<p>just a quick question:
is it possible to get into an ivy league school without being a contender for the national merit scholar program?
this is just a general question no specifics i am just wondering if a 187 on the psat could keep me from getting into an ivy league school (not that i would because nobody knows i was just wondering if this would be an obstacle</p>
<p>yes it is possible.</p>
<p>I don’t think that a low PSAT in of itself will hold you back in the admissions process. As long as you submit a solid SAT a lower PSAT should have no bearing on your decision.</p>
<p>Not having national merit itself won’t have an impact on admissions. Now if you score around an 1870 on the SAT (predicted by your PSAT), that’s considered a very weak score when applying to ivies. You’d still want to get at least a 2100 for consideration.</p>
<p>Firstly, colleges will never know what your PSAT score was. They will only know whether you received recognition from National Merit. Being a National Merit Scholar obviously helps, but lacking the award isn’t necessarily detrimental. It’s one of those awards that’s great if you get it, but not really that important to have.
However, they will know your SAT scores, and if you scored 187 on the PSAT, and are interested in Ivy League schools, you probably already know that you have some work to do if you want your SAT score to be Ivy League caliber.</p>
<p>I agree with schachwhiz. Also, in case this anecdote helps you feel a bit better, here you go: </p>
<p>The year before last 3 kids from my school got into Yale, and only one of them was a NMS.</p>
<p>last year our Val got into Yale and was not a NMS</p>