Wonder how that was confirmed. S has a 222 in New Jersey. Ridiculous the way this works.
I was just telling my husband how astounding it is how high NJâs number is. 
I hope Art is wrong for your sonâs sake. It is really frustrating that in some states you have to practically have a perfect score, and in others the cutoff is so much lower. My S23 wasnât close to the MA cutoff last year, but would have been NMSF in quite a few states.
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It is really frustrating. I know the benefits for nmsf and NMF have decreased over time but it is insane that he has a score that is many points over the cutoff of our neighboring states and may not make it.
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I was just about to say that Compassâ NMSF cutoffs generally say less than or equal to along with the score that they know made it, but for New Jersey and a couple of states theyâre saying =. Perhaps those statesâ letters indicate what the cutoff for the state was? Or maybe itâs a less than or equal to for NJ, and the right symbol wasnât used?
Looking at the 2023 results, though, 223 was the cut-off for New Jersey, which was the highest in the nation.
I always wonder if it might mean (at least a little) something if you are a NMSF from NJ/DC/MA⊠I canât imagine AOs view NMSF from NJ = NMFS from MO.
I think itâs more that a NJ NMFS and the high SAT scorers are likely the same so it simply checks the same box. I will say though, getting NMSF in NJ significantly harder than scoring a 1560.
I guess it is what it is. He does have a high SAT and will have the commended thing. What I donât understand is the difference between NJ and NY and CT. They are basically the same populations.
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They are, but I think NJ has much higher density at the top and since the number of NMSF is somewhat fixed, itâs more competitive. Basically more kids fighting for it. I also think as a whole NJ public system is probably stronger.
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That means they know for a fact that someone with a 222 did not make it, but someone with a 223 did.
If it says less or equal to, it is because they know someone with that score made it, but donât know the status of the next score down so it has to be at least that number.
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Did your hear anything? I am hoping for news on MA and MD will come out soon. I am not completely sure on the Boarding School region situation.
Still no news. Iâm hoping for something in the mail tomorrow, since it sounds like people in CT got letters today. Maybe the MA mail will arrive tomorrow?
If not tomorrow, next chance for a letter will be Tuesday! 
That will be a loooooong weekend. Fingers crossed it comes. Reporting may be slow though, since kids will all be out of school.
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To follow up on what I saidâŠ
Here is what compass prep says:
NMSC establishes a target number of Semifinalists based on the high school population in each state. California, for example, has a target of approximately 2,000 Semifinalists. NMSC determines the Semifinalist cutoff that comes as close as possible to producing 2,000 Semifinalists in the state.
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Thank you for helping me make the link 
hoping so much this is the case. I am assuming would have to wait for the Maryland numbers still.
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I am assuming that Compass Prep knows a student at 222 who did not make it and a student who did make it at 223. This is why they can state the exact cutoff score. For the states with a <=, they know a student who made it at the number that follows the <=, but they do not know about students below that number. They have an incomplete data set, so they cannot determine the exact cutoff.
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You know⊠we all go National Merit, meh/whats the big deal, only matters if you are going for a scholarshipâŠ
I just looked up the number of finalists per state. In the state of NJ, for example, there are only about 500 students with that honor. Yeah, the cutoff in Wyoming is much lower but only about 25 kids manage to get it (I wonât comment on what this says about our education system). Anyway, when those are the numbers, how is that not impressive?
*note: this post is from several years ago but the numbers have not deviated from the total 16,000 or so.
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Do people get letters in the mail if they meet the cutoff? Our D made the cutoff but we didnt receive anything.
Congratulations! I am told the letters are distributed by the school. Commended scholars also receive a small certificate AFAIK.
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My son is homeschooled, so I am the school. 
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tonygrace â not sure i understand what you mean when you say âi wont comment on what this says about out education systemâ
NM is the top 1% of each state, right? NJ has way more kids than WY, so the numbers will be widely varied, but all proportional. I think** thatâs what iâm getting out of that . âŠ
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Except the cutoff in NJ is the usually highest in the nation. Wyoming is one of the lowest. I find the fact that we have a state, no matter how populous, where only 25 kids manage to get a cutoff of 207 pretty depressing.
The general point I was making is that the top .5-1% of anything is impressive, even if we are dismissive of the accomplishment.