National Merit Semifinalist Qualify Scores -- Class of 2012

<p>They introduced the writing in 2006 for the Class of 2008. Ohio was 215 the year before the writing changed the scores.</p>

<p>Son got NMS in GA with 221. Spoke to GC</p>

<p>Heard from GC just now. Son got in with 221 in GA.</p>

<p>Where can you find out the number of test takers per state this year and how it compares to last year? I want to see if California had an increase in test takers… thanks.</p>

<p>Maybe I just have not been reading the right stuff, but I don’t recall reading that AZ had a 10% increase in HS population! Yes, we are a high-growth state, but not dramatic enough to account for a 4 point surge. Heaven knows there are no studies showing our kids are getting smarter!</p>

<p>No, I didn’t mean that Arizona had an increase in population, I was referring to an increase in the number of test takers.</p>

<p>That information is found on the state summary reports on the College Board website.</p>

<p>[College-Bound</a> Juniors 2010 - PSAT/NMSQT](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/psat/cb-jr-soph/juniors]College-Bound”>SAT Suite of Assessments – Reports | College Board)</p>

<p>2010 juniors I believe is current year seniors who took the PSAT last October. Click on your state and then go to previous years to see change in number of test takers.</p>

<hr>

<p>PLEASE DON’T FREAK OUT! Check the explanation of the notation in the first post. When you see, for instance, AZ <= 219, that means that Arizona’s cutoff is no higher than 219. This comes from a report like, “I live in Arizona, made a 219, and got my letter.” When you see, for instance, TX > 216, that means that Texas’ cutoff is higher than 216. This comes from a report like, “I live in Texas, made a 216, and didn’t make it.”</p>

<hr>

<p>Remaining states that need to be finalized:
AL, AK, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, GA, HI, ID, IN, IA, KY, LA,
ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND,
OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY</p>

<p>Updating GA</p>

<p>AL = ? (post #?, per GC/NMSC/other)
AK = ?
**AZ = 213<a href=“post%20#126/#132,%20per%20GC”>/B</a>
AR = ?
CA <= 225 (post #50)
CO = ?
CT = ?
DE = ?
DC = ?
**FL = 214<a href=“post%20#107,%20per%20GC”>/B</a>
GA <= 221 (post #182)
HI = ?
ID = ?
**IL = 216<a href=“post%20#110,%20per%20GC”>/B</a>
IN <= 214 (post #147)
IA = ?
**KS = 214<a href=“post%20#87,%20per%20principal”>/B</a>
KY > 211 (post #111)
LA <= 216 (post #101)
ME = ?
MD = ?
MA <= 228 (post #143)
MI = ?
MN = ?
MS = ?
MO = ?
MT <= 209 (post #90)
NE <= 215 (post #10)
NV = ?
NH = ?
NJ = ?
NM = ?
NY = ?
NC <= 224 (post #85)
ND = ?
**OH = 214<a href=“post%20#28,%20established%20by%20score%20comparison”>/B</a>
**OK = 209<a href=“post%20#106,%20NMSC”>/B</a>
OR = ?
PA = ?
RI = ?
SC = ?
SD = ?
TN = ?
**TX = 219<a href=“post%20#46,%20per%20principal”>/B</a>
UT = ?
VT = ?
VA = ?
WA = ?
WV = ?
WI = ?
WY = ?</p>

<p>10(?) Boarding school regions
No scores reported yet.
These usually are set to be equal to the highest cut-off score among the individual states in the region.</p>

<p>Internationals=?
This usually is set to be equal to the highest cut-off score among all the individual states.</p>

<p>Commended (national cutoff) = 202 (Class of 2012 Notification Letters - College Confidential)
Any person with a score equal to or higher than this cutoff who is not a NMSF receives commended status. This group represents the highest 50,000 scorers.</p>

<hr>

<p>PLEASE DON’T FREAK OUT! Check the explanation of the notation in the first post. When you see, for instance, AZ <= 219, that means that Arizona’s cutoff is no higher than 219. This comes from a report like, “I live in Arizona, made a 219, and got my letter.” When you see, for instance, TX > 216, that means that Texas’ cutoff is higher than 216. This comes from a report like, “I live in Texas, made a 216, and didn’t make it.”</p>

<hr>

<p>Remaining states that need to be finalized:
AL, AK, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, GA, HI, ID, IN, IA, KY, LA,
ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND,
OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY</p>

