Here is my devastating story. Hopefully there is hope.
I have been studying rigorously for the PSAT/SAT for months prior to the October 2014 PSAT administration. My goal has been to score above 225 to become a NMF in NJ. From practice test I have scored in the 220-230 range, rising greatly from my sophomore 142 score. I have an SAT score of 2330 and I’m retaking it in January. I have a 3.8/4.0 GPA and an outstanding list of volunteer work and extra-curriculars.
Heres the thing though: up to two days before the PSAT I was well, until I started feeling ill. I developed flu like symptoms but was unable to go to the doctor. I was unaware that not attending the PSAT for health reason does not disqualify you from the NMS competition. So I went into the test feeling quite nauseous and unstable. (I know, now that I look back that was a silly decision.) I could not focus on the test, and had to even stop early in the CR sections because I felt so ill. After the PSAT that day I went home to throw up. As it turned out, I had stomach flu.
I recently got me scores back and I scored just under 200, which devastated me. I could throw out all possibilities of going to some schools that provide full rides to NMFs. I view this as a stupid mistake on my part for showing up for the PSAT. I know that if I would’ve felt better I could’ve done much better, and even scored in the 220-230 range.
Is it still possible to contact the NMSC to see if anything can be done? Do you think they will be sympathetic? I understand that the notion of them giving me a second chance is far fetched, but I still think I should give it a chance.
Is it best to make my GC call them or the VP whom I know really well? Any advice on what we should say to them to tip the scale in my favor?
I am so sorry that happened. What does VP stand for? (Vice-President of your school, perhaps?)
I don’t know how you could prove that you were not of stable mind when you took the test. Did you leave many portions of the test completely blank? Perhaps that would display it, I’m not sure. Definitely mention that you have an SAT of 2330, that couldn’t hurt and does show how well you can preform on these tests.
I would think you would want the highest caliber of person you could get to vouch for you.
Since the website doesn’t specifically address this, you (or your school administrator) could call National Merit and ask.
However, for SAT tests, College Board requires you to cancel scores due to illness by the Wednesday following the test administration. I’m not really sure if you can even cancel PSAT test scores, but I would think that waiting until the score was received has made that an impossibility. There are many students score very well on the SAT but do not make the NMSF cutoff on the PSAT.
@albert69 Sorry for the confusion. By VP I meant vice principal. However, I decided I will seek help from my school’s head counselor, whom I also know really well. I believe she is the highest caliber of person I could get to vouch for me. I did leave a couple blank at the end in some sections, maybe that can be used to prove how ill I felt.
@3boystogo Their webpage does not cover this extraneous circumstance so the best step to take is to call NMSC with a counselor. I do not remember being given the option to cancel my scores. I would imply that that option is not available for the PSAT since it cannot get sent to colleges. I know that not becoming a NM scholar is not the end of the world, so if my efforts prove futile I wont be TOO devastated.
Thank you both for your opinions. I’ll keep updating my situation.
Do you intend to try to be a NM winner? Or, are you hoping for a full ride?
I don’t think they are going to change their policy because they do post information on the College Board website, so if you knew you were ill, you could have mentioned it to the proctor and they would have informed the school where you took it.
The 2330 is actually pretty good. Is this a posted score or a practice test? You’ll get merit aid with that score which beats the National Merit label any day.
So, here’s my advice: Forget about it.
My son was a national merit winner. He was offered full rides to schools in the midwest and south, which were not his ideal locations. We’re in southern Cal and he didn’t want to leave California.
He was offered half tuition at USC, which equated to about $20K. Since USC doesn’t offer room, board or the other half of tuition, the total amount we would have paid was an additional $40K which was not really a bargain for us.
He receives $2500 per year: That’s $1250 per semester. When you’re looking at $55K-60K in tuitions, it is a drop in the bucket.
@"aunt bea" , my final goal is to get a full ride. There a tons of schools in the south that I am interested in that also offer full rides to NMF. I am also aware that with my stats, and yes that is a real official sat score, I could qualify for other scholarships, however, I worry that the window will be small. Through research I found out that only a fraction of the schools I am interested in offer large scholarships based on outstanding stats. Even more picayune is the list of colleges that offer full rides based on stats. I figured that becoming a NMF can provide me with the opportunity to get full rides at the southern universities I’m interested in.
With your scores, you’ll get merit aid. The National Merit label is just a label. Apply to your schools and choose the one that gives you the most money.
My guess is that you are out of luck regarding National Merit. (But no harm in inquiring . . . but I’d guess is that it is way too late to do anything about it now.) That is one crummy thing about NM is that it is so dependent on one day, one short test, in 11th grade! Everything else has to come together, too, but if the stars aren’t aligned that day, you are pretty much toast. I am so sorry for that! However, as others here posted, you are certainly in great shape for good merit aid, even without the NM designation! For instance, my dd is (presumably, expecting finalist designation when they come out) going to attend U. Alabama on a NM package, but even if she weren’t a NM, she’d still be eligible for nearly as good a package in automatic merit aid based pretty much solely on SAT and GPA. You’d get the Presidential Scholarship http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html which gives FULL out of state tuition for 4 years. (And, it can now be applied to grad studies if you can graduate in under 8 semesters!) The only additional things NMF gives her are 3500/yr + an iPad + housing for a single year + 2000 towards a summer or research program. Plus a 5th year of tuition. Those NMF bonuses are not insignificant, but they are a small portion of the overall package, especially if you don’t consider the 5th year tuition. Over four years, you’re talking maybe 100k in scholarships for the non-NMF student vs. 125k over the first four years for the NMF. So, you’re still in great shape as you are, even without the NMF designation. I’m sure other schools out there offer great packages automatically as well . . . and then there are the numerous competitive scholarships at “2nd tier” or other big state schools . . . and I’m sure you’ll be competitive for any number of them. Apply widely, look for academic scholarships at all sorts of schools . . . and I bet you’ll find somewhere fabulous. Don’t sweat the NM disappointment. When you are a super high achiever (as you are), one of the harder lessons to learn is that you won’t succeed at everything. Just move on and make the most of the opportunities and successes you have! Not all super smart kids have their best test that one morning of 11th grade . . . and most of those super smart kids who miss out on NM . . . still make great successes in college and beyond!
@aunt bea, There are a few schools where it is better to be a NM Finalist than to merely get an almost full ride. The NM full ride is automatic, which is nice. And on some campuses NM Finalists have their own dorm or dorm floors; a staff member devoted to solving any problem they might have, and so forth.
It doesn’t hurt to ask, but I’d bet @Kostathegreek is out of luck. But as has been noted, his numbers are good enough to get a near-full-ride at most of the schools that offer them to NM Finalists. He just will miss out on a few of the perks.
I highly doubt that anything can be done at this late date… To NMCorp, it will appear that once the student received his scores, that he’s now using the "i was sick " excuse…that everyone could do months later. The GC is supposed to contact NMCorp in a timely manner.
I can understand the student’s sadness. He has an awesome SAT, but there are schools that award larger awards for NMF than they do for simply high SAT scores.
That said, there are schools that will award a huge award for his SAT, so all is not lost.
