<p>i know not being a NMF / NMSF is not an automatic rejection, but does it look really really bad?</p>
<p>It depends on how many NMF/NMSF are at your high school. Harvard (and all colleges) compare you to all other college bound students at your school – not the rest of the country or the world. If half your graduating class is a NMF/NMSF (which they are at schools like Stuyvesant) then yes, it looks like you’re a slacker. But if there is only a handful of NMF/NMSF from your school, it won’t matter at all.</p>
<p>I don’t necessarily agree. It depends on why not. If you have great scores and lousy grades than not being a NMF is bad … but it’s a secondary problem … the true admissions issue is the bad grades. If your a strong candidate but with somewhat lopsided scores than I wouldn’t think it would matter … think a student with slightly lower scores on one section but killer ECs and/or interest in the area of stronger scores.</p>
<p>I think it’s stupid how they put so much on NMF. Like I got a 1980 on my PSAT because I didn’t really feel like studying, trying, etc… But then, just a couple months later, I scored 2300 on my SAT. Why should it matter that I didn’t get NMF. It’s so stupid…</p>
<p>^ I don’t think they do. I believe schools do not see your PSAT scores unless you are NMF … and they have SATs to see your test related abilities. For schools that give big NMF scholarships the PSATs are huge (and this is very few schools) … for everyone else my guess the PSATs are a very small consideration.</p>
<p>I doubt they care. 50, even 100 points on the SAT won’t make or break you (above a threshold of ca. 700 points on each section, after which your score won’t be working in your favor), so a line item on your resume indicating you may have scored 3 points below your school’s cut-off PSAT score? I find it very difficult to believe that would change anyone’s opinion of you.</p>