<p>Good info, thanks all.</p>
<p>I just contacted son’s school to ask about this card. We’ll see!</p>
<p>Edit: Hmmmm, no one at the school seemed to have a clue about a postcard. I shall call the NMSC people and see how to handle this. I’m kind of surprised nobody has asked about it, for this year.</p>
<p>Can’t you download the form from NMCorp website and fax it in?</p>
<p>I just found that form^^^ Thanks!</p>
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<p>Bummer to learn this, as this school was definitely high on our list - but it won’t be without merit money. (S is only a junior now, but if he repeats his PSAT from last year he’ll be fine - so we’re hoping). </p>
<p>Is there still a reasonable chance to get in-state tuition for out-of-state NMF students, or for other strong students? Or is it all need-based now?</p>
<p>A couple of years ago, UT announced that it was focusing on need-based aid.</p>
<p>I don’t think Texas is trying to get OOS students since it can’t even accommodate all the instate students that want to go there…hence the 8% rule.</p>
<p>Do you know if the in-state tuition for OOS students is completely dead? Or is it still possible for strong candidates?</p>
<p>^I feel kind of bad about posting here – since this isn’t really a UT forum, but a NMSC forum – but there are supposedly still some very limited opportunities for OOS tuition waivers. Most are handled through your student’s prospective department. I know engineering and the honors program still have them, for instance. But they’re still supposedly very hard to come by. The decision to award the waiver of OOS tuition revolves around whether the applying student receives some other scholarship award, from a school-recognized scholarship committee, of a specific amount ($1000?), or more … blah, blah, blah … AND while in competition for said scholarship award with In-State students. In other words, the OOS student is awarded a scholarship on his/her merits in direct competition with in-state students who are vying for the same scholarship – THEN, that OOS student is eligible for OOS tuition waivers. It’s complicated, I’ve heard – and not common.</p>
<p>I think you can find the rules on certain departmental websites (engineering and honors), and through the Accounts Receivables website, versus the Scholarships website.</p>
<p>This is definitely not guaranteed - it looks very competitive to me - but some of you might be interested in the [40</a> Acres Scholarships - Texas Exes Scholarship Foundation](<a href=“http://www.texasexesscholarshipfoundation.org/scholarships/40-acres/]40”>http://www.texasexesscholarshipfoundation.org/scholarships/40-acres/)</p>
<p>Thanks for the info on UT/Austin in the prior posts, and my apologies for unintentionally veering off from the NMS topic.</p>
<p>I haven’t read the whole thread so I apologize if this has already been covered: </p>
<p>My son scored 229 so is a NMSF now. He registered his two top schools and one of them (Rice in Texas) waived his application fee. I’m sure that there must be others, so my advice would be to go ahead and indicate your two top schools and maybe you’ll get to save some money (although it’s probably too late for this year’s seniors).</p>
<p>I’m in a similar dilemma. I received the letter saying that I could select two schools to express my interest in and receive information from. My top school choice is Princeton. Other schools I’m interested in are Yale, Chicago U, Northwestern, Barnard, Stanford, and Columbia.
I don’t know if I should choose Princeton, because they have already sent me letters of interest. It’s my first choice though. Will it be a waste since they already contacted me? Or will it boost my chances, so the speak?</p>
<p>In respect to the other schools, I only got a 210 so I know that Yale is pretty ambitious. They also sent me a letter before, as did Chicago U and Northwestern. Stanford and Columbia have not, except information packets about summer programs.
My questions are 1) Should I choose a school that already contacted me?
2) Should I choose a slightly less prestigious institution because of my score and the likelihood of my acceptance?</p>
<p>@Jose, it’s really not that important. Many schools request this information from the CB anyway. I was getting tonnes of mail about my “scores” from institutions that I had never contacted or listed anywhere. So just pick any two you like, or none at all (that’s what I did).</p>
<p>Okay, thanks! What a relief to have someone say it’s not that important!</p>
<p>Any sense yet of the curve this year v. last year? Our daughter moved to a much more academically competitive state at start of junior year. She would be a NMSF shoe-in back in old state but here it looks questionable. New Jersey. Ugh.</p>
<p>It does not vary more than +/- 2 points, usually stays the same or moves by +/- 1 point. You should have a good idea based on the score.</p>
<p>My son is probably one year ahead of your child. We just made an admissions deposit for him at U Richmond (Virginia) today. Being OCD I thought a lot about strategy during the last year, including how to use the “two letters”. So, here is my opinion. Hope it helps!
