<p>So I got a 202 on the PSAT this past year, and I was wondering what my chances were at getting commended recognition. Does anyone know what the cutoff is?</p>
<p>It’s usually around 200+. However, unfortunately it doesn’t matter too much. You get a form to send this special mail to your top two colleges. Take advantage of that.</p>
<p>The PSAT only really matters for finalists, who get a scholarship. Overall, the test isn’t that important. The same can’t be said about the SAT.</p>
<p>^ ditto. But it’s another thing to add to your app nonetheless.</p>
<p>If you’re in NV, WY, or ND you have a chance at Semifinalist.</p>
<p>[National</a> Merit Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html]National”>http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html)</p>
<p>I’m in Colorado unfortunately, so I think the cutoff for Semifinalist is around 213 or so. 202 is the 97th percentile, so wouldn’t that pretty much guarantee commended, since (according to wikipedia) the 96th percentile and up are recognized? Is 202 a sure thing?</p>
<p>^choco: I am glad that the PSAT doesn’t hold any significance outside the NMSQ. My school felt the same way that colleges do, and gave us absolutely no prep whatsoever. I was fairly happy with a 202 without any prep, but I will definitely study for the SAT when the time comes so I get a 2250-2400.</p>
<p>I hope it’s 200, that’s what I got. If it’s 201 like last year I will be thoroughly irritated.</p>
<p>I think it’s the top 5% that receive commended. Look at your score report to see what your state percentile is. The cutoff varies by state and by year, so a student in Montana with a 200 could be a national merit scholar while a student in Massachussetts might not even make commended.</p>
<p>^ I thought that semifinalist was by state but commended was national. Does anyone know?</p>
<p>It is national. And I got 96%ile but it’s still not a sure thing.</p>
<p>national- thanks.</p>
<p>do you mean my score (202- 97th percentile) isn’t a sure thing or the 96th percentile isn’t a sure thing?</p>
<p>Yeah it’s not. It’s not always top 5% like they say it is. It varies from 201-205 being the cutoff.</p>
<p>Oh I see. Thanks for the clarification. I heard that on average, scores are a little lower this year. Does anyone know if there’s any truth to that?</p>
<p>No idea, but I sure am praying so.</p>
<p>well, if you go to <a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/understanding-psat-nmsqt-scores.pdf[/url]”>Higher Education Professionals | College Board; it gives you percenteges from this year and other details. It says that approximately 55,000 out of the 1.5 million eligible test-takers are semi finalists/commended. I don’t know if this confirms anything, but if you divide 55,000 by 1.5 million, it’s about 3.6 percent, so wouldn’t that mean that everyone from about the 96.5 percentile and up would be commended atleast?</p>
<p>@jr5570: I believe that last year the average score was 147 for juniors and this year it’s 141. I’m not 100% sure though, I was wrong on the 95th percentile (But if that were true, then this year the cutoff would be 192/193. That would be AWESOME)</p>
<p>NavyBlueNinja: that would make sense because of that BRUTAL writing curve this year on the Saturday test (since when does missing 2 questions deduct you 10 points?!?!). 192/193 for the cutoff seems a little low, but if that’s the case then a 202 would be more than good enough so that would be fine with me! </p>
<p>Did you hear that about the average for juniors on a website or another source? If you read it on a site, could you send the link? Thanks.</p>
<p>I was in the 96th percentile last year and I wasn’t commended :(</p>
<p>I know I know. I went online and it looks like I’m the 96.5%ile so I’m just praying the cutoff score goes down. But in the long run it really doesn’t matter too much, just a dumb award that can be validated by my SATs. And hey you managed to get into a beast school without commended so it clearly can’t matter too much.</p>
<p>so we’re all agreeing that the 97th percentile is safe?</p>
<p>I got 203 last year and was commended, but im unsure what the percentile was.</p>