<p>Sorry for reviving a months-old thread, but I can personally attest that a student can be named NMSF and NMF with C’s on their record prior to 12th grade. Or at least that was the situation 2-3 years ago. D1’s high school, which typically has 30%+ of each class named NMSFs and another ~30% named commended, is grade-deflated. There were plenty of students who were NMFs, even with C’s in academic subjects.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>According to our anecdotal evidence, previous to last Feb (when the latest finalists were informed), two or even three C’s did not automatically eliminate NMSF’s from becoming NMF’s. Earlier this year we saw a pretty harsh reality for NMSF’s with even one, or more C’s as Freshmen - Junior year. There were many posts re: one C with seemingly fair excuses to an otherwise stellar record of achievement being shot down on appeal. It is what it is.</p>
<p>Slithey: I think something’s changed since our 1st go round (you had a HS class of 2010’er too, no?) My D1 had 2 semester end C’s on her transcript & made it to NMF then NMS (although I sweated January waiting for that denial letter.) But this year, kiddos with 1 C and no other seemingly obvious red flags on their transcript and application were denied. And of course, since NMSC isn’t transparent about their process, it’s hard to understand why. I believe parents who posted after trying to appeal were told the denial was because of the grades. But maybe someone else can clarify.</p>
<p>Thanks, RobD. It was class of 2011, good memory! </p>
<p>I dug back into the forum threads to find out about what’s happened–really, really unfortunate. My memory was that the recommendation letter from D1’s school (generally the counselor) to the NM folks would explain things like especially rigorous grading (meaning that a transcript full of B’s and a C or 2 or 3 didn’t mean a student who’d slacked off).</p>
<p>Nothing I’ve read seems to really explain or even convincingly speculate about why NM has changed its tune. They still are naming ~16,000 NMSFs, based strictly on residency and PSAT score. There are still 15,000 NMFs. Why suddenly get far more persnickety about grades, especially without taking rigor of curriculum into account?</p>
<p>Pretty sure no. SAT scores do matter though</p>
<p>Essays: There was an account here (second hand, IIRC) of an NMSF student who wrote a disrespectful essay who was rejected as a finalist. And I suppose if an applicant refused to write one s/he might also be disqualified. So it is possible to botch the essay but you really have to try.</p>
<p>SAT: The 1960 cutoff (remember: it does not include the essay adjustment) has been confirmed by posters who have talked directly to the NMSC in previous years. But it is not clear that it is an annual constant: it probably adjusts year to year. M2CK’s contention that 2000 is “safe” is sound.</p>
<p>Grades: Nothing is absolutely clear about what is required and whether or not it has changed. We have anecdotal evidence this year that a single “C” on a transcript has disqualified NMSF’s from becoming finalists and we don’t have a poster this year who has provided a contrary account. Moreover from these posts it does not appear that consideration was extended due to the difficulty of the class, the competitiveness of the high school, nor the other qualifications of the applicant. (Does it matter if the “C” is in a non-academic class? Unknown.) But we do know that some have posted other experiences in past years. We also know that the NMSC codes the high school graduation rate, class size, and class rank on every application, so presumably these are considered at some point in the process (perhaps for NM scholarship decisions). Based on the evidence we have I cannot conclude that one or more C’s is an automatic non-starter but will concede that it is best to stay away from them if one hopes to become an NMF.</p>
<p>In all likelihood the standard probably varies from year to year. They have to cut 1000 NMSF’s and if they can’t do it by the usual means (late or no application, SAT scores, discipline issues, etc.) they squeeze on grades earned, perhaps without nuance.</p>
<p>Great post Descartesz, very well put and summarizes what is known about the process to this point. It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, we see in February 2014. My D (231 PSAT) has 30 A’s & 12 B’s from her 6 semesters that will count towards NMF. There were a couple of close calls (mid semester progress report C’s), but luckily she came through unscathed.</p>