<p>Hi,
I heard that the cut-off for the National Merit Commendation for those who took it 2006 was 200. Also, I heard that schools received notifications for who were awarded commended status. So, first of all, if I meet the borderline for commendation (I got a 200 on my PSAT), will I get commended? Secondly, should I ask my school about whether or not I've been commended? Thanks!</p>
<p>Wo it was 200 this year. Guess the curve affected the cutoff.</p>
<p>i dont think you get it if you are on the borderline</p>
<p>If you made a 200 you will get Commended.</p>
<p>you should get it with that score.</p>
<p>(mathwiz: I think they changed the writing section so scores went down a bit on average from last year)</p>
<p>So do the schools receive notification around this time of the year? I really hope I get commended status (so I can feel smarter than I'm actually am). :)</p>
<p>damn i got 198!</p>
<p>how important is a national merit commendation in the college application process?</p>
<p>Doubledian, I think it's completely unimportant, except for those schools that offer merit aid for Commended students. Many students don't even take the PSAT, so colleges don't hold the lack of commended or semi-finalist status against applicants. And some colleges attract so many commended and semi-finalist applicants that it's a non-issue either way - they're looking for other aspects of your application to set you apart.</p>
<p>JBomb, if you score at the cutoff (200 this year), you will receive a commendation. Whether or not a student achieves semi-finalist status depends upon each individual state's qualifying index. Within the last 2 weeks, high schools received notification of which of their students scored 200 or above in the October 2006 test. They also received letters to forward to these students, informing them that they were among the 50,000 top scorers in the nation. In September, 34,000 of these students will receive official notification that they are commended; the remaining 16,000 will be named semi-finalists and go on in the process. </p>
<p>If you scored 200 or above, your school should forward this letter to you very soon (many students have had them for a week or more already). As a top finisher, you can notify 2 schools of your interest through NMSC (National Merit Scholarship Corp.). That's the gist of the letter, which requires a 5/23 response (you may respond online). If you haven't seen this letter yet, you might want to check with your GC.</p>
<p>So what schools exactly give out merit aid to commended students? Do UCs (University of California) give them out? Also, according to the official website, it says commended students are elgible for other scholarships. Anyone have more details on the scholarship matter? It seems that I need a lot of scholarships in order to pay for college. :)</p>
<p>Wait so for commended, you have to already choose 2 schools? How do they expect juniors to do that?!</p>
<p>It's an opportunity, not a requirement, and it's not binding in any way. Look at your letter - it explains that you can notify two schools of your interest by responding. You probably have at least a few schools in mind at this point. If you don't identify the school you eventually decide is your #1, no big deal - it can't hurt you in any way.</p>
<p>If you're interested in a LAC, where student interest is a significant factor in admissions decisions, or a university that is known to evaluate student interest (such as Tufts or Emory), you might want to list those schools. If nothing else, it's a way of making sure you're put on their mailing list. :)</p>
<p>bump.. </p>
<p>i hope this isnt a stupid question but, what happens when you get commended? do they send you a letter or something?
i got a 210 but havent received anything yet, or at least i dont think i have. so i was just wondering if i was supposed to =/</p>
<p>I got 199 last year as a sophomore...</p>
<p>I got 200 and haven't heard anything from collegeboard or my school... what's up with that?</p>
<p>My principal gave me my Commended letter last week.
however, I did get the letter about choosing two schools a looooong time ago.</p>
<p>You should have been notified this past spring that you made at least commended. The actual "Congratulations, you are commended" are coming out now, but your school received notification that you were at least commended in the spring. Not only that, it got a specific letter addressed to you inside the packet. I've read here many times that people made the cut-off and haven't gotten their letters. That's en error on the part of the school, and they are long overdue in correcting it!</p>
<p>Edited: Woooow, I missed the dates on the first posts! Sorry! There's still one poster from today this applies to... ask your school about your high scorer letter. :) You should have gotten it long ago.</p>
<p>if you forgot to choose two schools for commendation last year, can/will you still receive the official letter this fall?</p>
<p>and is there a way of confirming whether you did indeed send the letter back with the 2 schools?</p>
<p>the first letter came last year, but nothing since... my school could be holding it back?</p>
<p>I got a 200 on the 2006 PSAT as a junior. I was commended</p>
<p>Check with your guidance counselor or principal. If you received the letter in the spring, then by now you should have received the letter for commended.</p>