Assuming the recently posted scores are correct, I have to say that @WRUAustin’s spreadsheet predicted my state spot on, even though there was a lot of scatter in the data. Nice job by @WRUAustin.
My daughter in NJ doesn’t start school until Tuesday. I was pretty confident her score would make NMSF but I always worry until it is “official”. So it is great to see the state qualifying scores even though she hasn’t received her letter yet. Thanks to all who posted and any heads up on the essay question would be great!
That leak must have come from Jimmy the NMS intern himself! It didn’t come from a principal or a GC, as they wouldn’t have access to that level of information. Congrats to all who cleared it, and hugs to those that just missed. And speedy vibes going to all those pokey GC/principals!
I just saw the list of official scores and went back and looked at the cutoffs vs the predictions. Some were quite good. Most seemed to be on it or missed it by 1. The one I really cared about was off by 2, unfortunately. Of course, next year the PSAT changes and I think such predictions will be tough to do. I have a 4 year gap between kids, so presumably I would have 3 years of data by then, but hopefully I will be less obsessed next time. 
BTW, I’m finally over my DS missing the cut by 1 on a new high in the state. It took a couple of days. My DS was “over it” much faster than I. It was probably completely gone from his mind yesterday as he had a PR (personal record) in his cross country meet and finished first on his team. sports > academics for that boy…
Good luck to all. Nice hanging out with you for the past few months.
In Texas, my daughter did not qualify because she got 219 even though she scored 2370 in SAT.
I understand that NMSF is a private institution and they can keep whatever rules they want but it’s really unfair for a 2370 to not qualify for NMSF and, that in itself, is quite mind-boggling! Maybe, they have to revisit those rules to make it a fair playing ground.
Oh well, such is life!
@WRUAustin, did you give a single prediction post, or just state by state? Very sorry that it didn’t work out for you and yours.
@WRUAustin, thank you for your efforts in this group! My daughter was off by 1 point too and she was crushed for a while. Good luck in 4 years.
I try to downplay testing and remind my kids when they take standardized tests that it is just one test on one day. My older DS is a lucky person. He scored a 220 in TX. It could easily have been a 219. Turns out the SAT is not really his test. His one sitting for the ACT required by his school trumped his SAT tests scores by a lot.
I was also at a XC meet yesterday in Austin. I was a bit shocked at how much older my senior S17 looks than the new, young runners. I’ll have a freshman in HS next year who is not a runner, and I’m feeling a bit nostalgic already about XC (but not about standardized testing). Best wishes to all through the admissions process.
I got a 218 in Illinois and still haven’t gotten a letter or anything . Should I be worried or did I probably not even qualify?? I didn’t even take the SAT because I got a 35 on the ACT
I did a number of states as people requested and posted the data that I needed.
@PoetEnthusiast 215 is the cut for IL if you don’t hear from your GC by 9/9 call the National Merit office. Congratulations! You should plan on taking the SAT asap to get your qualifying score to become a finalist.
@PoetEnthusiast, congratulations on your score & you definitely qualified as a NMSF according to the data we have available here. Obviously, you need a notification from your school to be 100% certain. You should be notified by your school on-or-before 9/9. If your GC or principal does not contact you by that date, you need to call the National Merit Scholarship Corp. at:
(847) 866-5100
and tell them you’re a student who wants to verify that you’re a NMSF.
Then you need to immediately contact your GC or principal because your school has to print out paperwork so you can begin your NMF app online. Your school also has paperwork to do on their end, so you need to (nicely) make sure that your GC is taking care of that, and you need to make sure you complete the app with care, and submit it by the deadline. Do not breeze through the app and do not miss any deadlines!
And do not worry about the app being burdensome or a huge time-burn, because it is not. There’s an essay to write as part of it, but you’re likely already working on your college app essays, so this is just another one for the pile. You can potentially re-purpose an essay you already have going OR re-purpose your NMF essay once it’s complete.
With your 35 ACT, you are in great shape as a college applicant, regardless of NMF (assuming your grades are decent). However, if you do not take the SAT (maybe before Nov 1??? you definitely need to check on the cut-off date) you cannot advance to Finalist status. I cannot stress this point enough. If being a National Merit Scholar matters to your personal financial situation, you must take the SAT! As a parent, I would encourage any student to pursue all scholarship options “just in case,” but this is something to discuss w/your parents, guardians. GC or principal.
