<p>Here's a new thread for discussion of score cut-offs, program rules, and all other aspects of the process of selecting National Merit semifinalists, National Merit finalists, and National Merit Scholarship winners for high school students in high school class of 2010.</p>
<p>Here are all the cutoffs by state from 2008 as collected on the 2008 thread:</p>
<p>State - Minimum Score - Post# Cited (on 2008 thread) - (Change from '07)
AK =212 505 (-1)
AL =209 270 (NC)
AR =204 269? (+3)
AZ =209 488? (-2)
CA =217 281 (NC)
CO =213 564 (NC)
CT =218 300 (+1)
DC =221 381 (-2)
DE =219 564 (NC)
GA =215 504 (+1)
FL =211 27, 406 (-1)
HI =216 116? (+3)
IA =210 462 (+1)
ID =208 509 (+4)
IL =214 237, 332 (+1)
IN =213 172 (NC)
KS =211 228, 561 (-1)
KY =209 112, 340 (+1)
LA =208 419 (+2)
MA =221 252 (-2)
MD =220 423 (-1)
ME =212 468 (+1)
MI =209 460 (NC)
MN =214 207 (+1)
MO =213 447 (+2)
MS =201 224 (-1)
MT =208 564 (+1)
NC =215 452 (+1)
ND =201 381 (-1)
NE =206 567 (-1)
NH =211 564 (-4)
NJ =220 314 (-1)
NM =209 567 (+1)
NV =206 557 (-2)
NY =216 182,377,416,464 (-3)
OH =213 226 (+2)
OK =208 153 (+1)
OR =213 326 (NC)
PA =213 417 (-1)
RI =213 564 (+1)
SC =212 512 (+2)
SD =205 569 (+2)
TN =213 467 (NC)
TX =215 46+many (NC)
UT =203 564 (+1)
VA =219 476 (+2)
VT =213 564 (-3)
WA =217 445 (+2)
WV = 203 569 (+3)
WI =210 459 (+2)
WY =201 381 (+1)</p>
<p>US Territories =201 381
Internationals =221 381
Mid-Atlantic & New England boarding schools =221 471 (-2)
Note: boarding schools with large in-state populations will not be in this group</p>
<p>Commended =200 (nationwide, established last May) (NC)</p>
<p>If you receive one of the “top 50,000” letters and your score was 203 or lower, please post it so we can determine what the commended cutoff is. Thank you!</p>
<p>So is the commended cutoff different for each state?</p>
<p>Have they already started mailing the letters? I got a 208 from MD and have nothing yet. So I’ll most likely just get the commended student status, not semifinalist. Do we get the letters through our school or at home?</p>
<p>My daughter got her letter today here at home today; however, she is homeschooled so I can’t speak for the delivery mechanism for the public/private schools.</p>
<p>To Kabobi: the commended cutoff is a national one. Semifinalist cutoffs are by state.</p>
<p>Thanks jml !</p>
<p>So if I got a 211 as a VA resident, technically I should be a commended student right?</p>
<p>Commended is a national cutoff, but we don’t yet know what it is. That’s why I’ve asked people to report here. Last year it was 200, but it could go up to 201 this year. I seriously doubt it would be higher than that.</p>
<p>D received notification of commended staus today. Does that mean she is out of the running for NM semi-finalist? According to NM web sight commended students don’t go further in the process, but the sight also says they are notified in september, not April.
Her score is 209 in KY</p>
<p>My son received his letter yesterday, we are in WI. It looks like he missed semi-finalist by 2, would have made it last year.</p>
<p>Catfan, did you receive the notification at home through the mail or was it given to her by her school? Just wondering since I got a 208 and my school in incompetent.</p>
<p>At school today. We’ve received nothing at home regarding NMSQT or PSAT.</p>
<p>Clarification here:</p>
<p>The letters that are being sent/given out right now are NOT indicative of commended status. They are indicative that the recipient is in the top 50,000 juniors that took the test. This means that they are <em>either</em> commended <em>or</em> semi-finalist. They won’t know for sure until the fall when that information goes out. </p>
<p>I hope that clears it up for those getting those letters.</p>
<p>Thanks so much jml, that answers my question. D is right at KY cutoff for class of 2009, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that the KY cutoff doesn’t go up.</p>
<p>Does anyone know whether Missouri semifinalist cutoff might dip this year? It was 213 last year, and 211 the year before. Any conjectures?</p>
<p>I just got my letter today, pretty exciting :)</p>
<p>Do you get the commended letter at home or at school? Maybe because I am on break is the reason that I did not get it yet.</p>
<p>PS: I got a 202,that’s high enough right?</p>
<p>Others are reporting getting the letters at school, mcvcm92. I got a 208 and haven’t got mine yet, and I’m not on break. Then again, my school’s guidance department is pretty terrible, so who knows?</p>
<p>Got my letter at school today :)</p>
<p>I heard from a fellow student that the cut-off was 201.</p>
<p>I got a 219 and have not received any letters yet. Are they delivered at home or at school?</p>
<ul>
<li>Florida</li>
</ul>