<p>I took it a while back this year as a sophomore and got a 196 index. I scored in the 95th percentile compared to juniors, but i think my percentile would be around 97 for sophomores since i got 97 for reading, 97 for math, and 96 for writing. How far am I from national merit and does it seem from these scores that ill do good enough on the actual SAT in a year for the ivies to consider me?</p>
<p>1/2 of top 1%, I think it was? Pretty high, but with all of the juniors that take it, the cutoff is usually managable.</p>
<p>no... it's done by state... u need to reach a cutoff in ur state</p>
<p>well can u tell me at least how good i did for a sophomore?</p>
<p>fairly well??? i did slightly better than you 197* sophomore year, but i still ended up with a 206 :( disappointment of course</p>
<p>Well, you know that you can only get National Merit junior year, right?</p>
<p>It really depends on the state. Go by your index instead, and if you look around you can find a list of the cutoffs in previous years--they usually don't vary by more than one or two points. But the range is vast--e.g. I think in Massachusetts it's around 222, while in other states it is in the 200-210 range.</p>
<p>I got a 205 Sophmore year and a 235 Junior year. Improvements are bound to happen - you get much smarter and better at test taking in a year.</p>
<p>or u get stupider... case in point freshman sat 1490... junior sat... math+reading... 1470...</p>
<p>i got a 191 my sophomore year, and a 224 my junior year. (which will most likely qualify me)</p>
<p>dont worry; one year is plenty time to improve your score. just use your summer wisely, =)</p>
<p>Most likely? It will qualify you, even if you are from MA. I don't see the limit hitting 225. </p>
<ol>
<li>MA. Doomed. </li>
</ol>
<p>Spartan Pho3nix, I'm the exact opposite. 223 sophomore year. 220 junior year. (Well, I did improve...I improved drastically in critical reading, and I knew how to do every single math problem on the math section this year...but the score won't tell you that.)</p>
<p>Does anyone know what the cutoff is for California or where I can get that information?</p>
<p>I got a 205 on my PSATs.......haha but luckily I improved and got a 2240 on my march SATs.</p>
<p>Do colleges really care if youre a NMS finalist or not?</p>
<p>It's like extra-credit- it can only help, it can't hurt. I won't be NMS, but I'm hoping at least for national achievement commended</p>
<p>whooo heres to commended!!!!</p>
<p>To me, it seems that NM doesn't matter unless you need to mooch some money out of less selective colleges (less selective as in < HYPSM). Back when my gc told me I was going to qualify as a semifinalist for sure, she made it sound as if my entire college admissions process was set and I could go anywhere and pay for it (my former school rarely had any NMS's). After I did some research, though, I found that NM wasn't really going to get me full rides at any colleges except those most people on CC would consider academic basement-dwellers. Plus, having to pick one school as your first-choice to get anything is a major hindrance. Actual SAT's are infinitely more important.</p>
<p>It's nice, but no one is going to look at my application and immediately stamp it rejected because I'm not a NMS</p>
<p>is 205 enough to get a commendation in California? We only know in September...but maybe based on last year we can find out. What were the commendation cutoffs last year?</p>
<p>I guess its just something to help people stand out alittle bit more in apps... Even though there are 15,000 (or 5,000) of them...</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure a NM commendation is a national thing i.e. it doesn't matter what state you live in. The cutoff is around 200.</p>
<p>I can't imagine NM helping much in apps. Being a national merit finalist just means you have good test scores and good academic standing, basically repeating what is probably going to be found on your transcript.</p>
<p>I did some internet research and found that the national average cutoff Selection Index was 215. Which made my daughter (Michigan) happy since she scored 217.</p>
<p>here:</p>
<p>echosensei, last year's MI cutoff was 210, if I read correctly. So kudos!</p>