National Merit SemiFinalists

<p>To make become a finalist after making the semi-finalist cut-off, must your SAT scores fall within the range of your PSAT scores? Will you not make finalist if your SAT scores are below the range of your PSAT scores?</p>

<p>They said on the application that you need to send your SAT scores so they can make sure they match your PSATs. If its a little bit lower I think its ok, but I dont think it will look good if its very different. You dont want them to think the PSATs were a fluke. If your other stuff is good though (grades, extra curriculars, essay, reccomendation, etc.) I think they will overlook it. Good Luck!</p>

<p>I agree about the fluke thing, but I think it is stupid. NMSC shouldn't blame the student for disparate test scores, they should blame the test for not properly assessing that student.</p>

<p>yea...but cmon, has the collegeboard, or anything about the college admissions process, been known 2 b fair?? lol good luck everyone...</p>

<p>I heard that if you are in the 99th percentile, YOU'RE IN.
If 98%, you MIGHT get in (slim chance) which is the case for me. If this is the case where you're not sure if you're in or not, you'll have to wait until September (they don't announce it until then)
Hope I make it with a 210 in WI, although it'll be hard</p>

<p>Do you mean for finalist or semi finalists? I was in the 99th percentile and I made semi, but my brother was 98 and he only got commended or watever it is. I think it all depends on how high you are in the 98th percentil because i figured it out at the time and they have to take some 98th percentile people to fill the amount of semi finalists they take.</p>

<p>The percentile that they give you is national, and semifinalists are determined by state. If you're in a state like Mississippi or whatever with a cutoff in the low 200s, you could get semifinalist with a 96 or 97th percentile, whereas if you're in a state like massachusetts you need to be in the top of the 99th percentile.</p>

<p>okay here's the breakdown</p>

<p>total pool of people taking it (juniors only)</p>

<p>-50,000 highest scores
|
\/
-34,000 commended students
|
\/
-16,000 semifinalists <-- these scores vary from year to year and state to state. mississippi and alabama are usually one of the lowest with 203-205; New England states tend to be the highest, around 220. most other states are 210-215
|
\/
-15,000 finalists - based on semifinalists who apply, gpa, essays, etc. almost guaranteed if you are a semifinalist.</p>

<p>hope that helps everyone and clarifies things</p>

<p>In general, do you think the cutoff will be higher or lower this year?</p>

<p>Wow, I just realized how I barely made cutoff... it is 211 in WI, and I got 212. I wouldn't have made it in my former state of MN. But I botched Math & Verbal, getting below 70, even though I got 730s in each on the SAT and a 35 on the ACT. It was my 78 in Writing that saved me.</p>

<p>TWO ELEVEN IN WI??
Are you sure? Wow... never occured to me that it'd be ME who was off by 1 point...
how'd u find out about WI?</p>