Check on Mission San Jose high school in Fremont, CA. They have over 90 kids qualify for NMSF. It is a public school, not sure if they prepare kids for PSAT. I am from another school in CA, we don’t have any preparation for PSAT, we are not even allowed to take PSAT before Junior year. But there are constantly over 30-40 kids qualify NMSF each year.
In Illinois it is mandatory to take the test. Not just for the school to offer it. No diploma without taking the SAT as administered by the high school. My beef is that S19 already took it and I just wish they would let kids off the hook who already have a score. For some reason that doesn’t fly. Believe me, I’ve checked every avenue to get out of it
I just talked to our GC and she seems to think 221 should stick for Illinois. And she obviously knows how many kids at our school are above that level. She said S19 in a “good spot” to make NMSF but obviously need to wait to be 100 percent sure.
I’d prefer a SAT requirement to the PARCC requirement we have in NJ. That way it’s not both state testing and college testing for Juniors (who may also have AP tests, and plenty of tests in their courses, etc).
In regards to score there many schools like above who have a high rate of NMSF. Our school who is in top 15% in Illinois had 2 NMSF semifinalists out of 291 for the class of 2018.
@Dad2020 A great deal have 0 in fact. 2016 there were only 2 in the county to make NMSF. MY S19 is the first ever at his HS to make NMSF this year. There have been commended but never NMSF.
385. Congrats. Your example is how I believe it is in a lot of places. The schools that have many are balanced with the ones that have none.
I hate to add to parental anxiety about whether your kids will or won’t qualify as NMSF, but your guidance counsellor probably has no clue what the scores will be next year.
There is a well known blog by a gentleman named Art Sawyer that predicts the qualifying scores for each state leading up to the announcement in September. Google ‘Compass Educational Group Blog’ for details.
My daughter is a NMSF graduating in 2018, and as a parent, this was all unexpected. Until she received her PSAT score, my wife and I were not aware of the NMF scholarship. At worst, its a feather in your cap for schools that don’t award any merit for NMF status (several of which are on my daughter’s list of dream schools). At best, it opens up doors at schools you might never have considered. On CC some will deride these as mid-tier schools, but we have not found that to be the case, at least for Engineering.
Our school district in Southern California has 5 high schools, each with about 500 kids per class. Four of the schools (including my D’s) had 1-3 NMSF’s this year, and the other had 29. One of these is not like the other, and they are obviously prepping kids for the test. Given the potential upside for the families, I wish they would do this at each campus. We brought this to the attention of the Principal at my D’s school and he didn’t seem interested.
Good luck to all of the parents and kids waiting for PSAT scores. It will be 14 months until they name NM Finalists, so this is just the beginning.
@kcheves While you are right on most of your points there are however many scores for kids in each state where it is high enough to not have to worry whether they made it or not. Kids that are 1 or 2 below or above will have to wait it out unfortunately. If you scored a 223 in a state where the cutoff last year was 219 you are set.
@moscott, I agree. I was just commenting on a GC’s speculation about what the SI would be this year.
@homerdog at #382 - awful. If state law truly mandates that the student be present for that test, then the two options would be contacting the state representative to get the law changed and, of course, being sick on the day of the test. They can’t - and won’t - fight a parent who says the kid is sick. What’s sad is that it has to come to that kind of action when THEY are actually working for YOU.
I’m in Illinois and the curriculum guide at our school states as a graduation requirement grade level testing. The testing for juniors is SAT, sophomores PSAT, Freshman PSAT 8/9. They won’t fight a parent of a sick kid but it looks like they won’t give them a diploma either.
and they give them make up tests, which I suppose could be delayed until senior year.
@Dad2020 there is probably an alternate option if the kid was sick for testing, like a “portfolio review”.
@Dad2020 at #391: Of course the student will need to fulfill the requirement for grade-level testing. The question is over which SAT or whether the ACT can substitute. If a student is required to submit all standardized tests (say, for CMU) then is “making” the student show up on a particular day for a particular SAT a reasonable mandate. If THAT is your state law, you may wish to lobby for change.
For those who are interested to know which company and university sponsor NMF.
https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/merit_sponsor_leaflet.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61&sessionid=8daf3d56-3b10-4a78-9613-43018344dca5&cc=1
I got a 1460 (760 M and 700 R/W) with a 216 index. I’m from MD which has an index on the upper end. Really upset because on the two PSAT practice tests I scored a 1490 and a 1500. Not sure why I decreased by so much.
i know the SAT changed a few years back.
What about the PSAT? is a PSAT score from a five years ago similar to what it would be today? Or have score charts changed slightly?
@bgbg4us Both the PSAT and SAT changed at the same time, with the New PSAT beginning Oct 2015 and New SAT in March 2016. So no, old PSAT scores are not comparable.
Agh so my school took the PSAT the alternate date and I STILL cannot see my score (I’m in California). Apparently people from other schools who took it the normal date have their scores… I tried using VPN and that didn’t work either. Has this happened to anyone else, and does anyone know when scores come out if you take the PSAT the alternate date?
I took it on the alternative date in NY, got it yesterday.