there is. Teachers are excellent! Amenities are world class. I expected 20-30 winners, not 1! What am I missing?
BTW, we are very low income compared to median income in this area (6 figures). It just baffles my mind. And congratulations to all of those that made it!
In my area, there are numerous HS that have many NMFs. It is not an emphasis from the school but from the students and parents. These students are very academically focused. They also take a local PSAT/SAT review course that prepares the students. I have 2 DDs that have made NMF and I would give alot of credit to the review course they took. They were close w/o it but both increased their scores by 15 to 20 points by taking it.
@tallgrass that is interesting, our school runs 20+ a year for a school similar to what you discribed and class size this year of 646. According to “the Book” we have 27 this year. The school does let students know that NM is a thing and encourages them to take the 11th grade PSAT. There is plaque on the wall that lists every NMF for each year since the school was opened. There is a group picture for the school web page and a special presentation with each kid’s bios to the school board and notice in the graduation program.
@tallgrass , I can’t speak to your school but I suspect you will find that private schools and magnet public schools have more NMSFs. I think they have more because they attract students from wider areas, and the admissions is competitive. Also, many private/magnet schools do emphasize the PSAT, and require everyone to take it. In my own area, the two biggest producers of NMSFs are my son’s private Jesuit HS, and my daughter’s magnet public school, both with 30+ NMSFs annually. Well regarded public schools in the suburbs with 400 + in the class might get only 3-4 NMSFs. It may be interesting for you to get the CO breakdown of NMSF by school, when it is published in a few weeks. But I bet you will find you would not trade your kid’s educational experience, just to have more good test takers in the class. Sounds like she is at a great school!
@tallgrass, S’s school really emphasizes the PSAT. Strong freshmen are encouraged to take it, and probably about a third of the class does. The school pays for and requires all sophomores and juniors to take the PSAT. Students who score well on the sophomore test are invited to attend a subsidized test prep program specifically for NMSF potential scorers, plus there are many other good test prep courses offered for all students. This is a large Texas public school district in a fairly wealthy Houston suburb. S’s class has over 750 students. Last year there were 16 or 17 NMSF and that was a low year for his school, though that class was also smaller, less than 650 students. Some years the school has had 25 NMSF. I’ll find out next week when the press release comes out but I suspect this year will be a bumper crop of NMSF.
I spoke with D’s counselor at Back to School night last night. He confirmed that she was a finalist & had meant to tell her and the others on Friday, but “the day got away from him.” Oh well. He has taken many kids through the process, knows what he is doing, & takes it seriously, despite a slight “Jeff Spicoli” air about him. He asked if D could get him her brag packet “yesterday” so has a sense of urgency as well. I think we’re in good hands.
@tallgrass Our school sounds similar to yours and it typically has 35-40 NMFs out of a class of 700. Being in a wealthy, high tech area, near a university obviously helps. The school has all freshmen and sophomores take the PSAT each year too and I’m sure that helps a lot by the time they get to their junior year.
At my D’s school, there are typically about 15 NMSFs per year out of a class of about 650. The school doesn’t really emphasize it at all, so these kids are typically self-driven. Weird thing this year is that there are only 7. That surprised me.
Thanks to jswani for the confirming for me last night. Son was notified at school today. Hillsborough county public school in Florida.
S18’s has 35 this year out of class of 270. Have had a high of 50 in years past. 30-35 is the average. The school prides itself on leading Louisiana , and all Jesuit schools nationally, in NMSFs. So they do spend a lot of time and resources on it. All freshmen, sophomores and juniors take the PSAT. SAT vocabulary is emphasized in English class as early as 8th grade. They spend class time specifically on PSAT prep late in soph year and early in junior year. There is also an optional outside PSAT prep class run by several teachers for about $400, which is excellent. All this has been going on at least since the 80s, when I attended. I can still remember my junior English teacher lecturing us about the importance of the PSAT.
Wow, that’s awesome, @vistajay. D’s school doesn’t go to nearly those lengths, despite being a highly regarded magnet school. I wish I knew how many in D’s class made NMSF…since she’s been there, the number of NMSFs has ranged from 7-13, with class sizes ~300 students. D still hasn’t heard anything from the school. There’s a new principal, so I’m hoping the very capable and experienced GCs are taking the lead with the NMF process.
Thank you guys for your thoughts. Taking PSAT is mandatory in our HS in sophomore and junior years, but it definitely is not emphasized, and there is no test preparation offered. It’s viewed as just another test kids are forced to take.
Another surprise to me is how ill-informed GC is – she told my D she is so happy for her because she will get a full ride to any college she wants to go. My D corrected her that it’s only handful of schools offering NM scholarships, and that most of those are not full ride. My best guess is that PSAT is not high on our HS priorities list, and that GCs are not really familiar with it. The only other explanation I have is that this area is so wealthy most parents probably care less about some merit scholarships.
As I said, the AP selection is astounding, teachers teaching them are mostly excellent (cannot judge quality of “regular” classes), so I always thought this is a world-class HS. Then I read these postings here about 20-40 kids per class, and I am thinking is there something wrong with our HS I am not seeing? Am I delusional about our HS? Or is it simly just 1 test that nobody prepares for? My D has some really smart friends in Calc 3, smarter than her she says – how is it possible none of those kids made it?
Sorry for my rambling. I didn’t want to steal the thread.
Our high school usually has 5-7 NMSF out of about 500 seniors. As with some of the other people commenting here, all the freshmen and sophomores also have to take the PSAT. Seems like overkill to me.
There is a sci-tech magnet school nearby that often has the most in the whole country. I am eager to see if that happens again this year.
My daughters school usually has 15-20/year in a class of 600-700. There is a magnet public school that has a ton more. Funny thing the PSAT was actually her lowest score so far and I think she just took it without to much prep. So far she has 1560 on actual SAT and 35 on ACT (1 26 sub-score).
According to the “book,” I didn’t make it with a 220 in NY. Guessing 221 is the cutoff.
@tallgrass - @vistajay called it correctly for us. D18 attends a public magnet school that attracts the top math & science kids from around our area. Some of these kids even choose the magnet school over some of the expensive private school options.
Her school leads our state most years for the number of NMSFs. They do a lot for the kids as well - free PSAT in 10th grade, pictures on the school walls & website, news coverage, nice award event.
The school really makes a big deal out of it & they really have a handle on getting all of the paperwork completed and submitted on time. They had a meeting after they announced NMSF results & gave the kids nice packets with instructions on exactly what to do - with school deadlines on when to submit the application & recommendations.
I’m very happy my kids got into this school & more happy that they both made NMSF!!
For classes of 400-500 we had 1 NMSF 2 years ago and 4 last year.
I read that a 217 or lower qualifies in KY, which I have met, but I still haven’t heard anything from my school about my qualification. Should I be concerned?