I scored a 227 last year. I haven’t heard anything from my school or received anything in the mail that i am a semi finalist. Am i supposed to have heard by now? Or are we finding out soon?
Everyone can see cutoff scores are up compared to last year. Here is a summary. Eight states are finalized as reported on this thread (of course unverified by NM):
Average increase is 1.5 from last year. Removing Idaho as an outlier (low population state) and the only state showing a decrease so far, average increase for the remaining seven states is 2.14.
Alabama +2
Florida +3
Idaho -3
Louisiana +3
New York +1
Ohio +2
Oklahoma +2
Texas +2
More trends on the state cutoffs:
There is partial data for 12 additional states (cutoff score not yet known), but posters have reported the score that qualified for NMSF in these states. For these 12 states, 10 are currently above last year’s cutoff, and 2 are equal to last year’s cutoff (MN and KS).
The average increase from last year is 1.58. This number will decrease as some of these cutoffs will be lower when more complete data is known.
So we have a data point for Kansas of 213. Thank you, @Mom22finalists ! Last year’s KS cut-off score was 213 (because that’s the score my DS got…so I know that # well), but I was hoping it would go down a bit for a friend’s DS.
@Maddan9497, if you’re a KS parent & have any additional insight re: KS scores, that would be very helpful. And congrats to you & your DS, because it looks like he’s a NMSF!!
Congratulations to all who are getting good news!
@lcgusa, OK, after your official notification from your school, the most important thing is to talk w/your GC, provide any medical documentation if you have it, tell your GC how important NM is to you & your situation, and ask for his/her assistance w/positioning you favorably. Just be yourself, but sincerely present your case to the GC. If you can get your GC on-board to help you, I think that’s a big leg up. If your grades are otherwise good & you have no disciplinary issues on your transcript, then you definitely have a shot if your GC can articulate your special circumstances well. Agreed that your state (FL) may work against you because NMSFs need to be culled from the list, but do not give up hope! I will stay here with you all through the journey, as will other parents & students. We will all root for you!
Once you’ve been officially notified by your school, you also need to set up your student account and take a look at the NMF application. It’s like a college app to some extent, and there’s an essay. Start working on the essay as soon as you can and make it the best it can be. I suggest you have trusted teacher read it, or an adult in your life who’s a solid writer. DH & I both read DS’s essay and made a few suggestions - that’s very fair. Everybody needs an editor.
The app will also have room to list your accomplishments, etc. I remember that DS worked to fit in Every. Single. Thing. he could - if it was meaningful, special, an award, whatever. He used abbreviations so he could fit more in (though you have to be careful w/abbreviations). He spent as much time on his NMF app as he did on his Common App (or thereabouts). He took it very seriously. I proofed it to make sure he didn’t overlook something.
Make all deadlines! There are deadlines that you & your school have. Do not miss them.
Get good grades your senior year first semester - though I’m not sure if your first semester grades senior year get reported or not.
Read the equivalent thread from last year when you have time because there are other tips on there. We had a GREAT group of parents & a few students last year, and that thread is probably pretty helpful.
Best of luck to you & keep us posted!
Principal at our Washington state high school confirmed that my son is a semifinalist with his 222. I do not have any information at this time about the actual cutoff. Hope this helps. Thanks to all. This is my first post.
Can someone else update the list for KS and WA (and any others I’ve missed?) I’m too tired to do it without mistakes and tomorrow I expect to be too busy to summarize.
Thanks, @rbkgeneral for the trend analysis relative to last year. I had started this on paper and was thinking of transferring it to the summary, but then got too discouraged :-\
@Hope2achieve I’m glad my info helped someone! Congratulations to you and your daughter.
Cannot keep updating …unable to do during the day (due to work)…but happy to do once (@crowlady …get some rest!)
Updating for KS and WA
AL=209 (post #1047, per GC) (post #?, per GC/NMSC/HSL (homeschool letter)/other)
AK=?
AZ=?
AR=?
CA= 222 or 223 (posts #726 letter for 223, #1024 GC > 221)
CO= <= 215 (post #1065, per letter)
CT=?
DE=?
DC=?
FL=214 (post #851)
GA=?
HI=?
ID=208 (post #1091, per GC)
IL= <= 221 (post 1097)
IN= <=215 (post #1013 per principal/GC)
IA= <=208 (post #1067, per GC)
KS=<=213 (post #1116, friend of CC poster)
KY= <=213 (post #822)
LA=211 (post #887 cutoff informed by GC)
ME=?
MD=?
MA=?
MI= <= 213 (post #648 HSL)
MN= <=215 (post #900: 216 from GC; 215 from friend of student)
MS= <=209 (post #843)
MO=?
MT=?
NE=?
NV=?
NH=?
NJ=?
NM=?
NY=219 (post #856)
NC=?
ND=?
OH=215 (post #1037)
OK=208 (post #750, cutoff informed by principal)
OR=?
PA =?
RI= <=214 (post #999)
SC=?
SD=?
TN= <=213 (post #1095, friend of a CC poster)
TX=220 (post #996, cutoff confirmed by GC)
UT= <=209 (post #975)
VT=?
VA=?
WA= <=222 (post #1125 per principal)
WV=?
WI=?
WY=?
Commended (national cutoff) = 202
@GoAskDad thank you so much! I will take your words of advice to heart. This C is the only thing that may be keeping me from NMF, but now that you say your DS pulled it off after having a thorough application, I feel reassured.
D is a semifinalist with a 212 in TN. Told by school yesterday.
I hope we hear more today!
My daughter was notified on Monday that she got in. We are in Ohio and she scored a 217. That 215 number you have listed for Ohio is probably right.
Just spoke with GC, 220 in NJ does not qualify. I didn’t think it would, but I was holding onto hope that the NJ cut off score would go down. Not too worried, most of the schools my D is interested in, don’t offer merit scholarships anyway, but it would have been a good fall back.
@Pburgmom, in addition to watching for MD (where we are) I’m keeping an eye on NJ. If Jersey doesn’t go up to 225, I’ll be confident MD won’t either. S said he thought that if they make an announcement at their school this week it will be today.
I hope we hear more from Kansas today. I need that KS cut-off score! Where are you, Kansas People? Believe it or not, we had a lot of KS folks on the NMSF thread last year.
By law, Michigan public schools cannot start until after Labor Day, but many private schools are back in sessions already. Hoping for some information for you Michigan folks. I found out on here two years ago that my oldest missed it, and it was a relief to at least know.
@mominwwwa, please post if you find out what the cutoff for WA state is. Thanks!
My daughter was notified yesterday that she is indeed a semifinalist, and to our surprise the only one from her school. However, seeing that it’s likely the cutoff in Texas is 220 (highest it’s ever been) that makes it a little more understandable. Her score was 224, so we were fairly certain she would make the cut. Congrats to all that have so far!
South Carolina, 228 PSAT got me NMSF.
Doesn’t say much about the state’s cutoff. I THINK that the lowest in my school that got it was a 212. I can’t be certain though.