I know it’s done by state to ensure that all the students that qualify aren’t from the more academic states, but that doesn’t really seem fair to me. With a 215, I’ll easy be in the top 5 PSAT scores at my school, but I will almost certainly not qualify as a semi-finalist for my state solely because I live in Virginia. Not everyone who lives in the same state has close to the same opportunities to succeed, and so it is my opinion that there should be a national cutoff score, because the individualized state scores aren’t any more fair than just doing it nationally. Does anyone else have an opinion on this? I’d love to hear arguments as to why the state cutoffs are a better idea than a national one.
There is pretty wide variation in the quality of public education from state to state. There is also considerable variation in other factors like SES which has been shown to have a large impact on academic achievement and test scores. The state by state cut-offs is an attempt to balance these factors out.
It’s their money, their party. They can do whatever they want.
You’re free to move to a different state.
As stated above, the socioeconomic factors that contribute to success academically are important. State cut offs help level the playing field.
I also see your point though, as it is one of the few “state based” competitions. If you are a student, you have little freedom to move to a different state, as you probably live with your parents!
In the end, you can only control so much, so do the best you can on the PSAT!
@skgriffin So you live in NOVA. You’ve probably heard of TJ, where there are usually hundreds of kids who make the PSAT cut off every year. You can thank them for Virginia’s high as heck cutoff rate. I made the cut-off by one point last year for Virginia. Honestly PSAT doesn’t really matter for colleges. I also ended up being a NSMQT finalist but didn’t get any money… so it means nothing. Don’t worry about it
To quote Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest: “Ah, but nobody ever said life was fair, Tina.”
It is what it is. Accept it and move on.
It isn’t fair I might not have made it from NJ(by literally a point) but I would have made it in every other state.
However, as @skieurope said, it is what it is.
My inner Homer Simpson thinks of funnel cakes every time I see “state fair” in the title of this post.
The solution is to prep and make sure your score is high enough to make the cut in any state then it’s a non-issue.
How about a different perspective - American kids who live abroad have to make the cut against the highest cut off in the US. How is that fair? So no matter where you are living in the WORLD you have to do better than the highest cut off rate in the US.
Fair?
It just is a confirmation of stereotypes already present - which states have the best education.
Smug that my son is only commended in our state but would be SF in 29 states…
@rhandco The PSAT isn’t determined by what you learn in school. I live in Virginia which has a very high cut off score and i got 190 in 10th grade. I don’t think that’s high enough to be commended at any state. I self-studied to get it up to above the cut-off. Also SF in 29 states isn’t impressive. Try being that guy who missed the NJ cut-off by 1 point who would’ve been a semi-finalist at all 49 other states.
Boo hoo. That “guy from NJ” who just missed the cutoff will likely get into a bunch of colleges that the NMSF in other states would only dream of.
Of course SF in 29 states is not impressive. That is the point - what does that say about those 29 states? A 210 is not that good on the PSAT - why does someone with a
Ask yourself why, when my town in NJ actually pays for the PSAT for ALL students including the 15% free/reduced lunch students, so all of them take it, do other states do so poorly? Is the material really that biased?
They should make the cutoff 220 for all states and internationals and leave it at that. Then we’d hear whining from Utah and so on.
The funny part is that the SAT NMSF cutoff is below 2000…
I know it’s unrealistic to think that they could actually change it to be “fair,” because it would always not be fair to someone. I also think it’s ridiculous that students living abroad have to make the highest NMSQT cutoff, but yeah, it’s their money and they can do whatever they want. No skin off my back; I’m sure this won’t be what keeps me or anyone out of college 
You’re free to repatriate.
I wonder if any families have temporarily relocated for this purpose. Like, full-ride at Kentucky can be worth over $200K. For some families, it might be worthwhile.
@skgriffin
“Doing,” like all gerunds, is singular, and since “state fair” is a compound noun with a meaning quite different from the one you intended, here’s a fix:
“Is it fair that NMSQT cutoffs vary by state?”
Yeah, I noticed that after it was too late to change it–I need to stop pondering NMSQT things after 5AM because I can’t even type what I’m thinking at that point
FTFY
@marvin100 Thank you That would’ve continued to bug me :))