Alternate entry into National Merit

<p>Hi all,
My son found out last week that he has been accepted into a cultural exchange program where he gets to go to China for 2 weeks next year. Unfortunately, the dates coincide with the PSAT. I know that he can request alternate entry and have his school principle sign some sort of form verifying that he will miss the test for a school activity. My question is, if a student enters the competition using the alternate entry does his SAT score still need to meet the cutoff for his particular state or is there some national cutoff for alternate entry students? We live in New Mexico, which has a low cutoff, and although I think the chances are good that he could achieve NM's cutoff, I don't think he can score much higher.</p>

<p>Anybody have any experience with alternate entry? Thanks</p>