<p>I currently am a sophomore, and I took the PSAT and scored high enough to quailfy for NMSF in my state (218 in WI).</p>
<p>I will have maxed out my high school's curriculum by the end of my junior year. I will have taken all 4 offered APs and any other advanced classes, leaving nothing challenging to take.</p>
<p>My school does offer the opportunity to take college classes at UW Lacrosse, but they will only pay for 18 credits (equiv. 5 classes). I would end up taking five college classes in one semester and be stuck in "fluff" classes at my hs for second semester. I could do 2 credits first sem, then 3 the next, but it makes so much more sense just to go to college after junior year.</p>
<p>So, I see the best solution as graduating after 3 years in hs. The problem is, when I took the PSAT, I said that I would be spending 4 years in hs. Recent schedule changes allow the 3 year graduation. I didn't know at the time I took the test that 3 yr would be an option.</p>
<p>My plan is to attend the state flagship university.</p>
<p>Questions:
Am I still eliglible for National Merit scholarships if I get my GC to send them a letter saying I made a mistake?</p>
<p>Any deadlines missed? The NM website says that for people who missed the test, they can contact NM before March 1 and still qualify. Is this me?</p>
<p>Hi bookworm, great job on the PSAT, HOWEVER-
1] the only PSAT results that count are from the test taken in the Junior year.
You have to wait until next year to see if the results of that test still out you in NMF range[ which I'm sure they will]
NMF's don't get their official notification until Sept of their Senior year, and I doubt you would be able to have that moved up. </p>
<p>" My school does offer the opportunity to take college classes at UW Lacrosse, but they will only pay for 18 credits (equiv. 5 classes). I would end up taking five college classes in one semester and be stuck in "fluff" classes at my hs for second semester."
As much as you want to graduate early, I would not recommend it, simply because your HS record will be MUCH more impressive if it shows you have taken classes from a college your senior year, rather than you just graduated early.</p>
<p>I may be mistaken, but I don't think the PSAT you took as a sophomore will qualify for National Merit determination. I don't think the sticking point will be that you graduate in 3 years when you said it would be four. I think the problem will be that you were listed as a sophomore when you took the test last October and only the junior year score qualifies. You could try contacting National Merit (or having your h.s. guidance office contact them) before the March 1st deadline you mentioned to see if they can change you from being a sophomore to being a junior at the time you took the test. The National Merit people are very matter-of-fact, but very helpful when you call.</p>
<p>We knew someone who graduated after his junior year (having taken the PSAT in October of his junior year) who was a NMF. The problem is that he was not labeled a finalist until he was already in his freshman year of college. If you have to take the test again next year (your true junior year) and again get a qualifying score, I am not sure if you could show that score to State U and they would offer you a scholarship based on the fact that the score will most likely make you a NMSF (i.e. if your score is pretty significantly above the cut off for your state the previous year, they might consider it - D's score of 230 would have made her a NMSF in ANY state, not just our state).
Many State U's offer four year free rides for NMF's so it is worth looking into!
Good luck!</p>
<p>If the PSAT you took was a real one,you can call the National merit corporation, and tell them that you will be graduating a year early, and they will change your status.</p>
<p>Many high schools have all their sophomores take a school-sponsored "practice PSAT". It looks like the real thing, but it is not - it is a last year's test that can't count for National Merit.</p>
<p>So if you are in the first category - you are all set. If you are in the second one, you should take PSAT again next year. If you score high enough, you can still proceed to become NMF (you will have to get the paperwork from your HS). Most schools that give scholarships to NMFs will then give you their scholarship starting in your sophomore year in college. Some will also give it retroactively for the first year that you've missed.</p>
<p>"Most schools that give scholarships to NMFs will then give you their scholarship starting in your sophomore year in college".??? Where are you getting this from? Colleges that participate with MNSC use the scholarship $$ to encourage high scoring seniors to matriculate at their college. In order to qualify for NM sponsership, seniors have to notify MNSC by May of their first choice college, which must be the college they will be matriculating at in Sept.. I haven't seen anything on the MNSC website that says you can get scholarships starting your Sophomore year or retroactively.</p>
<p>"Students who plan to leave high school a year (or more) early to enroll in college full time usually can participate in NMSC programs if they take the PSAT/NMSQT before they enroll in college. Such students must take the PSAT/NMSQT in either the next-to-last year or the last year they are enrolled in high school.</p>
<pre><code>* Those who take the PSAT/NMSQT in the next-to-last year of high school will be entering the competition for awards to be offered as they are finishing their final high school year.
* Those who take the PSAT/NMSQT in their last year of high school will be entering the competition for awards to be offered as they are completing their first year of college."
