<p>I made it in PA with a 214. 
So I guess the cutoff is somewhere between 212 and 214 now.</p>
<p>I don’t know if this is the right place to ask, but does being a NMSF carry a lot of weight in admissions to colleges that offer substantial scholarships for it, or is it just used for financial aid?</p>
<p>Michael2010: Being a national merit SF is prestigious and in some schools, it could get you admission (especially if you make it to a finalist) and your grades/SAT scores etc. are in the acceptable range. In other schools (specially the higher ranked ones), it adds to your profile, something you would mention in your application but in itself does not carry much weight, but taken in totality could help you get admission. So it depends upon school you are interested in and your record.</p>
<p>My s is going to take the SAT for the first time in October to verify his results. (He had a 34 ACT) Is there any benefit from not reporting his first SAT score to the national merit people until we see it and know its a good score? I know he has time to take it again in Nov, but if we weren’t happy with his first sitting, do they hold a “bad” sitting against you in any way?</p>
<p>Re: MD – last official report was >220 and <=223, with a subsequent report of 222 (#727) making NMSF. If anyone out there in MD has a 221, pipe up and tell us if you made it!</p>
<p>As the parent of a MD kid with a score that would qualify in almost every other state except ours, it stings a little bit. OTOH, we knew going in that the cutoff here is always very high, and that a 218 was unlikely to make it. One of the benefits to living here is the great schools – but it is really competitive (see The Overachievers).</p>
<p>BTW – great to see a Silver Chips Online link! :)</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 <=209 (Post 660)
Kansas 211 (post 435) (0)
Kentucky <= 209 (post 309)
Louisiana 207 (post 586) (-1)
Maine
Maryland >220 and <=222 (post 727)
Massachusetts <=221 (post 494)
Michigan <=209 (post 331)
Minnesota >214 and <=227 (post 596, 678)
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 and <=215 (post 437, 601, 686)
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>However, I remember last year there was an uproar because kids with 3.0 GPAs weren’t making it to Finalist.</p>
<p>@ctab
That’s a good question. It seems unlikely that your son will get anything but a good score. However, that’s one of those strategy questions we struggle with. Sorry I don’t have an answer for you.</p>
<p>ctab: I spoke to National Merit to ask them about Score Choice. The lady was EXTREMELY rude. But, I could tell she was just having a bad day and/or didn’t understand what I was saying. </p>
<p>Basically, one of her rants was how they “were not colleges…we don’t JUDGE you…we’ll take your top score…just send them in!!!” My daughter only HAS only SAT score, I only wanted to know if we should score choice and not send in SAT II scores. What I came away with, from the conversation, was to send everything. But she was so mad that I didn’t really get to clarify it very well. The paperwork does NOT say anything about score choice. BTW…my daughter just got a 34 on her ACT too, so don’t worry, I’m sure he won’t have any problem with his SAT score. My D took PSAT and SAT both in October last year and got the EXACT same score (plus a zero, of course)…even exactly the same on each section! Anyway…I’m sure he’ll do fine. I know those are hollow words, but…he will!</p>
<p>At this time of senior year, it is best to have the scores sent to the colleges by registering for that before sitting for the test.</p>
<p>^^^in that same vein, most schools do NOT want you to rush scores. Rush scores are mailed out and actually take longer to be processed by the colleges. Regular procedure is that CB sends the scores electronically to the school and the school can download immediately (or go back and retrieve them if there is a problem).</p>
<p>If a NMSF is taking the SAT this fall, include NMC as one of the free scores. Don’t worry about waiting to see the results. They are what they are.</p>
<p>Keilexandra…</p>
<p>Someone posted earlier that they felt a 3.5 was a GPA cutoff to make it to finalist. FWIW anyway - I myself have never heard a number. And they didn’t say if it was overall or current year GPA.</p>
<p>My nephew from CT got 213. Apparently his guidence counselor was “very excited” and he interpretted that excitement as “maybe means something”, but no word yet. I can only hope. </p>
<p>I have a favor for anyone creating the list of score cut-offs by states, 'cuz this is confusing enough. Please add a heading to your list. Are you naming lowest scores to make NM semifinalist? or it this list for finalists or what? I’m thinking that’s also why so many people are adding their gpa, which I thought had nothing to do with NM.</p>
<p>Just got NMF info from my school today. 228 makes NMSF in Delaware, although that isn’t anywhere close to the predicted cutoff (~219). I will ask around and post an update if I hear from friends with lower scores.</p>
<p>I also found out that counselors are required to list every grade in every course for every MARKING PERIOD, not just final grades per course.</p>
<p>hey i’m a semifinalist in alabama but i have like a 3.4 GPA (i THINK it’s a 3.5 scaled though) and i just saw that someone posted 3.5 might be the cutoff to become a finalist? just wondering if anyone knows if that’s true…
i think my lowest grade is a 78 though and i’ve never gotten a D so i should be okay right?</p>
<p>Did anybody from MI, Detroit area, receive the package at school ?</p>
<p>For students boarding out of state - is the home state or the boarding school’s state against which the student’s scores are compared?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If the student is in the specified set of schools, the whole set of those schools is the comparison group.</p>
<p>katie - A 78 is the lowest possible C at my school. There were rumors last year about students denied from NMF with a record of As/Bs and one or two marking period Cs. Rumors, mind you.</p>
<p>laxtaxi – I think you have to look at MA. My post #707</p>
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<p>I called NM a few months ago to figure out what they did with boarding schools.</p>