If your child’s score is under 220, they probably will not be a NMS. (There is a post somewhere showing the cut-off trend for your state.) Anyway, that’s okay! Your son can still make the “two letters” work to his advantage. Can I back-track for a minute? </p>
<p>Some fundamental thoughts about strategy…
First, "come here!’ letters from colleges basically don’t mean much. Colleges send them out to a wide pool of candidates with stats generally in their ideal candidate pool. This includes both the top, top, top students to whom they will allocate full scholarships, to fabulous (but not top, top) students whom they hope will pay full tuition, and also to students whom, in the end, they will not accept. I used the prettiest brochures for my collage projects (Parsons sent a fabulous catalog of which I used almost every page!)</p>
<p>This strategy worked for my son:
Build a list of nine schools to apply to, including three reach schools, three reasonable-chance schools, and three safety schools. How to choose? First is first, look at your finances and decide if your child absolutely must receive scholarships or generous financial aid to attend college. If so, all nine schools will be at a slightly “lower” level than if you can pay full tuition. If you will qualify for need-based aid, look at the schools which promise to provide 100% of demonstrated need. If you do not quality for need-aid but still want some help, look at schools with good scholarship programs suited to your child. Only now (by this strategy) can your child ask, “What schools do I like” or “Which schools have the best program for me.” </p>
<p>As for the two NMS letters, some schools care if you designate them and some don’t care at all. Even if a school is your child’s top choice, don’t waste the letter if they don’t care. Send it to one of the nine schools on your list who does care, because it may tip a scholarship or opportunity in your child’s favor which makes that school the ultimate practical “best all-around choice.”</p>
<p>If this was helpful, I would be glad to write more. Good luck!</p>
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<p>Not true. Cut off’s range from 200 to 224 depending on the state and the year.</p>
<p>As you see from the list from last year (I sorted it out based on score), it varies from state to state. Only three states (MA, MD and NJ) had a cut off greater or equal to 220 (plus DC, NE Boarding Schools and International). Cut offs in 22 states were 210 or less. Again many of these states are not the very highly populated or they prefer ACT over SAT, but the cuts off are very state specific. </p>
<p>Second, based on my observations over the last few years, the two schools that you name for commended really do not matter much. They are brownie points, they do not hurt and might help in a few cases. My S did not even bother to send the letter and I know many people who did not and yet they got NM scholarships.</p>
<p>Letters and mailing from colleges do not mean much unless they are very specifically targeted (we will waive application fee if you follow this process or call this person for an expedited admission)</p>
<pre><code>District of Columbia 223
New England Boarding Schools 223
International 223
</code></pre>
<p>1 Massachusetts 223
2 New Jersey 221
3 Maryland 220
4 California 219
5 Connecticut 219
6 Virginia 218
7 Washington 218
8 New York 217
9 Pennsylvania 216
10 Delaware 215
11 Georgia 215
12 Hawaii 215
13 Oregon 215
14 Texas 215
15 Alaska 214
16 Illinois 214
17 New Hampshire 214
18 North Carolina 214
19 Maine 213
20 Minnesota 213
21 Colorado 212
22 Indiana 212
23 Ohio 212
24 Tennessee 212
25 Vermont 212
26 Kansas 211
27 Rhode Island 211
28 Alabama 210
29 Florida 210
30 Louisiana 210
31 Missouri 210
32 Nebraska 210
33 Arizona 209
34 Iowa 209
35 Michigan 209
36 Wisconsin 209
37 Idaho 208
38 Kentucky 208
39 Montana 208
40 Nevada 208
41 South Carolina 208
42 New Mexico 206
43 Oklahoma 206
44 Mississippi 205
45 South Dakota 205
46 Arkansas 203
47 Utah 203
48 North Dakota 202
49 West Virginia 202
50 Wyoming 202
Commended 201</p>
<p>^but I think Mom<em>I</em>Am was answering sewhappy’s question – about New Jersey specifically. For New Jersey, Mom<em>I</em>Am was correct.</p>
<p>Thank you for clarifying the scores above. I think it really helps to drive your strategy with data, as much as it is possible. I should have taken the time to look up the list.</p>
<p>My son sent one of his letters to U Richmond even though his score was only 202ish. The message this communicated may have helped him snag an interview for the Richmond Scholars program. He didn’t get the big scholarship, but did get a smaller one which made it possible for him to go there. We don’t qualify for need aid, but that scholarship was critical.</p>
<p>I was very active in helping my two sons figure out the college application process, for better or worse. This site and the advice of its members really helped me answer questions which I couldn’t find answers to anywhere else. Love this site!!! </p>
<p>Okay… one more final reflection. The college essays are so critical for tipping a decision one way or other. Start early, reflect, get peer review, teacher review, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite! If it’s still not fabulous, tear it up and start over again.</p>
<p>Score: 202 ¶
SAT: 2100
GPA: 4.5</p>
<p>Just received the NM qualifying letter - a little disappointed in my score. Where (website) can I see last two year qualifying scores, by state, for SF? Also, is consideration given to missed questions and the degree of difficulty of those questions, or are all decisions based on final score regardless ? Is it worth sending notification to colleges with a 202 ? Thank you, appreciate the help.</p>