<p>^I own this thread</p>
<p>At least some kids who don’t go on to make Finalist just don’t submit all the necessary materials. Some , mostly those applying to very elite colleges, reason that since those colleges rarely give NMF scholarships, there is little reason to spent energy on the final step.
So, I wouldn’t try to data mine to figure out what the rules for Finalist are.
Vaelient - all that means is that kids from your school aren’t sucked into Ivies. Lots and lots of NMF kids go to schools that aren’t Ivies. QUite a few opt for other excellent schools, particularly given that some non-Ivies give huge NM scholarships.</p>
<p>“Some , mostly those applying to very elite colleges, reason that since those colleges rarely give NMF scholarships, there is little reason to spent energy on the final step.”</p>
<p>Many choose not to apply for Finalist in favor of a corporate scholarship.</p>
<p>YESS 221. Easily making the cutoff in FL :)</p>
<p>D just called from school. Got 15 pts. less than soph yr test. Fell below commended level and is NOT happy. :(</p>
<p>I found out my scores today.
203 my life is awful. How am I ever going to get into college… ?
I’m depressed,morbidly so.</p>
<p>To fellow Floridian ImaGecko, congrats on your score…im sitting on a 211 right now, last year’s cutoff, so im crossing my fingers it doesnt go up…</p>
<p>Oh dear, I wonder if I’ll be able to make the cutoff next year…
I’m a sophomore and I just got my results today…I got a 189, which is a fair bit below the 200s that are considered “good.” The math section was my worst score (58). My freshman year was all messed up, and I switched schools 3 times, so my geometry curriculum was a little messed up. I’ll have to do some studying… I wonder if I can improve enough. Does anyone know the cutoff for Indiana? I’m horrible at timed stuff, too, so the essay section is going to be a nightmare…</p>
<p>^flashpoint:</p>
<p>I got a 189 last year as a sophomore and just found out I got a 205 this year. My advice to avoid the pain and despair I have now is to do lots of practice from PSAT and SAT practice tests and learn the type of questions they ask for. Work on your math, and keep up the writing and reading. (I improved my reading greatly, but then my writing went down.) Also, the cutoff for Indiana is typically really low, so you have a great shot at it. Good Luck.</p>
<p>I got a 207 :(<br>
Last years cutoff for Fl was 211, but my Guidance is telling me that I’ll probably make it? That’s not possible, right?</p>
<p>Oh, that’s good to know. Yeah, I need to work on geometry and turning word problems into equations in the math section. I’m good at algebra I and II, though. I omitted 9 of the math questions, too, which probably didn’t help. I need to work on the hard questions in the reading, as I got 33 out of the 35 easy+medium ones right, but only 8 out of 13 of the hard questions. On the writing, I actually missed more of the medium difficulty problems than the other ones, so… I didn’t know it at the time that I took the PSAT, but I have it written up in my IEP that I could actually have extra time to complete tests, including the PSAT, because I have an autism spectrum disorder, so that could factor in next year if I needed it, although I managed fine this year.</p>
<p>I scored in the 93rd percentile going up against juniors, so I need to bump it up a little. Indiana’s cutoff has hovered around 211-213 for the past few years, so I’m guessing that commended status could be achieved with a 200 or above, maybe even less. If I’m lucky, maybe I can pull off a commended status for next year. To qualify for NMSC, I’d need to jump 25 points to be safe, which isn’t undoable, but…</p>
<p>@Corryn</p>
<p>You could make commended status, I think…(I don’t know much, so don’t quote me)
That’s still really good. This NMSC stuff seems like a lot of pressure.</p>
<p>Question for clarification to relay to my Mum: Is the cut off determined by a certain state percentile or do they just pick a number based on previous years?</p>
<p>Sorry if this question is really dumb, I’m a bit frazzled at the moment and I’m not thinking right.</p>
<p>I think that they determine the cutoff using the percentiles, as states have different cutoffs. Some states allow the 95th percentile and above to qualify, while some bigger states, like California cutoff at the 98th percentile. (I think…)</p>
<p>Thank you TQSMNTASP! And if I were you I wouldn’t worry at all. Word is that the cutoff is going to go DOWN this year, not up, so I think you should be fine!</p>
<p>So even though I’m four points below last year’s cut off, I’m in the 98th percentile and could get it? Is that what my Guidance is saying?</p>
<p>Corryn:
I’m in the 98th percentile also and live in ohio where the cutoff is about the same, but NMSC determines the cutoff it on a number of people basis, although this usually ends up around the 99th percentile, so sorry, I feel your pain too.</p>
<p>By the way, please someone tell me that Ohio’s cutoff will not drop below 211 becuase some guys at my school, who are total jerks, got 210 and I do not want to have to put up with their s***.</p>
<p>Corryn - Your score is very good. But history shows that the cutoff never moves by more than 1 or 2 points.</p>
<p>Ahh, okay. Well, it was worth a try 
Thanks guys!</p>