<p>My daughter got 225 and made it in North Carolina.</p>
<p>i can’t remember what i got…ithink it was a 213 maybe? but i’ve been getting college mail like crazy form schools that i’ll probably rejected from. I get mass amounts from Wash U. like once every week all summer. then from MIT, Yale, Cornell, UPenn, Brown, i think i got Harvard and Columbia once too. It just doesn’t seem that i should be getting mail from them just because of this?</p>
<p>No.I have not heard that anything about protesting questions and being able to reach the cut-off score. That does not mean much as it could have happened or it could be possible. However, it is important to realize that these tests are conducted by the College Board and College Board has extensive experience in testing and will usually be able to spot questions that may be ambiguous. That does not mean they get it right always but it usually difficult to challenge the College Board. I know there was a problem a year or two back and they did change scores but that was the only incident I had heard about. Most questions are first tested (some students have an additional section during some tests and these questions are not graded) before being used on a graded test. Hence I would suspect that challenging the PSAT results is not going to be easy nor very common. Else it would be in the papers and the whole NMSQT process would be under suspicion. I may be wrong (and for the sake of those on the border line I hope I am). My 2 -c-. But you will have to remember that the College Board conducts the PSAT, not the NMSC.</p>
<p>I did google this question about PSAT scores due to a challenge and this was one reference I found
[Silver</a> Chips Online: PSAT scores raised to fix error](<a href=“http://silverchips.mbhs.edu/story/1891]Silver”>PSAT scores raised to fix error | Silver Chips Online)</p>
<p>in this story in 2003, one question was found flawed and was thrown out. In essence, some students score went up but no one went down as the whole question was thrown about. But this is the only reference I have found for these types of incidents in PSAT</p>
<p>Flawed Question (Question #10 from the writing skills section of the PSAT)</p>
<pre><code>Directions: If there is an error, select the one underlined part that must be changed to make the sentence correct and fill in the corresponding oval on your answer sheet. If there is no error, fill in answer oval E.
Toni Morrison’s genius enables her to create [ A ]
novels that arise from [ B ] and express [ C ] the injustices
African Americans have endured [ D ]. No Error [ E ]
The intended answer was “E.” Keegan argued that “A” is the correct response because “Morrison’s” is a possessive and cannot properly be a referent or antecedent to “her.”
The College Board argued that “E” was correct because the sentence is idiomatic English and a possessive sometimes is a substitute for a noun.
Because both Keegan and the Board could find grammar books to support their argument, the Board decided to drop the question.
Information compiled from College Board news release.
</code></pre>
<p>Just curious if anyone can link their “selection unit” number to their score? It’s on the label, upper right hand side.</p>
<p>My D’s Selection number begins with 15 - which I;ve unsed in my business, and with our state taxes, etc for so long that it jumped right out at me as probably being our state (with DC in the mix)
1 - Alabama
2 - Alaska
3 - Arizona
etc.</p>
<p>Then, I’m wondering if anyone has a guess on the next number. The reason I ask is that I am pretty sure my D would be “mid pack”…and that’s right about where this number falls. Just above the midpack of the number of kids selected from our state. Just curious if anyone else’s number corresponds in that way. But…if a kid with 240 is a 1,2,3,. Or a kid with a cut-off score is a … well, that would vary by state, depending on the number selected in your state. If this were true then we could determine where our kid ranked. Not that it makes any difference but I must be have cat because curiosity makes me stir crazy.</p>
<p>Updating for Iowa</p>
<p>Alabama 208 (posts 328 and 294) (-1)
Alaska
Arizona 210 (post 574) (+1)
Arkansas <=209 (post 460)
California 218 (post 579) (+1)
Colorado
Connecticut <=228 (post 597)
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida 212 (post 589) (+1)
Georgia <=214 (366)
Hawaii
Idaho 209 (post 568) (+1)
Illinois <=214 (Post 407) (cutoff is 213 or 214)
Indiana <= 212 (Post 532)
Iowa <=209 (Post 660)
