<p>218 is a very good score. What state are you from teriwtt. Chances are your child will be a semi-finalist, but if you live like in Massachusetts or New York, you need somewhere in the lower 220's to be a semi-finalist. But commended is also good.</p>
<p>Hmmm...are all the cutoffs listed in the post accurate?</p>
<p>I don't know. I see different ones everywhere. It is pretty close. That's all I know.</p>
<p>Numberone, New York's cutoff has been 218 for years, not in the lower 220's. I think the larger states tend to have cutoffs that remain the same for many years, whereas in smaller states your going to have alot of variation from year to year.</p>
<p>Sorry I forgot to include that information. We're in Illinois. And thanks for the explanations. And FYI, she's probably not applying Ivies - she's thinking either musical theater or broadcast/film production, so she already knows she wants to go to Emerson. I know her scores/grades/rank will get her in there, but any money will be appreciated. That being said, the recognition from her high school community for her achievements would be most welcome.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what score it takes (on the PSAT, obviously) to be a "finalist" or whatever for National Merit? Like, I understand the various qualifying scores, but what number does it take to "advance?"</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>really, 218. I didn't know that. Sorry. I just listen to other people and some people say that 220's is where new york is. You probably know better than me. I only know a few states like my own. And for teriwtt, your child will get national merit semifinalist because it has been around 216 or 214 for the past few years, and since your child got a 218, he/she will get it.</p>
<p>71 CR
59 M (OUCH!)
68 W</p>
<p>198 (well, its better than my SAT score.... which is kinda sad...)</p>
<p>GAH!! If we have a snow day Friday and I can't get my scores... I'm gonna flip!!</p>
<p>teriwtt: IL NMS cut-offs for years '05/'04/'03/'01/'99 appear to have been 216/214/214/213/213, so your D is probably OK, even if upward trend continues. As Charchazwick suggests below, biggest changes seem to be in smallest states (UT and ID both up FOUR pts last year), but the 25 states that went up 4, 3, or 2 last year (see post #558 below) have 99 million people while the others have 179 million, so size of state was only weakly correlated (-27%) with size of change last year. Of the 10 states that rose THREE points last year, 2 are pretty big (GA #10, NC #11), 3 are pretty small (ME #39, DE #44, WY #50), while the rest are in the middle (NB, NV, MN, TN, MS). Two of the three that DROPPED last year are small (SD #46, RI #43), the other was AZ #20.</p>
<p>thank you very much for the information. It's a close enough call that we'll just have to wait and see, but are now hopeful and realistic. Good luck to the rest of you.</p>
<p>Do PSAT scores play in any more after semi-finalist status or is being a finalist purely based on the essay, SAT scores, GPA, class rank, and the recommendation from the principal? Also, since the 99%tile cut-off was so much higher than last year's, does this mean that the semifinalist cut-offs will be a lot higher too?</p>
<p>80m, 80cr, 78w (missed 2)</p>
<p>The percentile on the score report is relative to Juniors in the nation, not an individual state.</p>
<p>I FINALLY GOT MY SCORES</p>
<p>224!!! 99 percentile baby!
It's just too bad I'm not a U.S. citizen so my results aren't worth anything (you don't put it in your college transcript right?)</p>
<p>I should not have missed those two math questions (easy and grid-in). Oh man.</p>
<p>Ignorant parent question... Somewhere on the PSAT threads I saw a mention of a different, higher :( cutoff score for boarding school students. Does it make any difference whether the student is a day student at such a school?</p>
<p>If there is a different cutoff, can anyone say what the score has been in recent years? Thanks!</p>
<p>I don't think there is a different cutoff. But, my school says they still have not recieved their scores yet. Is this unusual or do some people still not have their scores yet.</p>
<p>I saw this too, specifically about northeast boarding schools, but I can't seem to find any additional information. What schools are included in this higher cutoff and what is the cutoff?</p>
<p>Oh man. I got 221. Is that enough for NY SF?</p>
<p>216 (74/72/70). would have been 218 (+2 in math) if i'd erased properly or something - a problem that i seemed to have gotten right in my booklet was marked omitted on my score report, but there's nothing i can do now. least i made semi-finalist status, heh.</p>
<p>222 / 72M, 72CR, 78W</p>
<p>Damn. I missed one in writing and it brought it down to 78.
Sigh. This is a sophomore speaking though (lol) so, its not, uh, that bad. :(</p>
<p>But I'm graduating early - so does that mean I'm a junior? Hmm.</p>
<p>ANyway, Congrats to all of y'alls for the great scores!</p>