<p>I took the PSAT this past fall and got a 225, which would definitely make me a national merit scholar semifinalist in my state. But I have a low GPA (about 3.0) and I was on academic probation earlier this year. Will this prevent me from becoming a semifinalist? If it did, that would be super embarrassing because I already told a bunch of people about my PSAT score :P</p>
<p>Unfortunately, yo wont likely make NMF. You will make NMSF, but you wont go farther.</p>
<p>Is that your weighted gpa?</p>
<p>No, my school doesn’t weight GPAs. Thank you for responding!</p>
<p>Will NM consider the weighted GPA if a student has one? My S has a weighted near 4.0 but an unweighted near 3.0. </p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I am not sure GPA is what matters. I think the issue is the grades that are on the transcript. If your D has a “near 3.0,” then it sounds like she has some C’s. If so, how many C’s does she have.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids - my S has only one C on the report card with a few As here and there but mostly Bs in AP or Advanced (above Honors) classes. Thoughts on how this affects NMF applications?</p>
<p>Is the ‘C’ a semester ‘C’ or quarter ‘C’? Will it show on the transcript? Sometimes one ‘C’ seems to be fine, but other times NMSC denies NMF for one ‘C’ and there isn’t a good way to predict the outcome. They really don’t like ‘C’s there at NMSC, whether the class is AP, honors or whatever. There are some old threads here on this forum you can check that track families’ experiences with NMF denial and in some cases subsequent unsuccessful appeals due to 1-3 'C’s. And also some threads where people report getting NMF with a couple of 'C’s.</p>
<p>@celesteroberts - The C is unfortunately a semester grade. It’s an AP class and then my S turned in a 5 on the AP exam. Can you image how frustrating that is??? His qualifying SAT score is well above the cut off of 1960 that I’ve seen referenced so maybe that will help offset the one C. I don’t know if they consider special circumstances or not but, if they do, then I think it will be okay as he has some special medical circumstances that help explain his grades. Thanks for all the great insights! </p>
<p>Does the school put semester grades on the transcript? Mine only puts final grades… If it is only one semester and the final course grade is much higher, it may not matter. </p>
<p>mmfrymire, too bad. Has your son considered approaching the teacher about a grade change? Some teachers will raise grades in AP classes retroactively if the student gets a good enough exam score. If you are planning to use the NMF status to get scholarship money, it would definitely be worth a try. I think it was 2013 that almost everyone with one semester ‘C’ was reporting getting denied. 2014 was more mixed with all kinds of results. And then prior to 2 years ago, apparently one had to have several 'C’s to get cut.</p>
<p>You should read some of the old threads. There were families who appealed with medical issues, but I don’t recall now if they were successful or not. I hope things turn out well for you.</p>
<p>In 2013 D was one of I think 21 NMSF at her HS, actually a low year for her school. The 2 who didn’t make NMF were the only 2 who had UW GPA(the only kind we have) below 3.5. Easy to see that since that is the break for the lowest level of honors for graduation. Both were good solid students, in all sorts of ECs, and went on to good colleges, but I presume had at least one ‘C’, though I didn’t ask.</p>
<p>Thanks @celesteroberts, that is not a bad idea. Perhaps once we see if we really made the NMSF cut we might approach the school/teacher on that. It was a very high C, and if he had a final in the class I am sure he would have moved from a C to a B but we do not have finals in our AP classes our school which puts more weight on quarter grades. Of course they have since changed that!</p>
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<p>Many schools will change an AP grade to an A (or at least a B!!) if a student gets a 5 on the exam. </p>
<p>Does the school put semester grades or only a year-end grade on the transcript?</p>
For those of you interested, I’ve actually become a finalist!
@containthekraken That’s great! Congratulations!
kraken: If you don’t mind saying, what was your actual GPA at the end of junior year?
And if it was under 3.5, do you go to a highly competitive high school known for grade deflation? Did you have an explanation of your grades/grading system from your counselor/principal submitted with your application? Do you have a very high class rank in spite of what might look like a “lower” GPA at some schools? Did you have any Cs or Ds on your transcript? (Not meaning to give you the third degree, but I thought this info. might be useful for future semifinalists–if you made finalist with a “lower” GPA, what factors might have helped?)
My cumulative GPA at the end of last school year was 3.58.
I actually did decently freshman and sophomore year - mostly As and a few Bs. Junior year was the disaster. I got mostly Bs, a C+ in one class, and I withdrew from a class (after receiving a D second term).
I go to a somewhat prestigious private school, which I assume helped me.
My college counselor did not send any explanation as to my poor performance junior year.
My school doesn’t rank but I suspect I am in the middle as far as GPA goes.
I’m not sure how actual SAT scores factor in but I got a 2320 as my highest single sitting (if you were curious)
Good luck to anyone else in a similar situation I am/was in!