Lower PSAT Cutoff?

<p>how do you know>?</p>

<p>would a 213 from illinois make semifinalist?</p>

<p>Because it's only a few points over the normal Commended. In a state like IL, Semi is going to be far above Commended.</p>

<p>This is driving me CRAZY! April is such a long time to wait until.</p>

<p>do you think if i got a 187 (m: 58, cr: 67, w:62) as a sophomore it's reasonably likely i could get it up to a 202-203 for commendation status next year?</p>

<p>Yes, it is a reasonable goal, but I would put some work into it (as opposed to counting on another year's education to bring it up enough). If you wait another year and do the same level of preperation instead of a little more, you may end up just missing it.</p>

<p>GreenDayFan, it is very likely you'll make it. I had a 190 as a sophomore, got really lazy and got a 201. </p>

<p>Also, I think commended cutoffs will go down since my 201 is 97% and they take part of the 96th percentile so commended cutoff should be about 199 (down about 4 points from last year). Semifinalist cutoffs will probably not go down by as much though and may even increase in a few states.</p>

<p>How great is it to be commended? Does it help much getting into colleges?</p>

<p>greendayfan, if there is one thing I have learned and want to tell people about the psat it is: don't assume anything. My s had a 189 as a soph. and everyone told me he would probably only go up a few points and could go down. He did a review course at his school over the summer and an act review course the weeks preceding the test. He made a 229 this year. Just work hard, practice, and do your best. You can definitely pull it up if you try. Good luck.</p>

<p>TD, it may not help for the Ivys, but it is a great honour. I have seen people here who think that it is not worthwhile at all, and have said as much. However, it is a prestigous award that only the top 3 percent (slgihtly more) recieve. If you were to stand 100 people from all over this country in a room together and line them up by scores, you would be the 3rd person. That is worth something, if not to the biggest schools.</p>

<p>GreenDayFan: I, too, got a 187 as a sophomore. Junior year, I got a 213 without any studying in between tests. My score was enough to qualify me for semifinalist status in my state (AL), and I just found I advanced to finalist status. I didn't bother studying because I didn't think I had a chance of making commended, let alone the cutoff score for semifinalist (this was stupid logic, but thankfully it didn't end up biting me in the butt.) Be aware that it is possible to make the jump to commended (or better!), especially if you put some effort into it. If you think you have a chance of making the cutoff for semifinalist status in your state, shoot for that (and yes, study! I was lucky!). Remember, it's the NMFs that get most of the scholarships.</p>

<p>BTW, another person in my year got a 172 as a sophomore, and jumped to a 219 as a junior (up 47 points!). (Although for all I know, he could have been studying year round... <em>shrugs</em>). He is also a finalist.</p>

<p>I will definitely study but I highly doubt I'll make semifinalist in Mass. The cutoff is like 224. Thanks for the responses.</p>

<p>Ooooh...Massachusetts... that is rough...</p>

<p>I scored a 205 on the PSAT (for '08 competition), which would be far too low to qualify as a semifinalist in most states. However, I live in Idaho where the cutoff has (according to information from discussions on this site) risen to about 203-205 over the last several years. Does anyone have a guess at my chances of being a semifinalist? (considering that the average writing score decreased by 3.5 points from '05 to '06)</p>

<p>If last year's cut-off was a 205, you have a pretty good chance of making the cut-off this year. It is much easier to predict what will happen to the national cut-off (commended) than the state cut-offs because we get the percentiles by the nation, not state. Even though the commended cut-off will almost surely go down, the cut-offs in some states will hold or go up. The only way to really measure your chances is going to be if your guidance counselor receives any information in the coming months about performance in Idaho.</p>

<p>I just recieved my notification that with my psat score I am qualified to be either commended or semifinalist. Considering that for the past few years, the semifinalist cutoff in NY was at least 216, 217, 218 (around 2001-2004) I do not believe that I will ascend to semifinalist status (I got 2150). I'm a bit disappointed but I know that it's not the end of the world (at least until I start worrying about financial aid and college applications in senior year :) To those who have not taken the psat yet or do not yet qualify for the program, you should definitely study! I was very stressed during october because I planned to take the sat a few days before taking the psat. Frankly I didn't worry much for the psat due to my joy that the SAT was done and over with. I don't recommend that you do what I did (take two collegeboard tests in a week, unless it's SAT II's then you're fine) but study study study! In the end it'll be worth it. =)</p>

<p>A couple of questions: Is it really true that 97,98,99th percentile recieve letters? I initially believed that only 99th percentile received letters. Also, are the percentiles ranked by state or nationwide?</p>