<p>IloveAPCal, the SAT score needed is usually 2000+ which is the score that correlates to the lowest qualifying PSAT score of that year. In the past few years the lowest qualifying PSAT score is about 200 so a SAT score of 2000+ will do for most kids. Your SAT score does not need to match your PSAT score in order to satisfy that requirement.</p>
<p>When do they announce it officially?</p>
<p>i got the letter about the hispanic scholars thing. does this look good on college aps, assuming i get a high sat score too? (i didn’t qualify for national merit though : / )</p>
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<p>Thanks! Right after I posted I got a letter from the College Board saying, I think, that my school didn’t confirm something (race, it seems like they’re saying) and I can’t be National Achievement anymore. I’m so confused. But thanks again.</p>
<p>Is there usually an improvement from the sophomore to the junior year on the PSAT?</p>
<p>^not for me hehe.</p>
<p>But its alright…I still think I got NMSF, which is all that matters…unless your high school puts PSAT scores on their transcripts…like mine…I dont know why…</p>
<p>"^^ I know someone who was Natl Achievement, Natl Hisp AND NMF! "</p>
<p>YDS- Thats Awesome!</p>
<p>Do NMSF have any bearing on college admissions besides money? Just curious because everyone at my school makes it out to be a HUGE deal–even more than when we had a Siemens Regional Finalist like 2 years ago.</p>
<p>If anybody is from HI do you think you could post your score? I got a 218 and I’m freaking out about whether or not I’ll be a semifinalist. It would be cool if i could know other people’s scores, especially from Oahu and Maui.</p>
<p>purplemary, knowing a few other people’s scores won’t tell you a thing. (And knowing scores from Oahu and Maui specifically will tell you even less!) Historically for Hawaii you are just above the cutoff, but there’s no telling for sure until they make the announcement.</p>
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<p>For the best schools it’s merely a nice-to-have, but there is a tangible benefit at some lesser schools. A number of state universities, for example, offer guaranteed admission to their honors college for National Merit finalists, which means one less admissions decision you have to worry about. (There are rarely any guarantees for semifinalists, but since 90% of semifinalists become finalists, this is relevant.)</p>
<p>what are the odds that the california cutoff will drop three points this year?
D:
unlikely, right?
i wish i lived in nevada…</p>
<p>So when do we get our letters!?!</p>
<p>[National</a> Merit Scholarship Corporation - NMSP](<a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php#progrec]National”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php#progrec)</p>
<p>September, through schools.</p>
<p>I’ve read in other threads that they scores can’t go public until Sept., but we find out sometime in August?</p>
<p>Why does it vary with state? Don’t they all take the same tests? If they want to give awards to the top scorers in each state - don’t call it “National”.</p>
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<p>Clearly it’s an effort to be equitable. The average student in a state like, say, Mississippi doesn’t have access to the same educational resources as the average student in, say, New Jersey. Recognizing the top students in each state is one way of addressing that.</p>
<p>Not to say that this approach is statistically sound; it’s not. Certainly there are 90th-percentile students in New Jersey who are smarter than 95th-percentile students in Mississippi. But no one else has yet come up with a really good way of comparing overall academic ability—test scores, grades, and teacher evaluations all have their shortcomings—so the National Merit folks chose one that seems fair to them.</p>
<p>Semifinalists should begin to receive notification from their schools later this month. The semifinalists are “publicly” announced in newspapers in September. Then commended students are notified by their schools in late September.</p>
<p>Please note that schools can handle notification quite differently. Some schools immediately give students the notification, some wait until the public announcement date, and some just plain put them at the bottom of the stack of mail because they are either unaware or uninterested in it. If you beleve you are either a semifinalist or commended and do not receive the letter by the public announcement date, follow up with your counselor or principal.</p>
<p>And if you get the semifinalist notification, be sure to report your state and score here so we can compile a new cutoff list!</p>
<p>Fireflyscout:
Are you going to start a new thread for people to report their qualifying scores or will you use this thread?</p>