I’m from NY. The Class of 2018’s Selection Index (SI) was a 221 for NY. Only 4 people in my school got Semifinalist (which is strangely low), and about 10 got Commended.
Do you think a 224 SI can get me to Semifinalist status? Semifinalist is based on the state cutoffs, right? What about the Commended cutoff? Is that national? What is the range for that?
Also, if I do become a Semifinalist, what are the chances that I will get to Finalist status? What are the steps in the application process?
“Do you think a 224 SI can get me to Semifinalist status? Semifinalist is based on the state cutoffs, right? What about the Commended cutoff? Is that national? What is the range for that?”
Commended cut-off will come out in the spring. It will most likely be 211 or higher (current decent prediction is 212 but we’ll have to see how it goes). Commended is national. NMSF is state-determined. If the class of 2018 was 221 for NY, the likeliest scenario would be a point or two higher. +4 would be quite a jump (you would need the cut-off to reach 225/228 for you to NOT make semifinalist). Last year’s max was NJ at 223. So you are likely safe at 224.
“Also, if I do become a Semifinalist, what are the chances that I will get to Finalist status? What are the steps in the application process?”
See the following link, especially page 4: https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/student_guide.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61&sessionid=35892fd0-310e-4cb6-8356-063bf593d8f7&cc=1