My son is a junior and scored 2270 (800 M, 750 R, 720 W) on his first attempt. I believe that this score is enough to confirm his PSAT score (229) and he will be named a National Merit Semifinalist in the fall. Honestly, I do not believe that he needs to retake the SAT though my husband thinks that a higher score may offer some advantages in the scholarship selection process. Additional information: He is currently ranked number 1 out of 700+ students and has won awards at a prestigious competition at the international level. Any thoughts?
None of us have been able to codify what goes into the NMF $2500 scholarship awards. They are decided by a committee, so the essay and other soft factors may be very important. A higher SAT score alone will probably not be the decider. Good grades are highly correlated with the winners, SAT scores less so.
That score will definitely take him to Finalist.
Congratulations! That’s definitely a confirming score, 1960 and up. (It does not vary based on your child’s PSAT score).
The only reason to take it again would be if he’s going to apply to scholls where a higher score might help him to get admitted or to get more merit aid from a school (not part of National Merit).
If you’re talking about the National Merit scholarship process, those are usually tied to special areas of study/interest, parents’ employers or by specific colleges (they’re not very much money – couple thousand.)
However, some schools offer free tuition and/or full rides for all students with NMF status. The actual score on the SAT does not matter for those. Simply becoming NMF gets you that. (I’m talking about schools like Oklahoma or Alabama for tuition+board, and Forham for tuition. There are many others).
I’m a little confused. Does one need a separate SAT score to be a National Merit Semi-Finalist/Finalist? The thread above seems to imply that a qualifying PSAT score with a confirming SAT score is needed? True? I read this also on a separate thread a few weeks ago. When I asked my Ds guidance counselor, she said that the NMS is solely based on the PSAT (plus grades, etc) and does not require SAT. Can someone clarify?
@ohiopop PSAT gets you to semi finalist then grades and SAT gets you to finalist. In recent years a 1960 (calculated using the MC section of the Writing) and anywhere from 0-2 Cs is enough.
The thread on this is at the top of this forum
@ohiopop No one can become a NM Finalist without taking the SAT. It is REQUIRED. Your child needs to take the SAT this fall (by Dec) and get a qualifying score.
Taking the SAT isn’t required to become a NMSF, but surely you want your NMSF child to become a NMF, right?
@3Pagodas >>my husband thinks that a higher score may offer some advantages in the scholarship selection process.<<<<
What is your H looking for? Is he looking for non-NMF awards from the top schools that award them? If so, then yes a higher score will likely be needed.
If your H is looking for the ONE-TIME $2500 NMCorp award, then that’s a crapshoot anyway.
IF your H is wanting your son to get awarded a competitive NMF award from a college, then maybe a higher score is needed.
If your H is wanting your son to have a big NMF award from a college as a “back up” then likely his SAT score won’t matter at this point…he’ll get the award anyway.
Thank you @mom2collegekids for your insight. My husband was thinking on the lines of merit awards from colleges. I will relate the information to my son and he can decide what he wants to do.