In sophomore year I scored a 180-something on my PSATs, and it said on the side “this score does not qualify you for National Merit Scholar”, or something to that effect, and this year I scored a 215, and it said nothing like that. Does that mean that I’m already a National Merit Scholar finalist, or not?
<p>You should be receiving a letter around now saying that you are one of the top 50,000 scorers (anyone with over a 202). You are at least a Commended Scholar. Whether you will qualify for semi-finalist (you'll find out in August or September) depends on the cutoff for the particular state in which you live. Don't ask what the cutoff is - nobody know what it will be for this year. Someone may know what it was for last year, which could give you a general idea.</p>
<p>IF you qualify as a semi-finalist, there are other steps you must complete to qualify as a finalist.</p>
<p>no, it just means that sophomore year no one can qualify for National Merit; you must be a junior.</p>
<p>since you are a junior, you are eligible with any score.</p>
<p>Well I haven't gotten any letter like that yet, but I did score a 215, so I'm glad that I'm at least a Commended Scholar. Anybody know what the NMSF cutoff point was last year?</p>
<p>What state are you in?</p>
<p>You can actually qualify for NMS as a sophmore if you declare that you are on a 3 year track to graduation. Unusual, but it does happen.</p>
<p>The cutoff for NMSF in Florida last year (and the year before) was 214. I've heard that NM will be more competitive this year, so I dunno...With your score, you're right on the edge.</p>
<p>I'm in Florida.</p>
<p>I think last year it was around 220 for MA, maybe a little higher.</p>