<p>My daughter's high school councelor said she should be a Nat'l Merit semifinalist based on her PSAT...Her SAT scores aren't quite as high...Does anyone know if they have to be the same or higher to move on to finalist. She scored a 220 on PSAT and a 2070 on her SAT...she is just trying to decide if she should take it again. Thank you!</p>
<p>only psat matters for finalist. But def, retake it. You have nothing to loose in doing so. Furthermore, the test has a margin of error of up to 180 points. That in itself should encourage people to take it as many times as possible.</p>
<p>Thank you. But actually the instructions on last year's finalist application say that your SAT scores must "confirm your PSAT scores". One parent told me that your SAT just needed to be above 2000.</p>
<p>She should definitely take it again and her scores will most likely go up. My Ds PSAT score is still higher than her second attempt at the SAT and she went up 100 points on her second attempt with minimal preparation. I think as long as she is no more than 150-200 points less than her PSAT she will still make it to Finalist. Depending on what state you live in, her PSAT score of 220 may already be enough to get her into SF category.</p>
<p>I believe there is one SAT minimum score to qualify one to be a NMF. Last year the lowest PSAT score to qualify one to SF status is 200 and it is a general belief that anyone that score 2000 or above at SAT is fine with that component. It is not like if you score 238 at PSAT you need a SAT score close to 2380 to qualify while a lower PSAT one only needs a lower SAT to qualify. You might want to call the organization to confirm.</p>
<p>I got 217 on PSAT and 2070 on SAT.</p>
<p>The cutoff for my state was 212 last year so I'm going to retake it.</p>