<p>I really hope that I get Finalist...I mean, everything I've read says it's guaranteed practically (I got a good recommendation and wrote a good essay, I have a 3.8 and a 2220...), but I have $75,000 riding on that from the unversity of Oklahoma. If I get Finalist, my parents will also buy me a new car! So I hope I get it.</p>
<p>Anyone else in the same boat?</p>
<p>I'm going to OU too sooners.brian because of national merit. The only difference is I live in Oklahoma and am "only" getting $41,500.</p>
<p>SAT: 2160
GPA: 3.99
Essay: meh
Rec: good</p>
<p>sooners.brian, don't worry at all! You ARE IN, GUARANTEED!</p>
<p>hey, i took the PSAT this year and I got a 215 =(. last year, i checked with my counselor on this, it was a 216 (i live in NC) and I heard from a friend that the cutoff never goes down. Should I give up all hope for being a semifinalist or have you guys ever heard of the cutoff score going down a point.</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me where I can find the number of perfect PSAT scores there are in the nation?</p>
<p>I took the PSAT as a sophomore and got 198. I took it again this year, my junior year, and got a 196!!! EERRRGGGG.........it was really frustrating. At least I jumped a point or two in math, my worst subject.</p>
<p>Hey hyper2freak7, I'm in the exact same predicament here in IL. I got a 215, and last year's cutoff was a 216. Now I know that the cutoffs DO go down occasionally, but it is very rare. At this point, I am moving on and acting under the assumption that I only made commended. I think that is for the best, disappointing though it is. Even more disappointing, though, is that my first SAT score was a 2090!</p>
<p>oh well, i guess i better give up hope too :(, well, commended isn't bad. But i'm gonna be mad if the cutoff is 216 again, i would feel better if i missed it by like 10 points then by just 1, that way, i wouldn't beat myself over for 1 stupid question.</p>
<p>fencingking007 Look at the stats that came with the PSAT scores. I recall that on one section you were in the 99th even if you missed one question and in another section you were 98th if you missed 2. There are more stats out there on the web. Also, there are national stats on the PSAT at CollegeBoard for previous years that give some idea of the number of students that had a particular score. </p>
<p>It is pure speculation but there probably were several hundred 240's on the Oct 2005 PSAT. My son's 07 class has 88 members. They took the PSAT in 2004 as sophs and a 229 was in the 99th with approx 1.3 million soph test takers. I know of 1 perfect and two in the 230's (a 234 and 236) for the 2005 PSAT with approx. 1.7 million junior test takers. Even the 234 and 236 scores had a combined 99th.</p>
<p>I feel the exact same way. At first when I got my score and looked through the packet, I went: "Wow. A stupid Algebra 1 mistake cost me thousands and thousands of dollars. <em>bangs head against wall</em>" But I got over it eventually.</p>
<p>I got my PSAT on Friday... It was horrible.
I make stupid stupid mistakes on the Critical Reading section...
I got 217 total... I feel STUPID... and I live in VA...
I heard VA's cut off for the national merit was for like 10 years 219...
It's off the table, right? But I still got 98% of class of 2007...</p>
<p>Umm wowser, a 217 is definitely 99%. No one with a 99% score should feel stupid. I got a 215 and even though I would have liked better (and would have liked the two more points you got so I could be an NMSF here in IL) I'm not about to say that I am stupid.</p>
<p>yeah you ****ing moron....The NFSF is a completely arbitrary line, and given the margin of error who's to say that a 217 is any dumber than a 219, maybe the 219 just happened to have better luck guessing on one or two. </p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, I love the arbitrary number because I'm above it (222 for c/o 2006) and it's gonna make me 24k, but it certainly doesn't mean you're "dumb"</p>
<p>So, I was wondering if anybody knows how the point breakdown works, and by that I mean how many points you lose for certain things. I just got my score back the other day (I am a junior). </p>
<p>Score: 231
Questions wrong: 1
Questions omitted: 2</p>
<p>This has to be simple, especially if what they say about omitting is true and you lose less points than if you were to get the question wrong. </p>
<p>Thanks in advance,
Caitlin (from Maryland)</p>
<p>Also, if my PSAT score qualifies me for a National Merit Scholarship, what else do I have to worry about in order to get it? Is there some application after the fact that takes GPA, extra curriculars, or anything else into account?</p>
<p>Yeah. PSAT only gets you to the semifinalist level. After you're there, you need to apply with essays, etc.</p>
<p>If the commended cutoff everywhere is 202, I am wondering why I was only commended when my score was 216 (which is above the NH semifinalist cutoff). Do they consider individual section scores (my math one was only 65)?</p>
<p>no, it's the composite they look at...I'd ask your GC.</p>
<p>Emmery - Unless you are not a US citizen or attending a boarding school, you should be a semifinalist. Check with either your guidance counselor or National Merit.</p>
<p>excellent thread...except nothing for non-citizens <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>can non-citizens/non-permanent residents get at least commended if their scores qualify?</p>