<p>Just to be clear jeff84, that cutoff is for commended status only and is not a cutoff for semi-finalist status which will be different state to state and will not be known until Aug/Sept.</p>
<p>Austinareadad…probably in a similar boat and also feeling very lucky, phew!!! :-)</p>
<p>When will those scoring at least a 203 receive official notification?</p>
<p>^ see post #286</p>
<p>Your school let’s you know.</p>
<p>How do I see post number? I’m on the android app. Thanks</p>
<p>atpicalAsian- Here is what note 286 says: someone just called NMSC and was informed that NMSC has sent a notification by mail on April 10th to the high schools to let them know the names of students who got high PSAT scores. The high school should notify the students. NMSC has discontinued to send letters to students starting this year. Per NMSC, the commended score is 203 for 2013-2014. </p>
<p>So ur school should let you know and you definitely made commended status based on your posted score. We have not gotten any notification from our school either.</p>
<p>Thanks. No notification here either. </p>
<p>Does commended even mean anything? I see everyone here getting it. What do commended students get?</p>
<p>My high school got the high scorer letter in the mail and I went through it with my guidance counselor. I didn’t see anywhere about contacting two colleges to be recruited by. Did we miss something?</p>
<p>Per NMSC, students with high PSAT score (203+) do NOT need to do anything at this point. This is why NMSC sends the letter to high schools. High school will notify the students.</p>
<p>Re commended student status question, it’s something to add to your college applications as a honor; I don’t think it helps more than that. There is no money tied to it that I’m aware of. Becoming a semi-finalist can help with scholarships at some schools and there are even more scholarship opportunites if you are a finalist. also, if you made commended student status, odds are your SAT score when you take it will be decent and you’ll qualify for some merit aid based on combo of SAT scores and GPA at a number of schools.</p>
<p>Sitting on 220 in Washington State which was the exact highest ever cutoff two years ago with 216 last year so I am sweating it out a bit with the scores perhaps quite a bit higher this year. Ugh, don’t know why this process has to take so long.</p>
<p>State cutoffs could be higher or even lower from 2012 depending. The cutoff of 203 just means the that the state with the lowest cutoff was 203. Last year West Virginia was lowest for state cutoffs <em>200</em> so that was the Commended cutoff.</p>
<p>arkie2014, </p>
<p>I talked to the NMSC the other day and they informed me that they are no longer doing the college recommendations. I guess the top-scorer letter just offers peace of mind.</p>
<p>@kendallew: That’s disappointing news. In the document <a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdfhttp://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdfhttp://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf</a>, (page 3)</p>
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</p>
<p>Perhaps NMSC hasn’t updated all their documentation to reflect this change yet. :(</p>
<p>Thank you @kendallew. I’m disappointed too, ILfather. Well guys, now the real waiting sets in :)</p>
<p>The link didn’t work for me.</p>
<p>So you are saying high scoring students are no longer able to send their scores to two schools? Wasn’t that how it worked before???</p>
<p>I think what @kendallew was saying is that high scorers don’t choose the two colleges until they receive semifinalist standing, so only commended students lose out here, but I might be wrong.</p>
<p>@IveGotQs: Re-reading what @kendallew posted </p>
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<p>I think the only way to know for sure is to hear from @kendallew again for clarification, although @kendallew was responding to @arkie2014’s post (#307) about not seeing recommendation information in the letter to the school. Judging by the (now correct) link to the Student Guide below, and the thread link below, I believe that last year Commended Students were allowed to send recommendations in April/May, and this year it appears as if there will not be recommendations</p>
<p>@HogGirl: My apologies on the broken link – try this: <a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf</a></p>
<p>Conversation from last year: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1326545-commended-scores-national-merit-2012-a-2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/1326545-commended-scores-national-merit-2012-a-2.html</a></p>
<p>I am so confused. Don’t we find out in September, not now?</p>
<p>Just check out page 3 in the pdf linked right above your post.</p>
<p>Hi everyone - </p>
<p>Top-scorers (what schools are just now being notified about) no longer have the opportunity to be recommended to two colleges like they did in the past, per the NMSC. The publications do seem to be outdated in this respect. The top-scorer letter essentially only lets students know that they will be named (at least) commended - that’s what I meant by “peace of mind.” I am not sure about what happens in September when we find out if we are commended or semifinalist…sorry for any confusion! :)</p>