<p>When will they notify students who made the initial cutoff for national merit commended/semifinalist?</p>
<p>Sometime this month. See the website for all dates: <a href="http://www.nationalmerit.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.nationalmerit.org/</a>
Good luck!</p>
<p>does anybody know what sat score is needed to confirm the psat score to get to finalist.</p>
<p>I assume something above like a 2000. If you can pull off NMSF, it shouldn't be hard to get NMF.</p>
<p>whats the selection index or percentile needed to get commended?</p>
<p>I'm hoping someone will know the answer to this: Is it possible for you to change the colleges you put down as your first and second choice AFTER you tell NMSC which ones you picked? If so, how late can the change be made?</p>
<p>CMD220 - I believe last year it was about 201, won't know this year's until letters come out this month.</p>
<p>apho - Yes, it is possible to change NMS college designation up until spring of Sr year. My D is a junior so we haven't been through the process yet, but other threads have suggested this strategy:
April of Jr year - when designated as commended/semi-finalist, give 2 schools that track demonstrated interest, whether or not they offer NMS $ (eg. WUSTL, LAC's; not Ivies)
Fall of Jr year - when designated as a semi-finalist, put undecided as your school choice unless you're really certain of a school.
Spring of Sr year - when designated as finalist, this is binding and you should list a school that offers NMS scholarships.</p>
<p>Im a little confused here, If I took the PSAT over the fall of 2005 will I find out if I qualified for national merit stuff this month?</p>
<p>it's closer to 208-217, depending on the state.</p>
<p>jakpot - cmd asked for commended, not semi-finalist. and the s-f state numbers won't be known until the fall.</p>
<p>danny - yes, juniors that took the PSAT in fall 2005 will find out if they made the first cut this month. go to the website for all of the dates:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php</a></p>
<p>The National Merit website says: "In early September, about 16,000 students, or approximately one-third of the 50,000 high scorers, are notified that they have qualified as Semifinalists. To ensure that academically able young people from all parts of the United States are included in this talent pool, Semifinalists are designated on a state representational basis. They are the highest scoring entrants in each state. NMSC provides scholarship application materials to Semifinalists through their high schools."</p>
<p>I give up, people on this website need to learn how to read.</p>
<p>aphoticmelody: Yes, you can change them as late as May of your senior year of high school. In the initial notification, when you list your first and second choices, that is just preliminary. When you receive official finalist documents, you will make your final first-choice. Your college choice can be changed as many times as you like by sending a letter to the company. Hope that helps. (just elaborating on what entomom said above)
And btw, 90& of semifinalists become finalists. Good luck, all!</p>
<p>entomom: On the website it only says that students would be notified in April to contact colleges, not whether they are commended or semi, so I don't know what you mean by "making the cut".</p>
<p>@oasis...i think that entomom is referring to making the commended or better cut...</p>
<p>Yes, gumba is right, people notified in April are at least commended. You find out in September if you are a semi-finalist, if you are, you must fill out some paperwork and send in your SAT score in order to qualify for Finalist level. Sorry if I didn't make things clear, I agree that it's confusing because of the National cut-off for Commended and state cut-offs for Semi.</p>
<p>From the NM website:</p>
<p>Program Recognition
Of the 1.3 million entrants, some 50,000 with the highest PSAT/NMSQT® Selection Index scores (critical reading + math + writing skills scores) qualify for recognition in the National Merit® Scholarship Program. In April following the fall test administration, high-scoring participants from every state are invited to name two colleges or universities to which they would like to be referred by NMSC. In September, these high scorers are notified through their schools that they have qualified as either a Commended Student or Semifinalist.</p>
<p>Is there a current list on the Web someplace of schools that offer NMS scholarships or do you need to do this legwork yourself?</p>
<p>There is a current list of schools that offer NMS scholarships. It is in the PSAT informational booklet, but I don't know if it's online.</p>
<p>relaxdad: check out this thread: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=136920%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=136920</a></p>
<p>Also, there are a couple of merit aid threads on the parents forum, one is tacked at the top, the other is within the first couple of pages of threads and addresses close to full ride scholarships in general. The list I give on the above thread is a few years old (as is most information you'll find on a discussion board) so you'll want to double check on the college websites you're interested in to find the most current information. Good luck.</p>
<p>I got a 205, and I live in Puerto Rico</p>
<p>All Puertorricans put Hispanic in their ethnicity, and I was prequalified to be a Hispanic Scholar. That probably means I was one of the highest scores in Puerto Rico. That probably gets me to semifinalist, right?</p>