In deciding who is to advance from NMSF to NMF, does the qualifying SAT score matter beyond simply meeting the validation threshold (currently 1960, I think).
For example, if two candidates were exactly equal, and one scored a 1980 on the SAT and the other scored a 2300, would the high SAT score be more likely to advance to finalist? Would a higher SAT help make up for a couple of “C’s”?
Likewise, does the score on the PSAT have any bearing on who is selected for Finalist? Does the student with a really high score have a better chance than one who just made the cutoff.
My reason for asking is that my daughter is a sophomore and struggles with math, where she has a couple of C’s. She took the PSAT this year and made a 750/590, SI 209, so if she does as well again next year she will make SF in our state. There’s nothing we can do about the C’s, but didn’t know if anything else would help.
For advancing from NMSF to NMF, only meeting the minimum SAT qualifying score matters. Likewise, all PSAT scores above the state cut-off are treated equally for advancing from NMSF to NMF. The things that can prevent advancing are basically grades, not submitting the required paperwork, or writing a snarky essay.
Perhaps unfortunate for your daughter, it does not seem that high SAT or PSAT scores will make up for C’s. Every year there seems to be people posting with really high scores that do not advance due to grades. But there really isn’t a way to predict whether a couple of C’s will prevent your daughter from advancing. Some years they seem more strict than others based on CC posts.
No one other than the NMSC selection committee knows for sure,but there may be some evidence that very high PSAT/SAT scores may contribute to the chances of being selected for one of the $2500 scholarships, but not just for advancing from NMSF to NMF.
@STEMFamily Thanks. That’s exactly what I suspected, but just wanted to make sure. And overall my daughter’s grades are pretty good. Only problem is the math. We’ll just see! She will have to qualify again next year, as she’s only a sophomore.
There are still several scholarships for semi-finalists, like full tuition at UA.