Stuyvesant High School in NY was unable to administer both the Oct and Jan PSAT, and they give about 150-160 semifinalists every year. NY has a total of approximately 1000 semifinalists every ear.
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That would certainly make a difference
Same, my principal received a letter. I wonder, though, if they sent letters to students who met the Commended cutoff or only students who met their stateâs semifinalist cutoff.
In September they will send letters to both Commended students and students who are semifinalists.
The letter that recently went to school principals went to those with students who scored 207 or above. As state cutoffs have not yet been determined, thereâs no way to know into which bucket the listed students fall.
Are you sure they are requiring confirming tests this year? They didnât last year and I donât see it on the NMS page that they are bringing it back?
I am not sure, but thatâs how things worked in the past (except for 2021 NMF).
I donât think the website lists 2022 NMF requirements yet. Given the current Covid situation, it would seem reasonable to require a confirming SAT test.
The competition for our '22s started last fall so it wouldnât be adjusted for the updated Covid situation. I looked up their requirements, here they are: https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/student_guide.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61&sessionid=d19a59c9-9290-4fc1-80bd-addd5244f8cc&cc=1. It appears that confirming tests wonât be needed again, @blondednikes, so you donât need to worry!
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The 2022 program still has the confirming score requirement, as did the 2021 guide. They waived it for 2021 but I havenât seen a similar announcement for the Class of 2022.
Page 8, item 6
take the SATÂź or ACTÂź and earn scores that confirm the PSAT/NMSQT performance that resulted in Semifinalist standing; and
The guide you posted clearly requires a confirming ACT or SAT, see page 8, inset, item 6.
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Clear maybe to people who read beyond page 5! 
Apologies @blondednikes! @Peruna1998 is here for you.
I always thought the confirming score was used to become a semifinalist? Here it is to become a finalist? Is this how it has always been?
Yes.
(I guess I canât confirm âalwaysâ, but certainly for many years)
Ohhh! So looking for it in the semifinalist requirements the past 2 years has been rather misguided! Lol, thanks!
Although confirming scores werenât required for the Class of 2021, my son got a good score so he went ahead and submitted it with his finalist application. There were many cancelled tests in the Fall of his senior year, when most finalists would have taken an SAT/ACT for a confirming score, so it made sense for them to make it optional. I doubt that the Class of 2022 will face the same level of cancelled SAT/ACT tests this fall, so there should be few barriers to students getting confirming scores. Out of the 16,000 who make semifinalists, approx. 15,000 go on to be finalists. Iâve heard that the majority of the ones who donât make the finalist cut are ones who didnât complete their application or something like that.
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If 207 is the commended threshold for 2022, does that mean the confirming ACT/SAT score needs to be at that 207 number for the finalist designation or at the studentâs state threshold number, expected to be 214 in our state? Anyone heard if NM will be requiring the confirming ACT or SAT score, or if it will be skipped for this year like 2021? Not as hard to take a test, but not easyâŠweâve still seen some cancellations and very few locations for testing in our area.
The instruction booklet for this years PSAT clearly stated that a confirming SAT or ACT will be required. Of course, that can change. But, as it stands, a confirming SAT or ACT is required per what has been published (see discussion above).
What Iâve read from knowledgeable sources say that yes, that yearâs Commended cutoff is what is required for a confirming score. Itâs not state-specific.
Requiring a confirming score is also not state-dependant. Other than the qualifying score, Iâm not aware of anything else that varies by state.
As of now, the guidelines for this yearâs competition say a confirming score is required, but it said that last year also. NMC will have to assess how available testing was/is/will be during the period for confirming scores (Fall 2019 through December 2021) and decide whether to again waive this requirement.
Useful insights. appreciate the info
I have an index of 221, right on the cusp as NY cutoff fluctuates between 220 and 221. Do yâall think cutoffs will be higher or lower this cycle? Iâm worried that it may jump to never-seen levels (Iâm talking 223 or 224) because of so many kids opting for alternate entry.
Alternate entry doesnât impact cut-offs:
" The Commended and Semifinalist cutoffs are set based on students who took the PSAT/NMSQT in October or January. Students applying Alternate Entry will need to meet those cutoffs, but their scores do not influence the cutoffs. The somewhat unintuitive result is that pandemic-impacted states could see large increases in the number of Semifinalists without any offset in the number of Semifinalists elsewhere."
The Commended cut-off dropped this year, which I believe people expected simply because fewer students sat for the PSAT (so they would need to go lower in scores to get to 50,000). But what happens in each state will vary for the semifinalists. I have read on here that since Stuyvesant students didnât take it and they have a lot of high scorers, that NY cut-off could be aided by that.
@RichInPitt , how did I do this time, did I get these answers right?
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Assuming a confirming score is required for 2022 National Merit Semifinalists does anyone have an idea (based on pre-COVID yearsâ process) of the dates by when the ACT or SAT for the confirming score must be taken?