<p>So, today I FINALLY received my PSAT score (my school is ridiculous): 217. I live in WA, and last year the cutoff was 218. So I'm pretty sure I missed the cutoff my 1 lousy point.</p>
<p>UNLESS.</p>
<p>Someone told me the cutoff is actually determined by percentile...? My score sheet says 99% (under "compares your performance with college-bound juniors").
So does that mean nationally? Since I know the cutoff is based off each states' scores, a 99% on the score report doesn't guarantee NM, right?</p>
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<p>Right. Pray that Washington’s cutoff decreases this year.</p>
<p>i am! I feel like it’s going to increase, though. Since everyone thought the test was so easy :(</p>
<p>Be glad you don’t live in New Jersey, where the cutoff is a sick 221.</p>
<p>You have a chance. But don’t be too paranoid about it; it’s really not that huge of a deal.</p>
<p>Is the PSAT only important for scholarships and summer programs like RSI or do colleges also look at them?</p>
<p>The NM cut-off is determined by taking the top 16,000 scorers and taking into account each state so… hope that people did worse this year in your state. For some regions, the cut-off increased this year, like for DC, Massachusetts, and International (221 -> 223)</p>
<p>WA went up from 217 -> 218 this year, but you can’t say for sure if it’ll go up, down, or stay the same.</p>
<p>So yea, to answer your question, 99th percentile doesn’t guarentee NM. You could have gotten a 222 (which is 99th percentile), but if you lived in Massachusetts, you still didn’t make NM this year.</p>
<p>Alright thanks you guys… blob793, colleges don’t care about your PSAT score UNLESS you get national merit. Some don’t even care then, but some give partial or even full(!!!) tuition scholarships to Finalists. Which is why I’m so hoping I have a chance this year…</p>