You have to sign up to take the SAT in advance, so you need to get going on that immediately. With your PSAT and ACT score, you should be fine on the SAT without a lot of prep. I would consider doing some prep, as your schedule allows, because the ACT and the SAT are different tests.
To many top colleges, NMFs are a dime a dozen and so that designation really does not matter too much. With great grades, solid ECs and a 35 ACT, you are already in good shape. National Merit matters more to some students than others, based on their personal situation.
@Barfly, @Wolverine86, @mom2coIIegekids @suzy100, what have I missed on this topic?
@WRUAustin, I came late to this thread but I’ve seen how much effort you’ve put into helping others and making great predictions. We had another parent do the same for us last year, and it was appreciated. I understand that your DC may have missed the cut-off by one point (??), and I am extremely sorry to hear that. Hopefully your DC is not taking it to heart too much, and I know it’s often harder on parents than kids.
I’ve been off CC for a while and hope to get back on as a regular poster, but if you - or any other parents/students here - want a sounding-board or advice on next-steps, consider posting questions on the Parents of HS Class of 2015/College Class of 2019 thread. We went through ALL of this last year as a “family” and there are some really savvy parents (and students) on that thread. Your own HS Class of 2016 thread may also be helpful, though I’ve never looked at it.
The person who posted the predictions last year really made a difference to all of us, as you’ve made to the people here. Thank you for your hard work.
Thanks to all the helpful posters here.
My DS was called to the GC’s office yesterday and she told him to dress nicely on Wednesday, as the principal wants pictures taken. No clue how many others there are in school.
My older son didn’t take PSAT – we didn’t know what it meant. He is starting year 3 of college and couldn’t be happier. He was able to take an ACT for that college to try and get to the next scholarship category, so even if some didn’t make it to NMSF, there are many other opportunities for college money.
If this is any consolation, most schools don’t even recognize NMSF or NMF. Your son or daughter will get more money with an SAT of 2370. Congrats on that SAT score!
I have a question in terms of the qualifying score; I’m not worried about it not qualifying, but I’m a bit confused. Right now I have a 2340 including my essay, but how do I calculate my Writing MC component that factors into the qualifying score? There was a total of 49 questions and I got 48 correct and 1 incorrect. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
@WRUAustin – Dovetailing on goaskdad’s comment above: The Parents of the Class of 2016 is a wonderful community here on CC.
@IBscholar … When you log in to your account to look at your SAT scores, click on the link for “Understanding My Scores” then scroll down to the Writing Section and click on “My Score Details”. That will show you a MC Sub-score which you’ll multiply by 10 and add that to your M+CR total. With 48 out of 49 MC correct, I’d guess your sub-score will be in the high 70’s somewhere. Congrats on your PSAT and SAT scores!!
@GoAskDad … Looks to me like you’ve covered most of the bases, but I believe SFs can take the SAT up through Dec 1 of their senior year in order to achieve a qualifying score. If they already have a sitting that meets the required 1960 they can send that now (code #0085). There’s no need to wait for their HS to notify them of SF status.
Congrats to all those qualifying for NMSF status!! <:-P
@IBscholar log on to your Collage Board account, look at you SAT you should see a tab under the writing section for “understanding my score” and then some thing like “detail scores” under the detail score in a box on the upper left side it should show your multiple choice and score separately. Take that writing multiple choice score and multiply it times ten.
No one here can tell you the curve on the particular SAT test you took. Minus one could still be 80 or it could 75 or any place in between.
@Wolverine86, you raise an excellent point! The student has to “send” their qualifying SAT score to NMSC by the deadline! In all of last year’s hoopla, I was afraid DS & I would miss that important step. Thanks for reminding everyone about that.
Posters, see @Wolverine86’s post above! Not only must you take the SAT and achieve the qualifying score, you must ensure your SAT score is sent to NMSC by the deadline. @Wolverine86 has provided the code to use.
It’s amazing what I have already forgotten (blanked-out??) since last year, but we did cover virtually everything on last year’s thread, which was a very helpful resource IMO. I’m linking that thread here & hoping to hit an approximate date that provides info on the NMF app process.
Also calling @mom2collegekids who is a tremendous CC resource on just about any topic. Perhaps she has already posted on this thread. I only joined-in earlier this week and haven’t read much of the earlier thread.