The PSAT in 11th grade is the one where a high enough score (which varies by state) can get National Merit Semifinalist status (most advance to Finalist). A decent number of colleges attach large scholarships to National Merit Finalist status.
While URMs and students in rural areas may get College Board Recognition status that has lower PSAT thresholds than National Merit Semifinalist, there are fewer scholarships attached to that status than for National Merit Finalist.
I really wish the College Board would ante up a lot more for National Merit scholarships. Not on a personal note, but because they make so much of it and $2500 isnāt even 10% of most schools. Itās a pittance.
There are a number of colleges that offer scholarships to National Merit Finalists. Some of them are full rides with stipends. List varies somewhat every year though.
Yes, there are I think Iāve seen them listed. Itās just that the College Board makes a big deal about the PSAT, gets MILLIONS of kids to take the PSAT ostensibly for the Natāl Merit and yet give out a pittance to the winners.
Iād like to run the numbers as a business. I set up a test, get kids to pay $75 or whatever it is, then give all the money to the top .5% Iād guess the awards would be a lot better than what the CB gives.
I thought the merit scholarships were paid for by corporate and college sponsors and administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation? Although they use the PSAT for the initial screening I didnāt think College Board funded the $2,500 awards.
Well there are lots of sub-programs. Some are funded by corporation and some colleges offer scholarships based on the threshold of becoming a finalist.
Yes, Iām aware. My point was - I donāt think College Board itself funds any of those awards.
This was in response to:
The $2,500 scholarships are from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, not College Board. The big scholarships (e.g. up to full rides) come from colleges themselves, should they choose to offer them.
Sorry, national merit scholarship corp.
āA sizable number of National Merit Scholarships to be offered in 2022 will be underwritten by NMSC with its own funds, but most will be supported by some 400 independent corporate organizations and higher education institutionsā
Focus on this question, please. Avoid paying attention to the user behind the curtain trying to tempt you with off-topic discussion including, but no t limited to, whether the CB should offer higher NMF scholarships.
Agree with all of this. I would add to consider ways to make your interests stand out. I think w/ test optional, awards will become more important. Could the math interest translate in competitions? (FWIW, mine is very math accelerated and not interested in competition math at all, Itās its own beast. Fine w/me). Or, have a science paper submitted to Exploravision. Or compose something (though composing competitions are tough). If there is a way to get an extra tangible out of the interest/activity, that is a good thing. Or a group competition like robotics team. Also, if a boy, consider an activity that is less usual. Dance? Theatre?
Please donāt think Iām advocating to sculpt the activities or target every competition. But, it is good to know what might help stand out, especially now when there is more time.
Even with activities, some schools may value crew or fencing and others soccer or baseball. My kid did poms, which pretty much no one values, and it was tons of work and 2 seasons. But, she loved it and wouldnāt swap it.
So, I would say, #1 class rigor/grades and what interests, and #2 keep in mind what could help him stand out.
Good luck!
My D19 was high stats. Did everything in HS. Super motivated. She had friend issues in HS. So she ended up working hard on school, ECs and job. I know she has had some depression issues. In some ways it worked out really well. Found a good college and have to pay just a bit more than room & board. She started out as BioChem/Pre-Med & Spanish majors. That has changed to Bio & Spanish majors with Education & Latin Am Studies minors.(No pre-Med). She most likely will end up being a HS teacher. We didnāt have to motivate her much at all in HS. Actually we tried talking her out of taking one AP junior year. I would say now while in college she is burntout. She has a great resume even in college and will do fine in life.
D23 is a bit different. She knows the game from watching her sister. She has the GPA. She has taken plenty of APs. Her one attempt at the ACT was less than stellar. She is mainly an introvert that wonāt shut up once you get her talking. She has stayed out the the friend drama. She decided on her own on ECs. Started with band but that was a bust because she could do marching band due to tennis. Ended up captain of the tennis team as a junior. She just came home one day and said she was asked by the coach. We never pressed for it. She is President of the game club. Again just came home and announced it one day. She does scholastic bowl because she loves trivia. She runs/organizes DnD games one the side and has gotten into Magic the Gathering. DnD was great because they could do it during covid over zoom. Overall she will have a great resume from HS. Hopefully she ups her scores on SAT/ACT. She does feel the pressure to get good grades and pass the AP tests, so life isnāt all peaches and cream.
