<p>Does anyone have the link to the national merit cutoffs for the states?</p>
<p>it varies form year to year.
be in the top 2 percent...above 212..and there shouldn't be a problem
dont make stupid mistakes...
you'll be fine</p>
<p>Yeah but states like Mass have cutoffs of like 222 while others like Missouri are like 203 or something</p>
<p>yeah, NY too its like 222 out of 240.</p>
<p>Unfair system...highest scorers should get semifinalist status</p>
<p>Wait... the highest scorers do get NMSF...</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>wait in missouri this year it was 212...thats what i based my post off of</p>
<p>Yeah, the system is unfair. Its a shame I live in Massachusetts where all the kids from phillip's academy get no less than a 230 on the PSAT. Im definitely moving to mississippi so my future kids can qualify</p>
<p>Hiwei, that is not true because you have some kids in some of the Northeastern states with scores of like 221 getting passed over while kids in other states, kids can get 208s and 204s and still get semifinalist. That is a little unfair. But I guess they want diversity.</p>
<p>It's utterly ridiculous, what's wrong with just simply taking the top 1.5% of scorers nationwide and making them semi-finalists instead of 50 cutoff for the states? I can't stand sorting through individual cutoffs for each state when worrying about National Merit.</p>
<p>I really don't see any compelling justification for the current system. Perhaps, if one wants to be cynical about it, the real purpose of the separate state cutoffs is to make national merit recognition all the more mysterious, which adds to its mystique. </p>
<p>After all, if national merit awards were uniformly tied to a test score, colleges might wonder why they shouldn't simply see the score, or do away with the system entirely.</p>
<p>Ummm Just Study</p>
<p>I agree with everyone else on the issue of statewide cutoffs. I would understand if the tests were different in each state, but they just aren't. It's not fair. Of course, I also agree on this issue because I'm a 220/MA.</p>
<p>last year GA was 214</p>
<p>I so agree...wait....I'm in Arkansas (202!!!!!!!!!!!)</p>
<p>i dont know why missouri is so low...212
because my friends and i all got in the 230 to 240 range</p>
<p>Well, I can understand the system. Most of the scholarships are given out by private businesses. Why would a business in Mississippi want to give money to a student all the way out in New Jersey? They wouldn't. People prefer to help out their "neighbors."</p>
<p>Unfair, but such is life.</p>