<p>I'm really worried about whethere I can become a National Merit Finalist or not, so I'm asking for everyone's opinions.</p>
<p>I got a 232 on the PSAT.</p>
<p>However, I only got a 2130 on the SAT.</p>
<p>PSAT - CR - 78 M - 74 W - 80
SAT - CR- 680 M -730 W- 720</p>
<p>I'm assuming I'll get semi-finalist at least because they only look at the SAT score, but what about finalist? Do I have a chance? My rank is 5/523 and my weighted GPA is 106.8755. Please help, as I'm beginning to worry.</p>
<p>It's the other way around. Semifinalist is based only on PSAT scores. After that, they don't consider the PSAT scores. I wouldn't worry too much. 15/16 SF move on to finalist.</p>
<p>Yeah I meant to say PSAT.</p>
<p>i would definitely recommend taking the SAT again</p>
<p>one of the main reasons why they make you send in SAT scores is because they want to make sure your PSAT wasn't just a huge fluke...</p>
<p>thus i'm guessing that one of the main reasons that people make semif and not fin. is because their sat and psat scores don't make sense together</p>
<p>I think your a shoe in for finalist....</p>
<p>the main reasons that the collegeboard prevents people from advancing from semi to finalist are...
1)not bothering to fill out the forms (yeah...some people don't care...)
2)gpa being rediculously low(definetly not your prob)
3)sat score being rediculously low</p>
<p>now youre worried that w/ a 2130 you wont make...I gotta say that i highly doubt they will prevent you from advancing...the only times that the collegeboard rejects people using the sat is if the score is STUPENDOUSLY low (like think 1500/2400)...the reason they do this is that they know that scores are variable....hell it might not have been your day...maybe you were sick...maybe you had a fight w/ your parents that morning...etc...for those kinds of reasons they accept scores which are lower than your psat predicted but arent extremely low...</p>
<p>like TGC06 said...15/16 students advance from semis to finals...so dont worry about not making finals...though i do recommend you retake the sat...from your psat score it seems you got room to grow...</p>
<p>My son scored a 218 on this last PSAT. He recently took his SAT and made a 1730 (620 M 570 W 510 CR). I know this isn’t the sharpest score, but I wouldn’t go as far as call it low. He has a 4.0 gpa in rigorous AP classes. Can anyone comment on whether he will receive finalist status or not? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>@IloveAPCal
Your son’s SAT score may present more of a problem. I’m not an expert on the distinction between semi-finalist/finalist, but I would say that most finalists have a 2000+ SAT score. 232 PSAT -> 2130 SAT is a much less serious drop than 218 PSAT -> 1730 SAT. Consider having your son retake if he wants to get NMF.</p>
<p>NMSC does not give specific information about these sorts of questions and is not forthcoming on clearing them up beyond what they have published. Here’s what they do say about advancing from NMSF to NMF:</p>
<p>[Requirements</a> for Becoming a Finalist](<a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_R&I_Leaflet.pdf]Requirements”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_R&I_Leaflet.pdf)</p>
<p>There are some answers which can be deduced, however. First, if your SAT score is the same or higher than your PSAT score (X10), obviously you’re fine. If it’s, say, 40-60 points lower, you’re still fine, as the score is considered statistically the same.</p>
<p>Another thing to keep in mind is the cutoff score for your state (each state has proportional representation, so the qualifying scores differ from state to state and from year to year). You can find the qualifying scores from previous years by searching this site (within a state, the score usualy doesn’t vary by more than a couple of points). If your SAT score is significantly lower than your PSAT score, but still above (or within 40-60 points of) your state’s cutoff (again, X10), you’re again likely fine, as it confirms your PSAT score as high enough to qualify in your state. This may be the case for the OP (though I’d still consider retaking the SAT, as your potentially getting a 2320 or so would be significantly more attractive to stat-driven schools).</p>
<p>Things get murkier after that, and the answers you’ll get are more speculative. Some think that a score above 2000 (around the cutoff for NM commended status) is sufficient; others do not. An SAT score of 1730 certainly does NOT confirm a PSAT score of 219 - the SAT should DEFINITELY be retaken, as the current score is significantly lower and will prevent the semifinalist from advancing further in the competition.</p>
<p>Around 15,000 of the 16,000 NMSFs advance to NMF. From observation, “a record of consistently very high academic performance in all of grades 9 through 12” (item 5) is the most common reason a candidate doesn’t advance. Not getting a completed application in on time (or not submitting it at all) is likely second, with SAT scores which don’t confirm the PSAT being third (and the others being uncommon). Still, most kids do move on to become finalists.</p>
<p>So, bottom line is both questioners should probably retake the SAT - one to qualify for NMF status, and both to increase their attractiveness to the colleges they apply to.</p>
<p>Hello. I’m a junior and I had the same problem. I scored a 224 on the psat (Got scores 2 weeks ago), but on the SAT i only got a 2130. I live in texas, so i know i made semi-finalist, but my teacher said that I would need about 2200 on the sat for finalist.</p>
<p>I know i am retaking the SAT (probably this coming August as a senior). If i retake the test and get a 2200+, can i qualify for finalist? or is my first SAT (2130) the only one that NMSC takes? (In the latter case, i would probably not make finalist)</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>If you score above a 2000 on the SAT and you have good grades, you will most definitely get National Merit Finalist.</p>
<p>ILoveAPCal: MAKE YOUR SON TAKE THE SAT AGAIN. 1730 will not only pose a problem for advancing to National Merit Finalist, but it will also be a detriment for your son as he applies to colleges. If he legitimately got the 218 on his PSAT, a 1730 is not indicative of his true potential.</p>
<p>EDIT: Woops, didn’t realize this was such an old thread. Terbguh, you are fine for National Merit Finalist as long as your grades are good and you haven’t been suspended/expelled.</p>
<p>Yeah, the SAT cutoff generally stays near 1960, which is comparatively low (though still difficult to get, right?). I thought that it was as long as the NMSF got at a score that confirmed his/her PSAT (ie. 1960 or above), they’d be fine.</p>