<p>Some corporations use the NMS corp to administer their corporate employee children's scholarships- totally separate criteria. Unfortunate, although technically correct, use of the NMS name -slightly different wording but close enough many won't notice the distinction. </p>
<p>I agree with the state by state differences- without such I can imagine it being an East coast prep school award, not any nationwide (another way of looking at the term national) award. Without geographic distribution most public U's would probably drop out of it and use other programs to award money. National in this case means every part of the country. </p>
<p>To really start a tangential discussion this election year, we have "national" elections- primaries/caucuses, electoral college...</p>
<p>Back to the subject at hand- most people don't even care, many don't know about NMS- it doesn't make any difference past college admissions. The facts I could relate about relative performances of those who did/did not become scholars amongst friends...</p>
<p>So it is sour grapes time among the elite folks who otherwise take for granted their priveleged lives. Sometimes have to wonder how they would fare without the boost from superior schools... how disappointed they would be at losing a college spot to the currently less priveleged if educations were equalized...</p>
<p>Wis, might be hard to believe, but most of us Easterners don't send our kids to elite preps. Mine grew up in a blue collar working class town, went to the local public high school which I guarantee most CC'ers woudln't send their kids to, where the average SAT was about 900 (old style.) Majority minority, a high percentage of low income. Not sure what privileged position you think I am coming from, but your stereotypes are definitely showing.</p>
<p>If you don't like NMS, boycott by only applying to schools that accept the ACT. Or, if offered NMS $$$, turn down the money. That would show them, right?</p>
<p>Hey, I'm long past that stage of life, thankfully. They can call it whatever they like, give titles to whoever they like, I just think that some truth in advertising would've been nice. I do agree that it doesn't make as much difference as I had feared at the time (my Finalist and my Commended ended up in similarly fine colleges), but for those who really need the money, it can make a lot of difference. And, from a linguistic point of view, the name is a misnomer.</p>
if I am to understand this correctly, a low income student from Connecticut has to get a 2210 on his/her PSAT's to be on par with a wealthy student, possibly attending a private school, from Florida( for example) who gets a 2120? Thats so UNFAIR. Its should not be called a NATIONAL Merit scholarship if they dont meet the NATIONAL standard!
Its not sour grapes because my son got a 2390. But so many deserving students from CT are getting the raw end of the deal! <exhale> I'm ok now, got that off my chest. </exhale></p>
<p>I am being blinded? what do you parents think?
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<p>If a national scholarship is not fair to take into acount of geographic difference, why is it fare to take into acount of 'poor' or 'wealthy'? You conflict yourself.</p>
<p>
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Public school students represent over 80% of all school-age children in the U.S. Under the geographical percentage system, it stands to reason that 80% of the 16,000 semi-finalist spots should go to public school students.
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<p>Interesting point! Does anyone know if the public/private school statistical representation among NMS qualifiers matches the public/private school statistical distribution of students each year?</p>
<p>This linked article describes how in San Mateo County approximately 16% of students attend a private high school, but 67% of the County's NMS qualifiers are private school students. Brain</a> drain? | Oakland Tribune | Find Articles at BNET.com</p>
<p>The NMSC equalizes geographic distribution among qualifiers by state. Should they also equalize for public/private high school distribution?</p>
<p>JiffsMom, your last sentence was <em>exactly</em> my point! no, the statistical representation of public/private school students does not mirror the number who recieve scholarships.</p>
<p>Our family reading story.... one of my kids (won't say who) was late coming downstairs for dinner. Kid was in the bathroom. Dinner started and ended... finally I went up and knocked. "Do you have a book in there?". Long silence. "No, I don't have a book in here." Pause. Consider child's history. "So do you have two books in there?". Of course. When you get to within 20 pages of the end you start carrying another with you, right?!</p>
<p>Why should NMF status mirror private vs. public enrollment? Should home-schoolers get their guaranteed cut, too? Should secular privates get a specific share, and Catholic and Lutheran, or other religions get a given share? How about rural vs urban vs suburban? What do you do with those who attended private school for part of their K12 years and then switched to public for high school? </p>
<p>What is the rationale behind this idea that merit scholarships and awards should be allocated according to public or private schooling? There is little enough incentive for the public schools in many places to perform well as it is; guaranteeing awards and scholarships to their students no matter how well or poorly the students are educated is a prescription for poor schooling.</p>
<p>If 10-12 states produced nearly all of the winners, year after year, the students in the perennial loser states might start giving ACT a closer look.</p>
<p>Also, the whole PSAT/SAT is marketed as a useful way to rank the quality of a student. In many states there is a hard cap on the number of OOS the state college system can take. It looks bad if in a particular state, their state school can't recruit any NMS **in-state **students because there aren't any (or many). Makes the state primary, secondary AND higher education systems look dumb. That's not very helpful to the state elected officials.</p>
<p>Now, within the states, private college preparatory schools are going to produce the lion's share of the top NMS students. Smaller classes, superior funding, better discipline (no nasty limits on the rules like in government/public schools) and, yes, self-selection for scholastic aptitude makes that a sure thing.</p>
<p>The truly elite private prep schools in my town give scholarships to achieve diversity and the names and races of the NMS reads like a "who's who" at the UN.</p>
<p>Completely "fair?" No, and that is by design.</p>
<p>My kid attended high school in Mass., state tied for highest semifinalist cutoff most years. Definitely not fair. But, on the bright side, if your child goes to a highly selective school, NMF doesn't help much anyway--best they can do is win a $2500 Scholar award.</p>
<p>hey, I was/am an obsessive reader too!
