@srk2017 Yes, it looks like in the past the December test has been the last one that works for NM. I might plan on the November test because kids can get sick or the College Board can mess thing up. Earlier than November, and you would probably have to submit the SAT score to “requires all test scores” colleges.
As far as Commended Scholar goes, has anyone’s dk who had an index of 209 or higher, received a notice? Ds is over the 209 mark, but hasn’t heard a peep.
Have any of you noticed from other threads that higher stat kids seemed to be getting denied by safeties? I’m wondering if this is an increasing trend. Worried because ds has real interest in a school where his stats will be far higher than the median.
@Agentninetynine The GCs get a list of kids at 209 and higher to verify their contact information, that they still attend the school, and that there aren’t disciplinary reasons they should be disqualified. Maybe citizenship, though I’m not sure GCs know that. There isn’t any requirement to notify kids until September, either for commended or NMSF. Homeschools get a notice, so they hear directly. DS hasn’t been notified about the 209 cutoff; I don’t expect they will bother with spring notification.
Yes, I’ve noticed that about safeties. Scary. Some schools waitlist kids that they think are just using them as a safety, and kids have to contact them to say they really would attend that school. You can check the Common Data Set for a school to see if “level of applicant’s interest” is a factor in decisions. I’ve seen on here that some schools that aren’t supposed to be considering interest, like lower-rank UCs such as Davis, maybe rejected some higher scoring students who got accepted to higher-ranked UCs.
Thanks @Ynotgo. I knew I’d read that some kids had been contacted and wondered if maybe news was delayed here in Oregon and was coming via Pony Express. :)) Ds has no clue and I’ll wait for the school to notify him.
Isn’t denying higher stat kids also known as Tufts syndrome? It seems more prevalent now than when dd14 was going through the process. My youngest is having a tough time with safeties since he’s interested in very specific programs. I thought this round was going to be easier, but not the case so far.
I think its very important for high stats kids to express interest in schools where they are at the top of the school’s typical incoming class. I’m making sure my D interacts with the adcoms and reach out to program directors at schools she’s interested in. Back in my day, I found that really helped even if “expressed interest” isn’t a stated criteria. They tend to remember those students they’ve interacted with and will often go to bat for them come admissions and scholarship decision time.
@carachel2 S had a very similar conversation with his GC last week. He was in a bad mood the next day and I asked him what was wrong, of course, he didn’t tell me. I happened to check in with the GC since I didn’t know he had his meeting about course selection and she said she met with him and told me her college recommendations for him. I won’t go into details but the colleges she recommended were all wrong and and he was very upset. She obviously didn’t have class rank and test score information when meeting with him to make recommendations. It makes me nervous that these are the people who will be writing recommendations for our kids in the fall.
Now that I’ve read the posts about safeties denying kids, I’m even more concerned since all she recommended were safeties based on his school’s Naviance data. Lovely. At least I can count on this forum for advice.
@jedwards: Her recommendations are just that, recommendations, not edicts. Ignore the gc and do what’s best for your son. As I said upthread my kids attended/attend a private prep school. Prep being the operative word. Senior classes are slightly less than 200. There is a specific gc just for college. She does Naviance presentations in classes, holds workshops for parents and sends out newsletters. Overall I think she does a decent job.
Do you know how many times she met with our oldest? That would be zero. IIRC dd did try to set up a meeting but it never happened. And if the student or parent doesn’t initiate contact, it doesn’t happen. She now has an assistant. Contact she’s had with our junior son? You guessed it. Zero. But they have me, so I guess she’s unnecessary. 
I agree @itsgettingreal17. D is above the 75% for all the schools currently on her list. She has been meeting with profs and program directors as well as doing the usual visit stuff. The schools are on the list because they fit her, they offer specific programs of interest, and they are mostly affordable (three are only affordable with highest levels of merit scholarships). She can see herself attending any of the schools. I don’t want her stats to make it appear as if she’s using a school just as a safety application and be rejected (the dreaded Tufts syndrome).
So… Should the kids make sure they specifically drop in the words “this college is my first choice” when writing apps where they are above the 75th percentile??
@carachel2 No, if that’s not true. They should show that they know what the school offers (special programs, etc.) and show how the school’s offerings fit into their goals.
Gosh gone all morning and 30+ post later…
@carachel2 sounds like the GC needs to take a course on how to properly do their job. How frustrating
@srk2017 sounds like a sound plan
@Agentninetynine it is becoming more and more of an issue regarding safeties rejecting or waitlisting over qualified students. Due to the common app and the ease of which students now apply to 10-20+ schools, and schools wanting their yield to increase etc. etc. they aren’t sure anymore who really wants to attend. And kids are now aware of this so they feel the need to apply to more schools to just make sure they get in somewhere! Ive read that the ranking of schools has really been a problem, who is to say one school is better than another just because of how few people they accept? I hope things change but I fear it won’t be for some time, at least not for our kids.