</code></pre>
<p>The above is from the NMS website. Does the last paragraph seem to say what I think it does? That those who take the PSAT in the last year of their three year high school career will be put in the next year's pool of kids?</p>
<p>^^ Yes, that is exactly what it means. So I want to acknowledge that I was mistaken about when NM Scholarships can start, but I've never seen anything or heard of anyone receiving retroactive scholarships.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If the PSAT you took was a real one,you can call the National merit corporation, and tell them that you will be graduating a year early, and they will change your status.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yes. ellemenope found the correct information from the National Merit website. Indeed, this is one of the reasons that National Merit semifinalist cut-off scores for each state are announced so long after the test: sometimes students move up their plans to graduate from high school by a year, so the number of students applicable to one year changes enough in some states to change the level of the cut-off score. (I learned this on a Brand X email list, from the parent of current Harvard senior).</p>
<p>Yes, they get their semifinalist status when they are freshmen in college. It is the same pool of kids they were originally with (they are seniors in HS when they become semifinalists)</p>
<p>"so the number of students applicable to one year changes enough in some states to change the level of the cut-off score: ??? Huh? What would the number of students in a particular state have to do with the cut off score for that state?</p>
<p>If someone changes their status from sophomore to junior, their score "counts" for NM from then on. Those are usually kids with high scores that decide to graduate early, so if there are enough of them, it can change the cutoff , I guess...</p>
<p>The cut off scores change very little [1 pt] from 1 year to the next in any state. I still don't see what a small change in the # of students in a state has to do with the cut off score for that state. The cut off levels aren't based on how many students in a particular state take the test- they are based on the quality of education in schools in a particular state. That is why NJ and MASS cut off scores are higher than those in MISS.</p>
<p>Independent Study, Online courses, and self study. You can make your schedule as intimidating or as mild as you want. Stop worrying about your coursebook and start worrying about how you can fit 92 courses in at the same time.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The cut off levels aren't based on how many students in a particular state take the test- they are based on the quality of education in schools in a particular state.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It depends on the quality of education in so far as it is reflected in PSAT scores. So if for some reason 20 sophomores in MISS score >230 and decide to graduate a year early, maybe it would change the cut-off by a point or two that year...</p>
<p>I would really like to know if this is fact or not, rather than conjecture. Tokenadult, can you chime in here, as it was your post that brought this issue up.
"so the number of students applicable to one year changes enough in some states to change the level of the cut-off score. "</p>
<p>Another option: consider Early Acceptance. Many LAC's and some U's will let you enroll as a full time freshman after junior year, even if you don't officially graduate. Your freshman year of college then fulfills any senior year credits at HS and your HS diploma is then awarded after a year of college.</p>
<p>I don't have the email I saw at hand, but I think the states where the cut-off score fluctuates most wildly would be those with the very fewest high-scoring students, because they are low-population states (think Wyoming or Alaska). Anyhow, there is some definite date by which high school students have to make their drop-dead last decision about what year they will graduate, and based on what the students say on that issue, the National Merit people count up students, and set cut scores for qualifying for semifinalist designation. I've not seen any verifiable Web-based source that describes this part of the process in such detail, but I trust the person who mentioned the issue as an exceptionally knowledgeable observer of the process.</p>
<p>
[quote]
"Most schools that give scholarships to NMFs will then give you their scholarship starting in your sophomore year in college".??? Where are you getting this from? Colleges that participate with MNSC use the scholarship $$ to encourage high scoring seniors to matriculate at their college. In order to qualify for NM sponsership, seniors have to notify MNSC by May of their first choice college, which must be the college they will be matriculating at in Sept.. I haven't seen anything on the MNSC website that says you can get scholarships starting your Sophomore year or retroactively.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>menloparkmom,
My daughter is in this exact situation. She will be graduating HS in 3 years. She was accepted to WUSTL, and will go there in the fall. She took PSAT her sophomore year, but it turned out that it was a "practice" one, so she could not use it. She took it again this year, and got again a score that will make her for sure a semifinalist. After she got into WUSTL, I called them and asked how her NMF status will be handled if she becomes NMF next year. It took a little work getting to the right person, but they told me that, although they can't start it this year, if next year she is named a NMF, she will get the scholarship they give all NMFs, and get the first year one retroactively.</p>
<p>I heard of several other schools that give the scholarship starting sophomore year (when the student is named NMF).</p>
<p>What's the rush? College is more than just academics. The social experience is very important. Wouldn't you rather be the same age as the other students rather than always the youngest one? A year in one's teens makes a big difference. There are so many other opportunities nowadays for gifted students in high school, such as on-line courses, teaching yourself something, starting a business, etc
If you are really desperate to leave home, look into Simon's Rock College of Bard in western Mass. It is a college program for gifted high school students. It has the advantage of a challenging academic program, while still being with age peers. The acceptance rate is high, but only because it draws a very self-selecting pool of applicants.</p>