Will NMSC accept May 1 SAT scores?

<p>I'm fortunate enough to have scored in the 99th percentile on the 2009-2010 PSAT/NMSQT. About a week ago, my school counselor gave me the letter from NMSC that identifies me as "among the highest-scoring 50,000 students" and directs me to collegeplans.org, where I can report PSAT scores to colleges. Based on this and the fact that there was no asterisk on my score report, I'm assuming that I'm eligible to compete for a National Merit Scholarship.</p>

<p>Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that one of the prerequisites for NMS is an SAT score comparable to the PSAT results. I took the SAT yesterday and came out pretty confident that my scores will be decent. I'm trying to decide which four colleges and scholarships to spend my SAT score reporting credits on. NMSC is an option, but the only issue is that I'm not sure whether they will accept my scores. I read a PDF (<a href="http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_R&I_Leaflet.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nationalmerit.org/Merit_R&I_Leaflet.pdf&lt;/a&gt;) that, on page 2, specifies that NMSC will only accept scores from "a date authorized by NMSC." I realize that this is an old PDF, but May isn't listed as a valid test date.</p>

<p>Will NMSC accept the May 2010 SAT, or should I use my reporting credits elsewhere?</p>

<p>If you are a junior your May scores should be all you need. Good luck, keep your GPA up and enjoy all of the future scholarship offers…</p>

<p>Yes, they will accept that score. But, you might want to wait and send another if a later score will be higher. You just have to report a score from a test by this Dec. If you don’t do a “score choice” and you take the SAT again later, then NMCorp will then get both scores.</p>

<p>Anyway…congrats!!! :)</p>

<p>Alright, thank you both. I’m somewhat confused about parts of the process, though. Assuming my score (226) remains good enough to make this year’s cutoff, are there any other requirements that I will need to fulfill in order to receive the Semi-Finalist (or Commended) letter in September? Do I need to send anything in?</p>

<p>Your score is good enough in all states. In recent years, the highest cut-off has been 223. Last year it was 221. It’s very unlikely that it would ever go above 223 in any state.</p>

<p>Right now, sit tight. If you haven’t received a NMSF package by mid Sept, then ask your GC about it. I think last year’s date was Sept 16th. I think that has been the latest date…usually it’s around Sept 13/14. </p>

<p>When you get the package, do everything in it. Follow the directions carefully. Return it to the GC before the due date so that she can get it submitted ontime. </p>

<p>In the meantime, behave at school, keep your grades high, etc.</p>

<p>If you do the above, you’ll make NMF - almost guaranteed.</p>

<p>Wait, at the collegeplans website, it doesn’t apparently state that we need to send in our SAT scores. Where do we send our SAT scores to?</p>

<p>You need to send them to NMCorp. </p>

<p>TAKING THE SAT and HAVING YOUR SCORES REPORTED
To become a Finalist, you must confirm your PSAT/NMSQT performance with scores on the SAT. It is your sole responsibility to:</p>

<ol>
<li>take the SAT on a date authorized by NMSC; and</li>
<li>request that the College Board SAT Program send an official report of your SAT scores to the National Merit Scholarship Program <a href=“code%200085”>B</a>**.</li>
</ol>

<p>You can register for the SAT online at [Free</a> College Search | Scholarships | College Admissions Requirements](<a href=“http://www.collegeboard.com%5DFree”>http://www.collegeboard.com) or by mail. To register by mail you need a Registration Booklet which is available at your school counselor’s office. If your high school does not have a
copy, telephone the SAT Program to request one (866-756-7346 Domestic or 212-713-7789 International).</p>

<p>The SAT Program will not report your scores to NMSC unless you request it, and you cannot substitute a photocopy of the score report sent to you or your school for the official report. Send all testing and score reporting fees directly to the SAT Program.
• Authorized SAT administrations
Scores earned on national administrations of the SAT from October 2008 through December 2010 will be considered by NMSC. NMSC will not accept scores from a national SAT administration taken earlier than October 2008 or later than December 2010. Your critical reading score, mathematics score, and writing multiple-choice subscore [CR + M + W(mc)] will be the basis for determining whether you meet the confirming score requirement.</p>

<p>OK, thanks. Just to be certain, does this mean that I can wait until after Semi-Finalist notifications are received to send in my scores, or does NMSC need to see my SATs before they can consider me for Semi-Finalist status?</p>

<p>Semi-Final (SF) status is based only on your PSAT score and the state you reside in. In other words for example, a 218 PSAT score will qualify you for SF in most states but not say in MA where the cut off scores are usually above 220. So with a 226 you will qualify in any state, based on previous years statistics (the highest it has been is about 224 or 225 that I have seen but that was some time back).</p>

<p>You can wait until you get your SF notification and then do the needful. You do not need to send the scores now or really do anything now. As you have already taken the SAT, if your scores are above say 2050, you do not need to take the SAT again for NMF purposes. You may however want to re-take it to improve your score for colleges etc and send the best score to colleges and NMSC. In other words, if you are happy with your SAT score when you get them, there is no need to take it again for NMF. I have told that SAT cut off for making it from semi finalist to finalist is about 1950 but these are anecdotal numbers, so to me 2050 is a very safe number. Obviously the higher the number the better, so make a decision if you want to retake the SAT once you get your scores.</p>

<p>So to answer your question, use your credits elsewhere. If you are happy with the scores from this test, report them to NMSC in Sept 2010. If you are not happy with the scores from this test, take the SAT again and report the best score.</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>