<p>Updating MS</p>

<p>AL = ? (post #?, per GC/NMSC/other)
AK = ?
**AZ = 213<a href=“post%20#126/#132,%20per%20GC”>/B</a>
AR = ?
CA <= 225 (post #50)
CO = ?
CT = ?
DE = ?
DC = ?
**FL = 214<a href=“post%20#107,%20per%20GC”>/B</a>
GA <= 221 (post #182)
HI = ?
ID = ?
**IL = 216<a href=“post%20#110,%20per%20GC”>/B</a>
IN <= 214 (post #147)
IA = ?
**KS = 214<a href=“post%20#87,%20per%20principal”>/B</a>
KY > 211 (post #111)
LA <= 216 (post #101)
ME = ?
MD = ?
MA <= 228 (post #143)
MI = ?
MN = ?
MS <= 208 (from PM)
MO = ?
MT <= 209 (post #90)
NE <= 215 (post #10)
NV = ?
NH = ?
NJ = ?
NM = ?
NY = ?
NC <= 224 (post #85)
ND = ?
**OH = 214<a href=“post%20#28,%20established%20by%20score%20comparison”>/B</a>
**OK = 209<a href=“post%20#106,%20NMSC”>/B</a>
OR = ?
PA = ?
RI = ?
SC = ?
SD = ?
TN = ?
**TX = 219<a href=“post%20#46,%20per%20principal”>/B</a>
UT = ?
VT = ?
VA = ?
WA = ?
WV = ?
WI = ?
WY = ?</p>

<p>10(?) Boarding school regions
No scores reported yet.
These usually are set to be equal to the highest cut-off score among the individual states in the region.</p>

<p>Internationals=?
This usually is set to be equal to the highest cut-off score among all the individual states.</p>

<p>Commended (national cutoff) = 202 (Class of 2012 Notification Letters - College Confidential)
Any person with a score equal to or higher than this cutoff who is not a NMSF receives commended status. This group represents the highest 50,000 scorers.</p>

<p>GC not in today! Am I the only one waiting to hear on NY, or is there someone else out there? Our kids don’t start school until next Wednesday. Waiting is hard…</p>

<p>My daughter’s GC notified us yesterday that she is NMSF with a 209.</p>

<p>MS is 205 – i got in with 225 but I noticed there was a sheet that showed the cutoff range as being 205</p>

<p>I asked my principal…who was sent a booklet…and he told me i was not a semifinalist. I had a 213. So i guess the cutoff in Indiana is 214</p>

<p>“MS is 205”</p>

<p>Dammit, I shoulda moved to Mississippi when I had the chance.</p>

<p>Well I am pretty sure the cutoff for Georgia is 218. And my son got a 217. I am dismayed! How could that cutoff score go up 3 points from last year and 4 from the year before? Why are all these cutoff scores jumping up by 3 and 4 points? Do you all think students are preparing more for the PSAT than they used to? Need some consolation here! I don’t think you should post this cutoff as official yet. I heard it from a friend!</p>

<p>PS - I haven’t heard anything yet from our school GC or principle. Not a good sign.</p>

<p>Another reason for volatility – up and down – in the scores is that the essay is so much harder to standardize. There has been a lot of talk about the weakness of the scoring in the writing part, with students being rewarded for length and big words in essays not particularly thoughtful or even coherent. One thing that we are noticing is that top colleges talk about the SAT on a 1600 scale – they are more or less explicit that they are ignoring the writing score and paying attention to their application essays, or maybe reading the SAT/ACT essays and evaluating those for themselves.</p>

<p>I did some research when got suspicious because my kid got an 80 math and 76 verbal on the PSAT, and an 800 verbal 740 math on the SAT – well within explainable variability – while he got a 60 writing on the PSAT and a 750 on the SAT. That 216 was just good enough in IL (<em>whew</em>), but nothing like his 2290 SAT or 35 ACT.</p>

<p>Alabama, anybody? Last three years 209, 208, 210.</p>

<p>^The writing on the PSAT is multiple choice, not an essay.</p>

<p>Wemel, I just replied to your message.</p>

<p>Alabama and Louisiana have always been pretty close, and you can throw states like Wisconsin in there as well. If Wisconsin’s cutoff is a 209, that makes me optimistic. But then I look at a state like Kansas making a big jump, and I get nervous.</p>