I suspect they won’t publish the number of AE qualifiers - they don’t want people to know. They did throw out the misleading 1.x% of applicants using AE.
That 1.x% is completely misleading. AE is likely responsible for more than 50% of the commended and semifinalists. Considering only 59.22% of last years applicants and all the factors against PSAT qualification.
My daughter qualified through PSAT has 000.
No.
They can just deem those students to be additional qualifiers. I assume they will be given 2-3 weeks to complete the Finalist application - in plenty of time to be evaluated with everyone else, who had Finalist applications due a few weeks earlier.
Some data to consider, based on one state and likely off by a few as I hand counted from a .jpg of the qualifiers.
Pennsylvania
2021 - 721 semifinalist, 121 with code 000 = 16.8%
2022 - 682 semifinalists, 378 with code 000 = 55.4%
Subtracting the same 16.8% from the 2022 SFs (114), would leave 264 excess 000 qualifiers, or 38.7% of all qualifiers.
(back of the envelope calculation, with several assumptions, which can be dangerous)
I think this reflects the previous comment that AE got a 000 label, but 000 isn’t exclusively for AE.
My daughter also qualified through PSAT and has 000. She thinks she skipped filling in that question
Use your SAT as your confirmation score if you qualified via PSAT. I don’t see them replacing your previous qualifying score.
AE had to fill out an application in spring, but they have till October 15 to submit their official SAT score. So there can potentially be students (at least one of this board) that filed out the paperwork but haven’t submitted the scores yet.
Here are two easy changes that NMC could implement for AE, and I do not know why they did not do this for the class of 2022.
Rescale the SAT to make it equivalent to the PSAT. I know that the PSAT is supposed to approximate your SAT score, but that does not hold at the upper end. The upper end of the score range is where NMSFs are determined, and they need to address the scaling issue. Is it right to use 95% (1520/1600) of the SAT score to calculate the PSAT SI? This would have been very accurate for my daughter although I suspect that 95% is a bit low (maybe 96% is more accurate). They could run a regression analysis to figure out what the proper percentage is.
Make an AE candidate designate which SAT exam will used for NMSF consideration before the SAT is administered. Starting on the test date, the test date can only be changed in the event of a test cancellation, and proof of cancellation must be provided to NMC. This will eliminate the incentive to use the SAT because it won’t be an easier path to qualification.
One chance at qualifying and a similar scale at the upper end of the score range would eliminate most advantages of using AE. These are two changes that NMC could have used this year. It would have allowed AE for those who truly needed it while curbing the system abuse that occurred. I think that AE needs to remain, but they have to find a way address and minimize the abuse.
Pre-selecting a single date, and requiring it to be the next available date (unless another validated reason is presented) would help a bit.
I suspect NMC doesn’t want to overcomplicate it, drawing even more attention to the option. They might just do nothing and hope the next class forgets about it.
Following on an earlier question - while looking for press releases, I found one for Commended students last year, 15 days after the SF press release from the same school.
My child also qualified through PSAT and had 000, they left the career field blank
S22 finally got notified at school today. Yay!
This is the kind of stuff that I was worried about with my daughter’s school. Glad everything is getting sorted out at your son’s school
We’re in MD, and a lot of the super tiger moms somehow signed their kids up for PSATs elsewhere when ours were canceled. So, I’d bet a fair number, even in areas where PSATs were canceled, were PSAT. Info on AE wasn’t well disseminated. My kid saw it, but didn’t get all the info and is now submitting scores late (thank goodness they got the form in). But, they were panicked when they heard friends talking about taking the PSAT after it had been canceled county wide!
Thanks to this chat, I found my DD on the list. I asked the HS what to do next. They said to wait for an email from College Board? Any suggestions?
Call the NMSC and talk to the school again. You will not receive any email from the College Board.
The school principal should have already received a letter that included their login credentials and a list of the NMSF in their school. They need to create an account and retrieve your DD’s NMSF letter which includes her own login credentials. She won’t be able to start her application without that. The school too will have to do their section of her application, so only talking to the NMSC won’t be enough.
Thank you. Do you know if there’s an essay to write?
Yes there is.
“To help the reviewers get to know you, describe an experience you have had, a person who has influenced you, or an obstacle you have overcome. Explain why this is meaningful to you. Use your own words and limit your response to the space provided.”
Hi! I asked my principal on the 15th and he said he had had no word even though I met the cutoff. So I just called the corporation and told them my name, birthday, and school and they told me I qualified as a semifinalist. Apparently, my school’s post got lost so I would recommend calling and then notifying them that the school hasn’t received word if your student is a semifinalist.
I DID receive an email from National Merit requesting my parental consent with an individualized username & password. That came on Friday and my DD could not begin the online application until I gave consent.
Congratulations! My daughter finally got notified by her school yesterday afternoon but she’s now trying to get her log-in details. They sure don’t make it easy!