Do you know what the cutoff is for national Hispanic merit scholar?
I think itās top 10% for each state. So depends on the state. My son scored a 1300 on the PSAT (207 conversion score) and we live in New York State. Max score on the PSAT is 1520. His PSAT was listed in the 96th percentile for all test takers (99th percentile gets you qualified for NMS.) He scored better on the actual SAT a month after he took the PSAT (1450 on the SAT) and really wasnāt sure heād make the cut for NHMS with his PSAT score, so he was very happy. He received the email today and they sent me an email too. Other categories are:
African American
Indigenous
Small town/rural
He has a 4.0 unweighted GPA so he qualifies to apply (must have 3.5) and I believe applying is just a formality so as long as he submits by June 15th, he would receive the honor in September.
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Hmmā¦ I donāt think weāve gotten anything. My son had a 1290, I think, psat in California. His percentile said 93rd if I remember correctly.
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The email came from collegeboard@e.collegeboard.org
I almost put it in the trash because I seem to get lots of useless emails from themā¦good thing I checked the message! So have your kid check the trash and junk mail too. Sounds like he could qualify. Be sure he checked off the āHispanicā box when he took the PSAT. If not, he can self-nominate after the fact, just requires some extra steps.
This was the email:
Your teenās performance on the PSAT/NMSQTĀ®, PSATā¢ 10, and/or APĀ® Exam qualifies them to apply for one or more of the College Board National Recognition Programs. These programs award academic honors to underrepresented students.
Today, your teen received an email inviting them to apply by Wednesday, June 15, at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Your teen may qualify for at least one of the following awards:
ā¢ African American Recognition Award
ā¢ Hispanic Recognition Award
ā¢ Indigenous Recognition Award
ā¢ Rural and Small Town Recognition Award
If your teen currently has a 3.5 GPA or higher, identifies as African American or Black, Hispanic or Latinx, Indigenous, or attends school in a rural or small town, we encourage them to apply for this academic honor. Your teen must identify with at least one of the four groups listed to be eligible.
The deadline to apply is Wednesday, June 15, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Thereās no application fee. Please encourage your teen to apply as soon as possible, as this deadline wonāt be extended.
If you have questions, contact us at info@nationalrecognitionprogram.org, and update your spam/junk folder settings to receive emails from this address.
Sincerely,
College Board
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Percentage and qualifying score is weighed twice as heavily for English compared to Math. S had 1410 but 660/750 so index of 207 (which is right on the commended cutoff - thatās the same figure used for national merit recognition for other groups).
You can get the same index with a lower total if you have a better English result, but not as low as 1300 (760/540 would be 206) so Iām guessing thatās a typo.
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His English score was his highest section. I donāt recall the breakdown.
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We found the application and applied. He couldnāt find any demographic info on his college board account, but if he tries to register for an SAT, Mexican is preselectedā¦ so it looks like he registered correctly in the first place. Why not apply, weāll see what happens!
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I wasnāt aware of the break-down with English vs. Math but my son did a little better on the English part (odd since heās a math kid and he had 750 Math/700 English on the actual SAT.) The College Board did have some issues last year with kids who qualified not getting recognition, but part of it was they offered a PSAT in January due to Covid test cancellations in October. Itās definitely worth a try! In the meantime, try to find CA recognition qualifiers and compare stats if they share. Good luck!
There is a CC thread but itās long because it started last year but you can scroll for posters who had to self-nominate or just ask about the process.
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Hereās a link to details of the 207 commended cutoff: National Merit Semifinalist Cutoffs Class of 2024
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I agree. My D23ās priority is a great environmental science program. Sheās been disappointed by tours that donāt mention anything about that so the best visits have been open houses where she can see those specific facilities, hear from faculty and students in the program. Juniata did a particularly good job ā included a tour of their field station, matched her with another ES-interested student for the general tour, and had her eat lunch with an ES senior who had just been accepted to a PhD program.
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Itās been a while since I updated, but weāre home from Spring Break tours so thought Iād drop by to share an update.
Mt Holyoke - she loved the campus and their student life and traditions. Great resources for environmental science and she especially liked the tradition that each freshman is given a plant from the greenhouse to keep alive for their 4 years (D23 has a big plant collection she wants to bring to school). But she thinks the all-women thing is a bit weird. So I think itās a maybe right now.
SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry - absolutely hated the urban location, didnāt even want to get out of the car. Definitely off the list.
Allegheny College - liked it a lot, strong research focus, had a chance to talk to an ES professor. Her only negative was that she thought the library smelled weird. I do think itās a bit remote and the transportation to/from school will be a little challenging compared to others on her list. But, they are also pretty generous with merit aid and I like that awards are guaranteed for all 4 years with no GPA requirement. She will apply.
Dickinson College - she loved the campus, the stories about the school history and research opportunities, strong study abroad options. Definitely applying.
Those add to already-toured Juniata College, Washington College, and UMW.
And we have upcoming tours to SMCM and W&M.
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Thank you so much! Iāll check it out. He didnāt find an email, but he appears to qualify. No harm in applying.
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Iām from the areaā¦skip Swarthmore, itās boring and the area isnāt all that. Students there are notoriously nerdy. No fun. Like zero. Itās in Delco which is residential and not at all fun. If your kid wants a more upscale, fun school with great D1 basketball, thatās semi small and highly competitive, Villanova is way nicer. Itās on the Main Line of upscale suburban Philadelphia, on the train line.
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Itās really medium sized ā¦ 17-20k -ish. Nothing like Michigan or PSU.
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Thanks for that! My son has a 207 and it says ācommended estimate is between 207-209.ā Hoping he makes the cut, but for now heās really happy he made the cut-off for the Hispanic category.
The link above gives ābreaking newsā from 4/13 as the cutoff being 207. Thatās known because it is the same cutoff as used for Hispanic and other ārecognitionā awards. In other words you get ārecognitionā for reaching or exceeding the commended cutoff if you fall into one of the specific underrepresented categories.
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Thanks for that breaking news 
@AmyIzzy Thanks for the info! Yes, I have seen a few articles with the lists of direct entry programs, but thank you! I will take a look at the PA forum though. That looks like a great resource. She definitely is clear on her goal of becoming a PA, but the drawback she sees is some of the programs are accelerated and some of those programs may not resemble as much of a ātypicalā 4 year college experience. She will have some definite pros and cons to weigh! Definitely great advice to apply early, which Iām sure D23 will do since she likes to do everything early, haha! Thanks again!
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@TS0104 Thanks so much! Actually, I think I had heard about their national championship because we were watching a few other teams at the NDA finals where they won, but in different divisions. So glad your son loves Elon!
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