I think back and we stressed good grades very early and watched the results of the standardized tests they took. Most of what we had to do as parents in HS is guide them.
We realized that T20 schools wouldnāt be super effective cost-wise for D19. She attempted one and didnāt get in. Although she didnāt sign up for the interview. We were plenty happy where D19 ended up. It was a lot of work and a lot of essays written. She had good options and hit well with some merit even though we live in a state that sucks for merit for the flagship.
I guess the point is keep the kids moving forward have them challenged some but donāt let them get in over their head. In the end they most likely will end up where they are suppose to be. That being said if you donāt do sports or ECs in our house you will either get a job or do plenty of chores or both. I donāt like lumps on my couch.
Know your kid. Be a quiet influence in their lives. Itās a delicate balance between being overbearing and completely hands off. Your child is still growing and developing. High school is a perfect time to discover who they are and grow (and eat you out of your house!) Try new sports, clubs, jobs, classes, etc.
However, if they are the kind of student who wants to go to a top university, they will have to take the most rigorous schedule compared to their peers. If thatās not important, great! My kids picked all of their classes with their peers. But, their HS is not a typical HS on cc. Iād guess only 10% of the freshman class will go onto to college. Almost half of those freshman wonāt even walk across the stage at graduation. So, the college bound kids all stuck together and took all the honors/AP/gov school DE classes they could.
But, I also canāt agree enough with the poster who said soft skills are important. In many ways, I would say in the long run, this is more important than getting an A in calculus. If your child has glaring weaknesses, try to help them develop those. (I wish my parent had, and they were great parents!) Can they look adults in the eye and hold an intelligent conversation? Are they responsible? Do they take care of their things and those of others? Do they complete tasks on their own in a timely fashion? (We now laugh at how my kids learned that one. Both took several online AP classes through their school. We had HORRIBLE and unreliable internet. I told them many many times, you canāt wait until the last minute. You have no idea if it will work!)
And remember to breathe. Rejections from colleges and scholarships is TOUGH. Tough on the kids. Tough on the parents. But, in the long run, it can be a good thing. And as long as you apply to some āsafeties,ā your kid will go to college. And it will likely all work out. So remember to breathe and just enjoy being with your kid, because soon theyāll grow up and fly away! In the end, we just want our kids to grow up to be happy, responsible, and caring human beings, right? But, it can be hard to remember sometimes.
Athletics are great and definitely should be pursued if the child loves playing, for sure. But be aware that they are no more important than any other activity, unless the child is at the level to be a recruited athlete. (So, if a school values soccer ā if your child plays soccer but isnāt recruitable, the fact that they play soccer vs another EC is irrelevant).
I found this weekly podcast to be extremely helpful. Topics discussed are timely at every stage of the application process. Frequent advice for students in grades 9, 10, 11 too.
When my D22 was in 8th grade, she and I discussed what courses she wanted to take though all of high school. That set some goals for her and also let her know prerequisites etc. She revisited that list at least once every year and the list changed somewhat over time.
Piping in again to say that while it is important to understand the college landscape to avoid regrets of the āif only weād knownā variety and to give your kid accurate facts and guidance, do not let high school become a 4 year college entrance exam.
This is a really important time in life. Help your kid stay present and enjoy it for what it is.
Gardenstategal: +100
This made me so sad to read. I had to read it twice as I initially thought I misunderstood. I literally, didnāt even think this was possible. Iām glad your kids have successfully navigated your high school. And I hope that someone can help the other kids soon. A 50% graduation rate sounds like a massive failure in the system.
If you look at the official numbers, they usually say we are around 79-80% graduation rate. But, if you check the DOE website that tracks number of students, freshman classes are between 400-500 and drops rapidly. Usually we have between 200-300 walk across the stage. However, Iāve been told by several teachers that many of those wonāt actually graduate unless they do the credit recovery program - which Iām told involves sitting in a room for a couple of weeks over the summer. Learning is minimal to nonexistent.
I do know the numbers on the DOE website jived with my kidsā experiences. Every semester they got a transcript that included their rank out of XXX kids. Both started around 475 and by the end it was in the 200s.
And this is why I donāt pay too close attention to graduation rate numbers.