<p>Thanks to everyone for your kind words! I’m really touched. And yes, I haven’t given up hope yet. VADAD1, good luck to your daughter. Texaspg, thanks for the note on Univ of Alabama. I’ll look into it more.</p>
<p>Not so sure about Texas. I work for a school district and have been told the cutoff is 220. Will try to confirm.</p>
<p>Good to hear from you, firefly.</p>
<p>Not many people reporting in. Maybe scores are so high, no one is making it? :)</p>
<p>Here in NY, my son asked his principal today if he made it, and the principal said he had received a letter saying no one made NMSF. My son had a 217, which was the cut off last year. Bummer.</p>
<p>"The program’s officials see it as an issue of state equity.</p>
<p>A spokesman for the corporation, Eileen Artemakis, explained it this way:</p>
<p>We want to ensure that we recognize outstanding students from all parts of the United States in the talent pool for the National Merit Program, she said. We designate students on a state representational basis, which means that the number [of student semifinalists] named in each state is proportional to its percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. So the scores will vary from state to state as well as from year to year because of that."</p>
<p>2010 link: [The</a> Answer Sheet - Is this fair? National Merit qualifying scores differ by state](<a href=“http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/college-admissions/if-you-live-in-west.html]The”>http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/college-admissions/if-you-live-in-west.html)</p>
<p>I agree with wemel that the cut off scores would be much higher if it was national. Look at top 1% and 2% of SAT scores. They are very high.</p>
<p>Call from GC today that my son is NMSF in Texas with 219. Whew! Never thought it would be that close.</p>
<p>For year 2010, 99% was around 214. I believe 16,000 is a little more than 1% of test takers last year. To those asking if it’s fair; do we really want this be another war of haves vs not? Isn’t it better to give everyone some chance and not let those few sophisticated states grab the majority?</p>
<p>^ That is surprising to me. Would have thought would be much higher considering PSAT is like a mini SAT. Top 1% SAT is much higher than 2140, relatively speaking.</p>
<p>Congrats to your S texag5!</p>
<p>^If I find the link, I’ll post it. I noticed it because it was close to my state’s cutoff in the past few years.</p>
<p>bottom line there are only 16,000 spots. If the college board would post how many students of the 1.5 million that took the test scored in the top tier in total(225-240 range), you could then determine what the cutoff would be if it were national instead of by state. Since we only see the top tier by reading, math, and writing individually, we don’t know how many of those are the same students in each case. If 16,000 kids fell into that range, then the cutoff would be high, at least 225. I emailed college board to see if they can give that info.</p>
<p>Don’t freak out about National Merit. It helps some, but harms nobody. The actual money which flows from NMF status is minimal. Some schools focus on NMF status for admissions and scholarships, others do not. Most schools have lots of money for good students regardless of whether they are NMFs. My oldest daughter was a National Merit Commended Scholar. She received a substantial scholarship from her University even though she was not a NMF. Daughter #2 was an NMF who was admitted to a top-15 national university (US News). She received $2,000 per year in place of loans due to her NMF status. Daughter #3 was an NMF who received $1,000 per year as a result of her NMF status at a state university - she also received a full-ride which was not NMF dependent. The money which resulted directly from NMF status was minimal. However, NMF was probably one factor considered for admissions and other scholarships. PSAT scores are not used for admissions decisions. Do well on the SAT and/or ACT, keep up your grades and stay involved in extra-curriculars and the admissions and scholarships will come whether you are an NMF or not.</p>
<p>Cynara…</p>
<p>I think your D may be good in Calif. </p>
<p>However if the cut-off jumps to 221, if your D has the following stats, she’ll get free tuition from the University of Alabama…</p>
<p>And…she’d get more than that if she’s a Comp sci or engineering major. And she could also get more if accepted to one of the elite honors programs.</p>
<p>The University of Alabama Scholarships 2012-2013
Out-of-State Scholarship Offers</p>
<p>Students who have a 32-36 ACT or 1400-1600 SAT (critical reading and mathematics scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive out-of-state tuition for four years.</p>
<p>Students who have a 30-31 ACT or 1330-1390 SAT (critical reading and mathematics scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive two-thirds the cost of tuition for four years.</p>
<p>National Merit and National Achievement Finalists</p>
<p>Students receive the following:</p>
<p>Value of tuition for four years (including OOS rates)
Four years of on-campus housing at regular room rate (this includes honors housing in a 4 bedroom super suite.)
$1,000 per year University National Merit or National Achievement scholarship for four years
One-time allowance of $2,000 for use in summer research or international study
Laptop computer</p>
<p>The University’s application for admission and scholarships must be completed by December 1.</p>
<p>also…for those who are Enineering or Computer Science majors…</p>
<p>College of Engineering Scholarships 2012-2013
The following scholarships are in addition to the University-level scholarships offered.</p>
<p>College of Engineering…Out-of-StateStudents who have a 30-31 ACT or 1330-1390 SAT (math and verbal scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive a tuition supplement to bring their University-level scholarship offer up to the value of tuition. In addition, they will receive $2,500 per year for four years.</p>
<p>Students who have a 32-36 ACT or 1400-1600 SAT (math and verbal scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive $2,500 per year for four years.
Students must maintain enrollment in a College of Engineering degree program to receive any College of Engineering scholarship.</p>
<p>**Note that those who are Engineering or Comp Sci majors will end up with full tuition with an ACT 30 or 1330 M+CR SAT…and get an additional 2500 per year. **</p>
<p>tuition scholarships do increase in value if tuition increases. :)</p>
<p>^^^ I agree, at least 225 and I would bet 230 or higher.</p>
<p>If there is no state with a cutoff higher than 223, and almost all of them are 219 or lower, it is mathematically impossible that a national cutoff would be anywhere near 225.</p>
<p>Alabama: told NMSF by GC today, but score above the 219 already posted here so no further info. on AL cutoff</p>
<p>Don’t freak out about National Merit. It helps some, but harms nobody. The actual money which flows from NMF status is minimal.</p>
<p>That is misleading and needs clarification.</p>
<p>While it’s true that not much money “flows from” NMCorp is minimal…it is NOT true that the actual money that can flow from NMF status is minimal.</p>
<p>True, if your goal is elite names (ivies, etc), then the money is minimal.</p>
<p>But to say that the $20k per year that one gets from USC (Calif) for being a NMF is minimal is just not true.</p>
<p>And for those who want to accept a full tuition or full ride for NMF status, the amount of money is substantial.</p>
<p>The NMF scholarship for an OOS student at Bama is worth over $120k. If you’re not NMF, you don’t get that.</p>
<p>My experience is that virtually every school that had scholarships for NMFs had similar scholarships for other quality students who did not happen to score well enough on their junior year PSAT to qualify for National Merit. But, we didn’t look at USC or Alabama.</p>
<p>A lot of the elite schools in this country pay all costs if need is demonstrated, so there are plenty of other options out there for people who come up short for National Merit.</p>
<p>Here’s lthe ink.</p>
<p><a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/understanding-psat-nmsqt-scores.pdf[/url]”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/understanding-psat-nmsqt-scores.pdf</a></p>
<p>Page 2 has the info; 214 is 99%</p>