<p>Does anyone know approximately what score you would need to get the college referral from National Merit? DS scored in the in 92th percentile with a score of 188. We know from reading other posts that he missed being commended but were wondering about the referral process.</p>
<p>it’s usually the 95th percentile and up. A 188 is most likely much too low</p>
<p>What do you mean by “referral”? College Board will provide colleges with student information probably some time this week. The colleges set the parameters for the students they want to target (geographic location, intended major, range of PSAT scores, etc). The deluge of mail will begin soon.</p>
<p>I believe the OP is referring to this section from the NMSC:</p>
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<p>[National</a> Merit Scholarship Corporation - National Merit Scholarship Program](<a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php]National”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php)</p>
<p>Last year, it wasn’t 95th percentile and up. The cutoff was 200, wasn’t it? 200 was the highest score in the 96th percentile range of 198-200 for the 2006 PSAT.
<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
(page 3)</p>
<p>^ the 200 was for commended. The college referral “thing” is the first stage before commended, so the cutoff score is a little lower.</p>
<p>Hmmm… </p>
<p>The NMSC’s information implies that the opportunity to acquire the NMSC’s referral to two colleges in April is only made available to either commended students or semifinalists.</p>
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<p>Is that incorrect?</p>
<p>oh, I guess your right. Please excuse my inaccuracy.</p>
<p>I got a 188 sophomore year and I got loads of junk mail from colleges.</p>
<p>Now I scored a 217 and I get even better junk mail. I even received a letter for the Harvard summer program.</p>
<p>Do you have to name the two schools in April, or can you wait until you’re a little more sure of where you want to go? It seems silly to send that info to a school eight or nine months before you apply.</p>
<p>You can wait, but naming two schools in April is not binding.</p>
<p>If I named two schools back in junior year (I’m a senior now), do I still need to choose just one school to list as my first choice for a National Merit Scholarship, or are both of those choices counted as a first choice? (I’m a semi-finalist right now) And what exactly does referring do (ie. what benefits do I as a student get)? Is it just another way of demonstrating interest in the school, or do I get something more from it like a greater chance at scholarship money?</p>
<p>Fireflyscout - When does this deluge start? Would you expect to see more mail if your score was in NMF range? Or just from select schools who would be seeking students of that caliber?</p>
<p>curiousgeorge58, I found the college mail (both electronic and snail mail) started to come in towards the end of grade 11, and increased in volume during the fall of grade 12. I received information from a wide range of schools (Ivy League schools, to less known state universities)</p>
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<p>D2 just mentioned that the email deluge has already started. She knows because she opened a new email account right before taking the PSAT last October just for this purpose. Might take a little longer for snail mail.</p>
<p>The PSAT information was made available to colleges beginning yesterday. My son received 5-6 emails yesterday from various colleges. 10th graders will receive some, but the bulk will go to 11th graders. The colleges have the option of specifying students who scored within a particular range on the PSAT, as well as targeting students in various parts of the country, students who are interested in certain majors, etc.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t put much weight on the “referral”. Much more importance is placed in college admissions on GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and the rest of the application. D1 was NMF and got lots of mail from the colleges and universities across the country that automatically offer paid tuition for NMF.<br>
I’m not dissing it…she got nice merit $$ from National Merit…but, I don’t think a “referral” helped her.</p>
<p>It also depends on where your S plans to apply. If he’s applying to a highly competitive school, unfortunately, most of his competition in the admit process will have scores similar or higher to his. Sorry to be blunt, but as you go through the process and read lots about it (i.e. get addicted to) CC, you’ll see that over and over. GOOD LUCK!</p>
<p>D2 probably will be a commended student, but didn’t get to last year’s cut-offs for NMSF. She’s already getting at least one college solicitation per day now…much more than last year in 10th grade, but we know it will pick up soon…and even more after she takes the SAT.</p>
<p>Makes sense… D2 started getting emails yesterday.</p>
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<p>The ‘referral’ is probably long forgotten by the time the apps start raining down on the colleges, anyway. ;)</p>
<p>Colleges get to request for a fee from College Board email lists (or postal mail lists) with names of students in specified score RANGES, not necessarily above or below the national Commended Student cut-off, for recruiting purposes. The individual scores of each student are NOT revealed to the recruiting colleges. The lists can be made up from students who took any of the various College Board tests, not just the PSAT. </p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/higher-ed/recruitment/sss]SSS[/url”>Recruitment & Admissions – Higher Ed | College Board]SSS[/url</a>] </p>
<p>My son took the October 2007 PSAT as a sophomore (tenth grader) and began receiving emails last night. His score put him in the range that includes National Merit Semifinalists in most states, including our own, but of course he has to repeat or better that score to be in the running next year. I’ve heard elsewhere in cyberspace that other current sophomores, including at least one who didn’t take the PSAT this year but took other College Board tests, are beginning to receive recruiting emails. NACAC has a rule for colleges that discourages recruiting students before their sophomore year, but my son, who has attended some regional information sessions over the years, was getting recruiting postal mail by the end of the summer from colleges whose sessions he has visited before. We have not yet seen any PSAT-related postal mail–we haven’t had today’s mail delivery yet. </p>
<p>Does that help? Sooner or later nearly every student gets recruited by some college. It’s still okay to apply somewhere that didn’t didn’t recruit you.</p>
<p>hmm.. i’ve only recieved one e-mail so far, and i’m a junior, is that bad? Also, i’ve changed addresses after the PSAT, but the info i filled out for the Student Search is my old one. Will the post office divert all this mail to my new address or am i screwed?</p>