If a student takes the PSAT while at boarding school is his or her score compared to the state where he resides or the state where he is attending school? I’m trying to understand how it works for National Merit Semifinalist consideration. For example, in 2014/15 the cutoff score for MA was 223 while WV was 201. If the student is from WV but attending school in MA how is his score compared?
This is one of those topics that has been asked and answered many times over the years here…and a good example of why I recommend using the search tool before posting a new thread on a topic that is likely to have been hashed over on the CC BS forum.
You probably won’t like the answer:
Unless things have changed between last year and this year, the student’s score is NOT compared to home state cutoff score. It is not necessarily even compared to the cutoff score in the state where the BS is located — it is rather measured vs. the highest score in the student’s school’s region. For the New England schools for the class of 2015, I think that score was 223 (as you noted, the cutoff in Massachusetts). For the Mid-Atlantic region, it was 224 (which was the cutoff for both DC and NJ).
Colleges seem to be aware of the PSAT rules at boarding schools, and it does not seem to affect college matriculation to be called commended or a finalist. Over half of my Ds boarding school class was finalist or commended.
If however, National Merit finalist qualification is important (likely because you are looking for certain full ride college merit scholarships), you are at a disadvantage in boarding schools. My D would have qualified in home state but did not because boarding school cutoff was higher. But we were not looking for that kind of merit aid so no matter.
They have not changed. @SevenDad is correct.
I just wanted to update this thread. I believe for the high school ** Class of 2016 **, the New England boarding schools were grouped with the Mid Atlantic boarding schools, therefore setting the cutoff for any student in a NE boarding school to be the highest (225- NJ) cutoff vs the highest (223- Mass) New England cutoff. Not sure if they mess around with these regions every year to get the number of students they need, but that is what I can see from last year.
Can someone with a student in Class of 2016 in New England confirm that the cutoff for their student was 225 (NJ) not 223 (Mass)?
Thanks for the update @suzyQ7 : ) I didn’t know that NE Boarding schools are considered in a separate category for National Merit qualification.
@Xystus Boarding Schools are a separate category, and some years the split out NE Boarding schools into their own "selection group’. But, I believe this past year (Class of 2016) they didn’t do that - I think they group all the East Coast boarding schools and gave them all the highest (NJ/DC) cutoff. But I was looking for confirmation on that from some parents who have kids in NE boarding schools.
No New England BS parents that went through the NMS process?