Kansas 211 (post 435) (0)
Kentucky <= 209 (post 309)
Louisiana 207 (post 586) (-1)
Maine
Maryland 221 (post 655)
Massachusetts <=221 (post 494)
Michigan <=209 (post 331)
Minnesota >214 (post 596)
Mississippi <= 205 (post 607)
Missouri 211 (post 538) (-2)
Montana
Nebraska <= 211 (post 292)
Nevada<=209 (post 642)
New Hampshire
New Jersey <=221 (post 636)
New Mexico
New York >214 and <=219 (post 564, 604)
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio <=212 (post 492)
Oklahoma <=209 (post 420)
Oregon
Pennsylvania 211 (post 601) (-2)
Rhode Island <= 217 (post 592)
South Carolina <=211 (post 480)
South Dakota <=205 (post 320)
Tennessee <= 213 (post 350)
Texas 216 (post 537) (+1)
Utah
Vermont <=213 (post 616)
Virginia
Washington <=218 (post 313)
West Virginia
Wisconsin 207 (-3) (post 655)
Wyoming 201 (post 655)</p>
<p>Okay, I think you are right about the first number being the state. We are in TX and I counted down on the state lists that have been posted and TX is 44. My son’s first number is 44. The cutoff for TX is 216 and my son scored a 221.</p>
<p>TN’s selection number starts with a 43, so right before TX.</p>
<p>We are from Illinois and the selection number starts with 14. Illinois is the 14th state on the list above. We then have 4 numbers. What do they represent? I’m hesitant to give out the specific last 4 numbers but what would you guess they would be? Son scored a 226. Do you think the first two (of the last four) represent something and the last two represent something else? How many semi-finalists come from a state approximately?</p>
<p>Alabama 208 (posts 328 and 294) (-1)
Alaska
Arizona 210 (post 574) (+1)
Arkansas <=209 (post 460)
California 218 (post 579) (+1)
Colorado
Connecticut <=228 (post 597)
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida 210 or 211 (post 657 AND my posts)
Georgia <=214 (366)
Hawaii
Idaho 209 (post 568) (+1)
Illinois <=214 (Post 407) (cutoff is 213 or 214)
Indiana <= 212 (Post 532)
Iowa
Kansas 211 (post 435) (0)
Kentucky <= 209 (post 309)
Louisiana 207 (post 586) (-1)
Maine
Maryland 221 (post 655)
Massachusetts <=221 (post 494)
Michigan <=209 (post 331)
Minnesota >214 (post 596)
Mississippi <= 205 (post 607)
Missouri 211 (post 538) (-2)
Montana
Nebraska <= 211 (post 292)
Nevada<=209 (post 642)
New Hampshire
New Jersey <=221 (post 636)
New Mexico
New York >214 and <=219 (post 564, 604)
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio <=212 (post 492)
Oklahoma <=209 (post 420)
Oregon
Pennsylvania 211 (post 601) (-2)
Rhode Island <= 217 (post 592)
South Carolina <=211 (post 480)
South Dakota <=205 (post 320)
Tennessee <= 213 (post 350)
Texas 216 (post 537) (+1)
Utah
Vermont <=213 (post 616)
Virginia
Washington <=218 (post 313)
West Virginia
Wisconsin 207 (-3) (post 655)
Wyoming 201 (post 655) </p>
<p>Guidance counselors are notoriously unreliable.</p>
<p>R124687, I did the same exact thing when I saw the selection unit # in the corner! Obsessive personalities think alike! Our selection unit also corresponds to our state’s number on the list. What the last four digits are though, who knows? Probably where the student’s score ranks him within the state? That makes some sense, though it’s almost too obvious.</p>
<p>The NMSF slots are designated on a state representational basis so my guess is that NMSC determines how many spots go to each state based on student population and then fill all the slots starting with the highest scorers. My understanding is that less than 1% of the students who took the test in each state will qualify. My state had 1.96% of the total number of students who took the PSAT last October so that would mean we’d have roughly 300 NMSF spaces allocated to my state. Larger states would of course have many more NMSF slots. You can take a look at your state’s summary report at the College Board site which will show you how many kids took the test along with a ton of other statistics.</p>
<p><a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/psat/cb-jr-soph/juniors[/url]”>Higher Education Professionals | College Board;
<p>I’m thinking the second number (after the state number) indicates where your child falls on an alphabetical list rather than a ranking of scores. My daughter’s second number equates approximately to where I’d expect her last name to fall alphabetically on a ranking of what I estimate to be NC’s 480 or so semi-finalists. I suppose it’s possible it indicates score but if so, based on my daughter’s score, I’d expect 0001 to be the lowest rather than the highest qualifying score for this scheme to work.</p>
