<p>217 in Nevada
(CR-74 M-65 W-78)</p>
<p>Anybody wanna tell me what that means as far as National Merit, and what happens next?</p>
<p>Tropical: Your 217 in Nevada definitely should qualify you for National Merit Semifinalist (the cutoff for Nevada is always quite low). However, no guarantees whether you will make Finalist or get a scholarship. Roughly 94% of semifinalist make it to Finalist. This is determined by SAT score and GPA (plus ECs), but the score you got on the PSAT is only factored in for the semifinalist cutoff.</p>
<p>Oregon: It’s the trend in many schools (including the school I go to: usually there are 8-12 people who score above a 218; this year there were only 3, including myself). Also, I believe there was a statistic that showed there was less improvement from sophomore PSAT scores overall than there was for the Juniors last year. However, don’t take this as hard evidence that the cutoff will go down. In fact, there is still a chance it may go up.</p>
<p>any international students here? I hear the cutoff is higher for us? :/</p>
<p>dianication: I’m international. Last year’s cutoff was 221 or something.</p>
<p>I got 230: 80 CR, 70 M, 80 W.
Not too happy with the math score…I got my test booklet back and redid the questions and found that all the ones I got wrong were actually quite easy if I thought about it for a little longer.</p>
<p>Thanks alihaq! Any idea about the minimum GPA/ SAT score?</p>
<p>Go to nationmerit dot org. You can learn all you need to know.</p>
<p>^^ THANK YOU, MissouriGal, for posting all the cut-offs for VA the last many years. Very helpful, if a bit discouraging. I was cautiously optimistic about my son’s – he got a 218 in VA – because the last three years’ cutoffs were 218, 217, and 219. So I figured he had a good chance. But I was discouraged to see that the next few years behind that, the cut offs were 220, 220, 219, and 219. <em>sigh</em> </p>
<p>I’m just hoping that any admissions counselor worth his/her salt, will look at DS’s scores, and say, “Hey, if that kid were in 45 other U.S. states, he would have made Merit Scholar.”</p>
<p>One encouraging thing… at school the kids were comparing their scores, and he only found one other student with a higher score. At lunchtime he purposely sat at what he affectionately calls “the Nerd Table,” and no one there matched his score. His HS is pretty good, last year they produced 6 Finalists. The only school higher that I know of is Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology, which is the #1 school in the U.S., sort of like the MIT of high schools…and last year TJ produced 13 Merit Scholars.</p>
<p>So, all that makes a 218 look somewhat promising. Praying!</p>
<p>To those of you who are just sophomores (or even freshmen), use the time you have to find unique outside interests – that you TRULY care about – which will help you stand out from the crowd. Especially anything you can do that is on a volunteer basis, not just a job, sport, or instrument. (Unless you are DARN good at one of those.) Serve the homeless, animal rescue, raise money for elder care center, whatever you feel passionate about.</p>
<p>And don’t forget to have fun, get outside more, and take time to enjoy some good books! :-)</p>
<p>I’m just hoping that any admissions counselor worth his/her salt, will look at DS’s scores, and say, “Hey, if that kid were in 45 other U.S. states, he would have made Merit Scholar.”</p>
<p>Sorry, but I am pretty sure admission officers never see PSAT scores, only if they are Commended or a Merit Finalist.</p>
<p>I am in a similar situation, as I received a 211 in FL, where the cutoff the last two years has been 211. Ironically, I received a 223 last year, but sadly colleges will never see that score and know that “Hey, that kid would’ve made Merit Scholar his sophomore year.” 218 in VA will 100% be at least Commended, and thanks to the general consensus on CC that the PSAT was more difficult this year, I’d say the odds are more in your son’s favor than not. If you look at this thread, the year the PSAT Writing section was changed, nearly every state’s cutoff lowered.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/385453-official-national-merit-semifinalist-cutoff-scores-2007-a-42.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/385453-official-national-merit-semifinalist-cutoff-scores-2007-a-42.html</a></p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>HowtheHeck: Does your son go to McLean High School by any chance? We had 6 finalists (I believe) last year, and there aren’t as many people scoring that high this year. I scored a 219, so I’m right around the cutoff (hopefully it doesn’t go up to 220!).</p>
<p>Tropical: There is not usually a “defined” minimum GPA and minimum SAT, but most likely a 3.5 UW and a 2000+ on the SAT will get you through to Finalist. It isn’t usually that tough to make it to finalist, since most SFs make it Finalist anyway.</p>
<p>202 si (97th percentile)
no prep… think thats enough for commended
section scores:
70 cr
64 m
68 w (stupid curve)</p>
<p>Has a score in the 98th percentile EVER earned NMSF/NMF? </p>
<p>DS had to take the PSAT even though he had the H1N1 flu. He was very disapointed with his score (206 - OH). All his practice tests had him scoring over 220.</p>
<p>^ What really counts is your state percentile. This year, the lowest 99th percentile score was a 212. Thus, anyone with this score living in MA would certainly not be a NMSF since this state’s cutoff is usually 221+. On the other hand, FL’s cutoff the last two years has been 211, which is th highest 98th percentile score. If FL’s cutoff stays the same this year (which it better because I got a 211), then many people with a 98th percentile Nationally will become a NMSF.</p>
<p>Selection index of 185, 91st percentile.</p>
<p>Up from 165 last year.</p>
<p>226 in FL:
80 on CR,
78 on Writing,
68 on Math </p>
<p>last year I got a 184, so i’m more than happy with my score :)</p>
<p>
Nope it was #17.
Saturday and Wednesday have different curves. Sorry if anyone has already explained this, I haven’t read the more recent posts.
Why would it? NMF just means you’re good at standardized tests, and they have the SAT for that. Counting both would be like considering an Intel winner won Intel twice.
Most don’t even care about NMF. The ones that do are typically second-tier public schools that recruit NMFs just to say they have NMFs, so they would not go through your suggested thought process. However if your DS did apply to one of these schools and got a similar SAT score then he wouldn’t need to have NMF on his resume.</p>
<p>227 in NY! (it was 10 - okay 100- points lower than my real SAT score) but I’m pleased because I probably made the cutoff!!</p>
<p>217 in IN:
69 CR
75 M
73 W</p>
<p>No prep at all, aside from taking the SAT the week before just to get myself in the mindset of taking the PSAT. I’m decently pleased with my score.</p>
<p>222 in Georgia</p>
<p>80 Writing
77 Critical Reading
and…65 Mathematics. Don’t judge me.</p>
<p>It should be good enough. Like many others, I was quite content with my score until I saw how many got over 230. Such stupid mistakes on the math! Word to the wise: read the QUESTIONS, not just the numbers and diagrams. Congrats to all those who did well, whether in their eyes a 200 or a 150 is a good score. It is all relative. Compete with yourself! And your siblings.</p>
<p>what is the best psat score?</p>
<p>@Custardapple101,
the highest possible PSAT score is a 240.</p>