<p>Hi, I'm a sophomore living in Florida, and I'm hoping to get a National Merit Scholarship. I got a 2200 on the SAT in 7th grade, and I'm hoping to get a 240 on the PSAT next year. I know this qualifies me for semi finalist status, but for Finalist status, I'm not so sure. Here's why: </p>
<p>I have all A's so far, probably continuing into Junior year (3 APs each year)</p>
<p>However, my AP and SATII exam scores from freshman year are complete crap.
APWH-4
APSTAT-3
APBIO-3</p>
<p>SATII WH-680
SATII BIO-650</p>
<p>I'm hoping to get 5's on all my AP's this year and 800's on my SAT II's.</p>
<p>If I get a 240 on the PSAT in junior year, have all A's throughout junior year, and get 5's and 800's on all my upcoming standardized tests, will I be considered for finalist status? </p>
<p>This is all you need to know: you’re good to go. Don’t worry about it. Come back to this when you get semifinalist status, which should be about 2 years from now. Have a good one.</p>
<p>Because I’ve been barraging this forum with questions and concerns about becoming a finalist, and from everything I’ve heard, it’s a done deal as long as I get my paperwork in. And trust me, your grades/test scores are a looooot better than mine. All you need to focus on right now is taking the PSAT. By the way, your scores this year won’t count. They only take junior year scores.</p>
<p>1) PSAT score. Score at or above your state’s cutoff. </p>
<p>2) GPA. You need a reasonably decent GPA. 4.0s are not required. There is no cutoff for the GPA, although a 2.7 weighted GPA isn’t going to do you any favors. </p>
<p>3) SAT score that confirms your PSAT score. Multiply your PSAT score by 10 to get a feel for what you need on your SAT. </p>
<p>If you have taken an SAT in the past, and scored decently, you can report that score, provided that it isn’t over a year old. You can also take an SAT up to a year after taking the PSAT. </p>
<p>So if you got a 240 in 2012, you can pull out an old SAT score from October 2011. Or you can take the SAT by December 2013. </p>
<p>Don’t forget to report your scores to NMSC as well! Taking the SAT is one thing; reporting it is another.</p>
<p>4) Essay. </p>
<p>5) A bunch of other random crap. Read about it here:</p>
<p>All they’re doing is looking for the few things that might disqualify a student…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Poor GPA</p></li>
<li><p>Suspensions from school for discipline problems.</p></li>
<li><p>Too low SAT below 1960</p></li>
<li><p>Rude essay</p></li>
<li><p>Didn’t do NMSF paperwork.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Be sure to send your SAT score to NMCorp…0085</p>
<p>“If you have taken an SAT in the past, and scored decently, you can report that score, provided that it isn’t over a year old. You can also take an SAT up to a year after taking the PSAT”</p>
<p>Is this criteria true? I thought the time span for the SAT scores was longer than a year? My D actually took the SAT before the she took the junior year PSAT and I thought that score was fine to submit?</p>
<p>If you took the October SAT in sophomore year, did well on it, you can use it to verify your junior year PSAT results. The PSAT is only administered in October. </p>
<p>The NMSF students are currently SENIORS…not juniors. It is SENIORS that are reporting scores to NMCorp.</p>
<p>If you have taken an SAT in the past, and scored decently,* you can report that score, provided that it isn’t over a year old.** *</p>
<p>You wrote the above, which is not true. A current NMSF (and those would be SENIORS) can report a score that is TWO years old…taken while a sophomore. </p>
<p>Juniors aren’t reporting SAT scores to NMCorp. So, there is no “year old rule”…which is why Linny correctly asked if that claim was correct.</p>
<p>As somewhat of a side note, remember that ~15,000 of the ~16,000 semifinalists are awarded National Merit Finalist. Unless you really screw up the essay or have a blank EC section, you should be well on your way to finalist status.</p>
<p>Exactly how good does the essay have to be? I just realized the application is due on October 12 so I don’t have too much time to write an excellent one (although I’m thinking of tweaking one of the university application essays I’ve already written).</p>
<p>I have two children who were finalists; I recall the process of advancing from semi-finalist to finalist as pretty much a matter of red tape; it is yours to lose. In other words, as stated above, unless your application is incomplete or late, or your SAT test scores, transcript, or recommendations are grossly inconsistent with your PSAT score, you will be fine. Don’t sweat the essay, just make sure it is of the required length, grammatically correct, thoughtful and sincere – nothing particularly memorable or fabulous necessary.</p>