<p>My D had a 214 on the PSAT. She had a 2190 on the SAT.</p>
<p>What are the criteria for confirming performance with the SAT?</p>
<p>Her math score was actually lower on the SAT. (But she had 800 in writing).</p>
<p>I need to figure out if she needs to retake the SAT.</p>
<p>The cut off score for NMS is different for each state. Unless she belongs to certain minority group, her PSAT score and her state cut off score will determine whether she is a semi finalist or not. Taking more SAT tests will not effect her NMS status. Also the cutoff score can move up and down slightly every year for each state. Take a look at the other thread on PSAT Scores for National Merit Semifinalists 2009 for last year cutoff score.</p>
<p>Thanks, but we already know the cutoff and that she made it.</p>
<p>To advance from semi-finalist to finalist, the student has to submit their SAT score, and it is required to "confirm" their PSAT score.</p>
<p>I am looking for some idea what that "confirmation" requires.</p>
<p>The National Merit website just say "confirm" and never gets specific about what they are looking for. </p>
<p>Her SAT scores in total were about the same, but her math score was a bit lower.</p>
<p>You mean you already have a letter confirming her as semifinalist? They just started to send out the letters for home school kids. The cutoff scores are just beginning to be reported by students.</p>
<p>If you are in, I believe, you just need to send senior year school transcript and SAT scores. As I understand it, there is no cutoff SAT score after you are accepted as semifinalist. As long as there is not a drastic drop in score and grades, you are in. I heard that more than 90% of semifinalists make finalists. It is more about filling all the forms and paperwork to be accepted as finalists.</p>
<p>So even if we're semifinalists, we shouldn't have heard about it yet, right?</p>
<p>I'm going to be a senior (in like week, when school starts) so I took the official PSAT last year, got a 237, and since then, I haven't heard anything about it. My SAT is a 2330, with a GPA to match. I was just worried I hadn't heard anything from the NMSQTQRXZORZ people (yeah, I forgot the acronym...)</p>
<p>You should have gotten a letter last spring, April or May, I forget, which said you were in the top 50,000. That means you're at least commended but with a 237 you will be a semi-finalist in any state. For the OP, a 2190 is plenty to confirm a 214 PSAT. Both of youshould check and post in this thread a couple lines down:</p>
<p>AnnoyingDad, good idea. I did post in the PSAT thread. </p>
<p>Last spring we got the "top 50,000" letter and we sent in a form listing her top two schools.</p>
<p>On Thursday, we received a letter from one of the schools that we listed last spring congratulating her on selection. They received the list in advance.</p>
<p>To everyone who is confused why I'm talking about SAT scores, NM requires you send an SAT score to confirm your performance on PSAT. They just want to make sure you didn't accidentally "christmas tree" yourself into a high score.</p>
<p>They should make NMSF 1% and accept a lower percentage of that 1% for NMF so that the total number of NMF is still equal. I know plenty of people that have the other things to be NMF but their score for NMSF is not high enough so they won't get NMF. (right now NMSF is top 0.5%)</p>
<p>EDIT: And I'm pretty sure your daughter's score is good enough for confirmation. A very high percentage of people that get NMSF get NMF. As long as your daughter gets decent grades (3.6+/4-maybe even lower), decent SAT score (2100+), has decent activities and essays, and did not get suspended or anything like that, she should be a NMF. Last year, 100% of our NMSF from our school got NMF. There were people that got NMF that had a lower SAT score than 2190.</p>
<p>Putting an entire scholarship program on the results of three hours in the fall of Junior year seems very shaky, I agree.</p>
<p>That is exactly the reason schools are deemphasizing SATs. Plus we know a lot of kids who devote ridiculous numbers of hours to test prep and are pretty effective at gaming the test.</p>
<p>Of course my D refused to even open a book for the PSAT. Better lucky than smart, I suppose.</p>
<p>I think you'll see some changes in NM in the next few years.</p>
<p>My son (barely) made the cut for semifinalist and his GC told us he should aim to get an SAT at or above the PSAT cutoff (x10) for our state. She said it's nebulous because no one is told what exactly is required. His SAT score is already higher than the PSAT but we are still worried (about making finalist) because his unweighted GPA is on the low end (3.3) and I wonder if that will eliminate him.</p>
<p>Re the 3 hour test for all the marbles. My son got a 212 as a sophomore which would have made the cut in our state. As a junior he dropped in math from 80 to 68 while raising the other 2 3 points each for a 206. He had a sore throat and just felt crappy that day. Oh, well, stuff happens.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there isn't a definitive answer as to what score "confirms" a qualifying PSAT score. There have been numerous threads about this in the past - here's one:</p>
<p>[thread=150923]National Merit (SAT and PSAT Score)[/thread]</p>
<p>Specifically for your D, she does NOT need to retake the SAT, regardless of the variation in the subscores. Her total score is greater than 10XPSAT, which is always enough to confirm the PSAT. Congratulations! As long as she meets the other requirements and gets her paperwork in on time, she's in the running for a scholarship, plus many schools will offer her great merit aid or even full tuition just because of her (hopefully) NMF status.</p>
<p>[thread=649276]NMF Scholarships: An Updated Compilation[/thread]</p>
<p>I want to correct ttparent lest others get the wrong impression. NMSF have nothing to do with a student's ethnicity. Everyone must be above the state cutoff to be a NMSF, regardless of ethnicity. There are two other programs, however, that name scholars who are African-American or Hispanic. Those cutoffs are lower.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity: how much paperwork is required to advance to NMF status and are there essays involved? Also, how much time do students have to fill out all the forms?</p>
<p>The paperwork isn't that extensive, but oftentimes your HS wants it back from you (so they can fill in their portions, like recommendations, and submit it) in a relatively short amount of time from when you receive it (for DS, it was less than a week!). The only part that's time-consuming for the student is a personal statement (essay) which asks for a self-description (under 500 words, I believe). The NMSF should get to work on this as soon as they receive notification from NMSC to allow time for a couple of drafts.</p>
<p>The essay is primarily important in the competition for the $2500 NMSC scholarships, which are considered the most competitive and prestigeous of the awards through the program. The corporate and college-awarded scholarships have little to no reliance on the essay for the most part, and advancement to finalist status is highly unlikely to be affected by the quality of the essay (perhaps if it was racist, etc. or obviously shows little effort, it might make a difference, but that's just conjecture).</p>
<p>Thanks Knowitsome! Hopefully I made it to semifinalist... someone posted on another thread that the NY cutoff this year is 227, which I find hard to believe, but if it is then I certainly did not make it.:( I hope he's only joking.</p>
<p>That thread is used to compile the cutoff scores for each state. What happens is, every time someone finds out they made NMSF, they look on that thread to see if a number is posted for their state. They post their number if there isn't one or if it's lower than the one posted in the list. Alternatively, if a school has notified students of NMSF status, people post that X did NOT make the cutoff.</p>
<p>Right now, the lowest CONFIRMED NY score is 227, but rest assured that it will come down as more students learn their status. Good luck!</p>
<p>^Thanks knowitsome, but no, the person who posted 227 NY specifically said that his friend, who got a 226, did not make it to the semifinalist round, which is what made his words hard to believe. But "227 NY" is already removed from the list, so now I'm waiting to hear from someone who actually has more accurate information.</p>
<p>Sorry about the digression from the original post:P</p>
<p>The SAT confirming score in the past was very close to the lowest qualifying PSAT score in the nation x 100. Most of the years past a SAT score of 200 or above will do. Your own PSAT score has no bearing on that at all.</p>
<p>Correction here: I mean a SAT score of 2000 (NOT 200).</p>