<p>BTW–I posted already but haven’t seen the state list updated. I know it’s not near the cutoff but it’s the only NC score posted. 225.</p>
<p>Just for fun, I took a look at a couple of states on either end of the spectrum.</p>
<p>Texas had 174,724 college-bound juniors take the PSAT in 2008 out of a total of 1,588,688 nationally. That’s almost 11% of the total. California had an almost identical number of kids take the test: 175,293. That means each of those states would have roughly 1,700 NMSF if that is the way the spots are allocated.</p>
<p>On the other end of the spectrum: Washington DC had 4,370 college-bound juniors take the PSAT. That’s about .275% of the total, or maybe 44 spots.</p>
<p>I got a 207 in Nevada and Semifinalist. My counselor told me the cutoff is 205 here. I think the selection of colleges that send you mail is based on your college major choice. I got stuff from UW and UH as well as pretty much all the Ivies. I recieved nothing from MIT or CalTech though.</p>
<p>Updating Nevada and North Carolina:</p>
<p>Alabama 208 (posts 328 and 294) (-1)
Alaska
Arizona 210 (post 574) (+1)
Arkansas <=209 (post 460)
California 218 (post 579) (+1)
Colorado
Connecticut <=228 (post 597)
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida 210 or 211 (post 657 AND my posts)
Georgia <=214 (366)
Hawaii
Idaho 209 (post 568) (+1)
Illinois <=214 (Post 407) (cutoff is 213 or 214)
Indiana <= 212 (Post 532)
Iowa
Kansas 211 (post 435) (0)
Kentucky <= 209 (post 309)
Louisiana 207 (post 586) (-1)
Maine
Maryland 221 (post 655)
Massachusetts <=221 (post 494)
Michigan <=209 (post 331)
Minnesota >214 (post 596)
Mississippi <= 205 (post 607)
Missouri 211 (post 538) (-2)
Montana
Nebraska <= 211 (post 292)
Nevada<=207 (post 674)
New Hampshire
New Jersey <=221 (post 636)
New Mexico
New York >214 and <=219 (post 564, 604)
North Carolina <=225 (post 672)
North Dakota
Ohio <=212 (post 492)
Oklahoma <=209 (post 420)
Oregon
Pennsylvania 211 (post 601) (-2)
Rhode Island <= 217 (post 592)
South Carolina <=211 (post 480)
South Dakota <=205 (post 320)
Tennessee <= 213 (post 350)
Texas 216 (post 537) (+1)
Utah
Vermont <=213 (post 616)
Virginia
Washington <=218 (post 313)
West Virginia
Wisconsin 207 (-3) (post 655)
Wyoming 201 (post 655)</p>
<p>Thanks Book_worm for posting about Wisconsin. S has still not gotten anything from his school, but we now know from your post that he will indeed be a semi-finalist. Hooray!</p>
<p>Can somebody verify that Cali’s cutoff is 218? I got a 218 but my school is really slow with PSAT stuff and hasn’t informed anybody yet, so I’m really nervous.</p>
<p>Just received the package from the GC yesterday. School does not start until Tuesday (09/08).</p>
<p>227 makes NMSF in Minnesota.</p>
<p>For 2008, here are the state by state statistics
[National</a> Merit Scholarship Corporation - NMSP](<a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php#special]National”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php#special)
look for annual report</p>
<pre><code> 2008
Program Commended
Entrants Students Semifinalist
</code></pre>
<p>Alabama 13,137 209 225
Alaska 2,378 64 41
Arizona 15,773 360 262
Arkansas 6,862 24 149
California 162,560 5,078 1,968
Colorado 19,660 506 241
Connecticut 30,205 775 218
Delaware 5,760 139 45
District of Columbia 4,086 273 52
Florida 64,513 1,367 747
Georgia 41,213 1,022 420
Hawaii 6,355 136 68
Idaho 5,223 52 90
Illinois 49,586 1,546 778
Indiana 48,011 597 314
Iowa 9,250 215 195
Kansas 10,779 292 174
Kentucky 13,039 210 215
Louisiana 11,292 134 255
Maine 10,077 113 86
Maryland 48,691 1,516 314
Massachusetts 48,826 1,903 332
Michigan 35,876 633 569
Minnesota 20,803 678 339
Mississippi 6,326 32 138
Missouri 14,801 493 362
Montana 4,808 57 62
Nebraska 7,382 96 124
Nevada 6,390 90 82
New Hampshire 8,746 167 74
New Jersey 69,509 2,268 513
New Mexico 4,862 93 107
New York 148,416 3,129 861
North Carolina 49,048 925 388
North Dakota 2,333 12 44
Ohio 53,854 1,127 717
Oklahoma 8,258 174 192
Oregon 16,179 344 186
Pennsylvania 76,518 1,704 715
Rhode Island 9,610 113 60
South Carolina 17,029 256 195
South Dakota 3,139 16 51
Tennessee 15,863 532 262
Texas 153,301 3,002 1,367
Utah 4,270 24 160
Vermont 4,235 122 42
Virginia 51,098 1,431 430
Washington 27,465 872 350
West Virginia 4,418 0 97
Wisconsin 21,372 366 374
Wyoming 1,762 0 31
Other<br>
Selection Units 20,321 1,114 215
TOTAL 1,495,268 36,401 16,296</p>
<p>Top 45 in DE make SF? No wonder the cutoff is so consistently high.</p>