Phew, took me a while to catch up to this point. DS is my first to go through this process, so I’m trying hard to stay on top of all the information. Several pages back people were talking about ABET accreditation for engineering schools but I don’t quite understand what it is or why it’s necessary? I’m in a bit of a panic now as DS is a CS guy and wants to go to UIUC but I don’t think they are ABET accredited? At least not as far as I can tell. Does this really matter? They are ranked 5th in CS so I assume they have a good program.
In other concerns, DS took the April ACT but was the only one of his friend group that didn’t get his scores on the first release date (yesterday). I’m just praying that he doesn’t have to wait the entire duration. Just as I was thinking I like the ACT (organization) better than SAT (College Board) because of all the crap with the PSAT and this being the first year with the revised test… grrrr. Here’s the thing, he will be in South Korea for the majority of the summer on a NSLI-Y scholarship, so he won’t have time to do any standardized test studying. I really wanted to be finished with all testing by the end of the school year. This was his first and hopefully only ACT. He’s taking the May SAT, and only because he’s at one point higher than the predicted cutoff for NMSF for our state. Then in June he’s retaking the Chem SAT II test. His first attempt at self studying only netted him a 630. He’s happy with his Math 2 SAT II and won’t retake that one. Fingers crossed we won’t be having to work in any more testing in the fall!
DS '15 started engineering school this year, so the engineering school hunt is fresh in my mind. ABET accreditation is very, very highly recommended for engineering schools; it ensures that their students will be qualified engineers upon graduation. I would be reluctant to send a child to an engineering school that isn’t accredited. The good news is that UIUC (assuming you mean University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) is very well regarded and definitely is accredited. If you want to check other schools, go here: http://main.abet.org/aps/accreditedprogramsearch.aspx
Congratulations on the excellent PSAT! That bodes very well for his other standardized tests.
may be colleges should go like Residency (medicine) matching :-). Both applicants and colleges rank their preferences and matched accordingly.
Welcome, @DOTexe. Are you guys in-state for UIUC? I’m curious about the desire to attend UIUC. If indeed your S makes NMF, UIUC gives only a token amount. If it’s OOS for you, there are lots of other great options where you can receive considerable merit for NMF. UIUC is well-known for being stingy.
^True. DS didn’t apply to any OOS state flagships except UVA because they would have been absolutely unaffordable for us.
Ahh, thank you so much @mdcmom ! I dont know where I was previously checking but obv not in the right place. I see now that UIUC is ABET accredited. Phew! And yes I was referring to University of Illinois at C-U. There’s one less thing I have to worry about.
@srk2017 I recently read an article (don’t recall where) about how undergrad admissions SHOULD move towards a matching program. I would be all for that idea! Might take some of the stress off but I have also heard of match week horror stories where students didn’t get matched and had to scramble for placements last minute. That doesn’t sound fun either though, lol.
@Agentninetynine Well, the Pony Express reached Colorado and our school GC, I presume, decided to announce the students’ names on social media. "… juniors who have qualified for consideration in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship competition. Qualifying for this competition is based on PSAT scores from the fall of 2016. Congratulations to the following students: "
In the past, they only announced the semifinalists…
I don’t know if this year’s notice from NMSC was different or what. I also read other students on CC being notified of qualification… whereas they should only know about Commended status. :-/
I don’t have a horse in this race. DS scored lower than the commended cutoff, 209.
Thanks @2muchquan !! Yes, we are in state for UIUC and I don’t think we will qualify for any need based aid, so most privates are out. We’re using UIUC as the basis for how much we are willing to pay. Problem is DS chases ranks. He’d love to go to UC Berkeley or Carnegie Mellon but both are cost prohibitive (not to mention VERY difficult to get into!). UIUC recruits heavily at his school so he has a little bit of an “in” with the admissions folks there. I realize they are stingy with the merit $$, it’s Illinois after all and our state is broke(n).
Anyone know what schools do with test scores received prior to the kids submitting their application? He’s also taking the CompSci AP and I want to send the free reports but can you do that before applying? Do they hang onto them and cross reference applications in the fall? Sorry if this is a really dumb question!
@DOTexe Yes, you can send scores prior to applications. We have done that with ACT scores. From what I’ve heard, that essentially ‘opens’ a file for your kid. They then match things up when additional information comes in. Or, they try to
We, too, are in-state for UIUC. We’ve found we can get much better deals at OOS schools, where we can get considerable merit. My D has been “convinced” to seek prestige at her graduate school. CS is great at UIUC, though. Getting in is like getting into an Ivy. Not a lot of seats left for those in-staters, unfortunately. He sounds like a strong candidate, though!