AH! I need some consolation - PSAT!

<p>I got a 216!!! and the virginia cutoff was like 217. Does that mean I can't become a semifinalist no matter what? 1 more question would have done it! ah!~</p>

<p>I wouldn't have cared if I had gotten a 210 or something but 216?!!</p>

<p>is the national merit scholarship merely a financial one? Does it increase your chance of getting into a good college?</p>

<p>I am sure it does... I know most colleges don't even look at commended because like everybody gets them.</p>

<p>I am confident I'll do well on the sat (2200+), but this just makes me really angry to know that I could've gotten national merit with just one more correct answer.</p>

<p>wow i am really sorry.. that must be really hard to deal with but don't get stressed over a question.. colleges do care that you were a nmf but if you blow them away with a high SAT score itll be okay :] plus your score is a million times better than most people.. feel proud</p>

<p>Thanks ndinchick. I will just do amazing on the SAT. Plus, I don't think I want to put the effort to write the essays and other requirements for Merit Finalist. Only the finalists get the scholarship right? Well, 216 is commended, so I hope college gives me at least some credit for that. The math curve, i gotta say, was brutal. I got one wrong and five points off the total. Anyways, thanks. </p>

<p>Does anyone know if the cutoff for the October PSAT, 2007 is still tentative? or is it set in stone? thanks.</p>

<p>They change every year. You can look at previous years to get a rough estimate, but nothing is official. The 217 came down from 220 the year before (lucky break for me, as I scored 217 exactly), and I heard they'd fiddled with the writing curve again, which may cause the cutoff to go down further. You've still got a shot.</p>

<p>MelancholyDane, that's good news. I mean if it goes down by anything, then I am good since I am only a point off. So when would the final cutoffs be posted?</p>

<p>wow why do you care so much about PSAT scores. Colleges really only care about SAT scores.</p>

<p>It changes every year. I am pretty sure there is a big chance that the cutoff will change this year to help you out :D</p>

<p>this is really unrelated but i like how EVERY school in my area has gotten their psat scores except for mine.</p>

<p>Too bad you don't live in a less competitive state.</p>

<p>^ yea...in some states you need only a 200 for NMSF.</p>

<p>I'm forecasting cutoffs to be a little lower this year. I had a 206 and it said I scored 98th percentile nationally, which seems like a low score for such a percentile. In Ohio the cutoff last year was like 213 or something, so I'm pretty sure I'm out of semi-finalist. </p>

<p>You might be in after all, but it really doesn't matter. People blast the SAT all the time for being a flawed test, but I think the PSAT is even worse. It's unfortunate that the NMSQT has to coincide with such a poor assessment. Actually, I think the PLAN test is a far superior indicator of one's abilities. On the grand scheme of things, the PSAT really doesn't mean much at all.</p>

<p>I don't want to get your hopes up too much, but the mean score went down a point from 142 to 141. Last year, the mean score went down 4 points, and my state's cutoff went down 2 points from 221 to 219. My guess, from purely statistical point of view, cutoffs of most states will stay the same or there is an outside chance it might go down a point.</p>

<p>jjsdad </p>

<p>So, here in NY, I'm hoping the cutoff drops one point. What's your prediction for our state?</p>

<p>My best guess is that it will stay as 219, but as I said there is an outside chance it may will be 218. I am pulling for you. BTW, my D got 219, and I feel I am on the edge myself. Best of luck!</p>

<p>Don't worry about it!</p>

<p>I was also really close to the cut-off, but didn't make it. I think I got a 213, but I don't remember (that shows how little it matters). The first (and only) time I took the SAT (without prep), I got a 2310, and an 800 in the section that was my worst PSAT section. Your SAT doesn't always correlate your PSAT!</p>

<p>I got commended, but didn't include that on my application. I don't think it hurt me to not be a NMSF. If you have a good enough SAT, they won't care less about how you did on your PSAT. A lot of top colleges don't even offer NM scholarship money.</p>

<p>The PSAT seems like a big deal because it's the first college test you take, but in the long run, it's very unimportant.</p>

<p>If you're applying to "top schools," being an NMSF really doesn't make a difference. Colleges know that it's just one test that you get one shot at (unlike the SAT, which you can retake), and that most people don't study for it very much. Yes, it can be kinda nice to have, I doubt that it would tip your application one way or the other.</p>

<p>And Menagerie is right that it doesn't always correlate with your SAT. Last year I took the PSAT, and then the SAT a few weeks later. I got 2060 on the SAT and 222 on the PSAT (made NMSF). I was so mad, because the test that really counted I'd messed up on, but the one that meant almost nothing I'd done much better on. I took the SAT again some months later, though, and got 2280. So, don't worry about your PSAT score! The SAT is MUCH more important. Being NMSF really does not make you stand out at a lot of schools.</p>

<p>Thanks to jjsdad, Menagerie, and Adaman for the replies. </p>

<p>Oh, I wasn't asking for myself. I took my PSAT way back in the Fall of '68. When I took it, there was no studying or other preparation for it. It was just some random test that came along in my junior year. I did make NMSF and advanced to NMF. They didn't have the internet back in the dark ages, so I didn't have access to all the opportunies available to a NMSF as far as full ride scholarships. I was awarded a National Merit Scholarship to Michigan State University, but would have only gotten $100 a year--trivial even by 1970 standards. I needed the financial aid, so couldn't accept it. I ended up going to the University of Louisville where they awarded half tuition just for being a semifinalist. The University of Louisville did very well for me in my academic pursuits and it was a good fit for me.</p>

<p>My DS is the one on the borderline now. He made a bubbling mistake on the last CR question, so ended up with a 218 instead of a 220. Time will tell if the 218 will be good enough this year. He is philosophical, as I hope that exagertruth will be, about the marginal possibility that the cutoff will come down one point. </p>

<p>Here's hoping that both my DS and exagertruth do make the cutoff. It is quite an honor and it does open some scholarship doors not otherwise accessible--even to a student with otherwise stellar grades and test scores.</p>