<p>I have seen some sites that say the cutoff scores, but is it really official yet? I have a 219 (New Jersey), and I have seen 221 being the cutoff on some sites. Is there any chance that I might make it?</p>
<p>The semifinalist cutoff scores are not available until August/September of this year. And then they are not made available publicly, so we have to anecdotally accumulate scores here state-by-state. I honestly see no reason why the National Merit group shouldn't publish the cutoff scores. </p>
<p>The cutoff for New Jersey for the class of 2008 was 221.</p>
<p>Can anyone provide an estimate for what the cutoff for a commendable status would be?</p>
<p>I know someone with a 204 who got commended. I think the minimum is 200.</p>
<p>Cutoff for commended is a national number: 200 this year. (Same as last year, so if you want to predict semifinalist cutoffs last year's numbers will likely be pretty close.)</p>
<p>I know someone with a 204 who got commended. I think the minimum is 200. </p>
<p>Is it realistic for the semifinalist cutoff to drop 2 points in NJ?</p>
<p>We are in WA. My son scored a 210 as soph and 213 this year as jr. He was told ( by teachers at his school ) that even his 210 would have qualified so 213 would be semi despite the fact that CC has 216 listed as the WA cutoff. I guess the numbers here are only what people who use the site have reported. National Merit doesn't report the cutoff scores.</p>
<p>I wish they would "superscore" the PSAT... I got a 218 my sophmore year (FL cutoff last year was 213ish last year I think) and a 207 as a junior... It sucks that the one time it counted was the time I had to get sick and have a bad test day =(</p>
<p>@figment42 haha I'm in a similar situation, i went down from 214 to 213...but I improved in writing and critical reading...unfortunately I went down by by 10 in math</p>
<p>i think the cutoff will actually INCREASE...</p>
<p>but NMSF is gay anyways so don't worry about it</p>
<p>@ figment42 exact same thing happened with me, only I got 1 point lower than you =P</p>
<p>Some of my friends keep insisting that national merit is really important because it looks really good on your resume and it looks kinda bad if it isn't on your resume. I'm wondering why the you don't think the national merit's that important?</p>
<p>because everyone has it, and so if youd on't have it it'll just look like you didn't think it was important enough to put on your application ;) plus, just get a high SAT score.</p>
<p>That's not true. I'd say that's more characteristic of NHS rather than National Merit. Everyone is NHS. Only 16,000 people are National Merit semifinalists.</p>
<p>I'm going to miss my state's cutoff by a couple of points (because it's the highest in the nation)...so irritating....</p>
<p>
[quote]
Only 16,000 people are National Merit semifinalists.
[/quote]
if you're looking at top scores, that's a lot of people. a "good" award that <em>counts</em> for much at a top school is something that 50, maybe 100 people have :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
but NMSF is gay anyways so don't worry about it
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
because everyone has it, and so if youd on't have it it'll just look like you didn't think it was important enough to put on your application plus, just get a high SAT score.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>don't underestimate being an NMSF/NMF. For many, it's a ticket to getting an affordable (and for some, free-ride, or free-tuition) quality college education.</p>
<p>Narcissa, you seem to not realize that over one million people take the PSAT, so being one of the 16,000 is actually quite an achievement =P</p>
<p>ya i think NM is great... </p>
<p>its the only way i'd be able to afford college..</p>
<p>so now i'm gonna go to ATM for free..
(assuming i'm indeed good enough to become a NMF) lol</p>
<p>rss, which school is ATM?</p>
<p>Well your standards apparently are much higher than mine. Considering that there are millions of students that take the test, I'd say it's pretty hard to get into that select group.</p>