Oh ok if you are sick, have emergency, etc. you can take SAT as alternate
That’s nice you had that option
^^ It’s very nice. I can’t imagine having to take the PSAT for a one-shot chance at Nat’l Merit when you have a cold, much less when you have a migraine, the flu or something like that.
It would have been nice to have heard about this before the March 1st deadline. I would have had my son petition for it based on the harassment he got from the test proctor which, I know, cost him a point or two due to wasted time and the panic it created. His December SAT was way higher.
@Huskymaniac, I don’t know that it would have helped in your son’s case. It’s for kids who miss the test due to illness, emergency, or other extenuating circumstances.
@Huskymaniac I thought of that when you told your story about the proctor hassling your S. 
I hope he makes it!
218 did not make it in Ohio per principal. Must be 219 cutoff
FYI- I called & they said it is OK to put NMSF on applications & submit. They do not want anything in newspapers or school assemblies, etc…
I’m so sorry @bradsmom. I was rooting for you guys. I hope he is still very proud of himself. He would have made it last year with that score. Stinks.
Oh darn @bradsmom. Been thinking about you!
If any one is curious how many semi-finalist are in each state you can check out the chart on page 6 here:
http://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/annual_report.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61
A 217 made it in Wisconsin! So happy because I knew he was close!
Thanks @suzy100 and @shelleee! Glad to have the info. A little disappointing for today, but will all be okay:) His principal (big school) was not very nice or helpful, whichever was probably the worst part.
I know it won’t help to narrow down the cutoff, but D18 is NMSF in NV with a 222.
Ugh. More missed NMSFs. I’ve been rooting for everyone, even though I haven’t been very active on the thread this year. This is not my first rodeo, nor perhaps my last, but I just wish everyone here was getting happy news.
DS has not been notified by his school yet. Perhaps tomorrow. With our older DS, the school notified students on a Friday.
Did someone on this thread really call NMSC and get the OK to list NMSF on college apps? I assumed that would NOT be OK. If DS is notified by his school, and if Jimmie says it’s OK, then maybe DS can get something submitted sooner than 9/14. He is definitely not in that zone with everything else going on, including his fall sport.
A PP asked about KS and I have not heard anything lower than 219 BUT I have not checked Art’s blog. if I find out any additional information about KS, I will post.
@GoAskDad I’m also really curious about the permission to tell colleges. Dd has submitted most of her applications already (and been accepted by most of those schools as well), so we’ll have to email her admissions counselors to ask them to add it to her file.
I’m wondering about reporting NMSF status right now as well. I’m not sure if that call was the NMSC customer service representative’s opinion or NMSC policy. I think I’ll wait until I hear a couple of other folks weigh-in before deciding whether to send that info out.
Back & forth…
D was in a meeting with all of the named NMSFs from her school today and they all stayed after & compared SI scores. She said the lowest SI reported was a 217.
She also said that her friend sitting on a 216 was not invited to this meeting. The principal never revealed the actual cutoff score for the state.
So, 217 SI in NV???
I feel bad for those kids sitting at 216 hearing all of this conflicting info.
Anyone with a question on whether to include it on their application before the PR date should contact the NMF liaison at the school with that question. You’ll get a helpful response and you’ll get on their radar. And you won’t be violating any secrecy rules.
Just checked our e-mails from last year for UMN which gives the Gold for NMF’s. D contacted the liaison in late July with specific questions about application timing and what to add on her application w/r/t honors for National Merit (at the time, Commended hadn’t even been announced, which she explained to them, but also that she was 100% sure she was at least going to be Commended status). She then contacted them again on the day of the NMSC press release (also her school’s news release day) to confirm her SF status and to receive guidance for next steps. They got back to her a few days later with congrats and that they had updated her file. When the first round of scholarships were sent out in November, she was included and received the Gold (contingent on NMF but that wasn’t going to be a worry). So it pays to be on top of notifying them early, even informally. It’s ok to say “confidentially, I learned . . . I realize that this news isn’t public yet but wanted to get some guidance for my application . . .” etc. That’s fine and absolutely appropriate under the circumstances.
@LMHS73 at #1517 - that news sounds Art-worthy. Has he been notified? Was your D’s friend in school that day?