hahaha.
oh gosh the stories.
I read excessively---when I was in early elementary school I used to love the American Girls series (I think this might have also contributed to my liking of history--each book has a section in the back about the time period), and Nancy Drew was big as well. Stupid stuff too, like "The Babysitter's Club" or The Adventures of Marykate and Ashley" and all, but point is I read, and read continuously. As I got older, the books I read obviously matured as well.
I used to stay up into the night with the flashlight under the covers thing. I'd read at the dining table and in the car and while accompanying my mother to do her errands---walking around with my nose in a book 24/7. It got the point where my mom would get upset with me for reading so much. Especially because if I was really into a book I would become so engrossed that I didn't hear her calling me or asking me a question, which really bugged her.
I'm happy to say that I'm currently a social, happy, personable junior with lots of friends, haha. I read everythign from classics to bestsellers to gossip girl, and I love them all. </p>
<p>Anyway, its definitely the reading since a young age that helps with CR. In every standardized test I've ever taken, I've always done well in CR (and much better than in math). Its just the habits that you form through reading so much---the way you are able to analyze text and are familiar with patterns and such. I managed to get a 780 CR on the PSAT without any prep. </p>
<p>I got a 221 on the PSAT, which makes me nervous because that's borderline for around where the NY limit usually is.<br>
I really do think that this is what helps you with critica</p>
<p>I do not agree with judging those who attended private schools harsher than public. In our case, we sacrificed greatly to send our four children to private christian schools. I remember being pregnant with our fourth and going up to my son's elem school to vacuum with 3 little ones in tow, to work for his tuition. When my children were 5,7, 9, and 11, I was diagnosed with what would have been terminal cancer had it not been for God, spent a year at MD Anderson, and my husband who had just started a business, after losing his job, made 7000 dollars that year. The Christian school my children were attending covered the full cost of their education that year. Anyway I entered them in spelling bees, and tapps(private school UIL). My baby is going to hear anytime now if she made it to NMF. Our plan was to pay for their primary education and have them apply for scholarships, work etc for college. Three are in college now, with nearly full scholarships and the fourth will attend OU with over 82000 in scholarships. I don't think our children should be penalized because of going to Christian private schools. Just my two cents worth.</p>
<p>I think you can rest easy on there ever being a bias against students at private schools for NMS. As a general rule (but not necessarily in your case), private school kids are the consumers of more products (7th-8th grade SAT's, PSAT, SATII's etc.) than students at most public schools. </p>
<p>They are not going to bite the hand that feeds them.</p>
<p>No, it's not fair, but since when has the college application/admissions process ever been a level playing field?! The day that universities stop considering gender, ethnic, geographic, and demographic data in making admissions decisions, and the day they stop admitting athletes who, but for their prowess on the field/court, wouldn't have stood a chance in hades of getting in, is the day I start complaining about state-by-state NMSF cut-offs.</p>
<p>I think sometimes parents of kids who go to public, view private school attendees as those from wealthy families etc. I do think the boarding schools get some penalty with a higher psat score to qualify, but most families I have personally known did without new cars etc to send their kids to private school. I attended public schools growing up and would say that at the time I attended they were very much the quality of the private schools my kids attended.</p>