PSAT Scores

[VickiVM]

The writing section was introduced about four (?) years ago, for the first few years most didn't count it but many do count it now!

That's good to know. Thanks

 

[VickiVM]

Wow, lots of good information. It makes sense that the Junior PSAT scores would qualify for scholarship as by Senior year it's hard to secure them I would imagine.

Another question if anyone knows - do the scholarship review board or selection committee look at the score as a whole, or the individual parts of it. Example, obviously if his math score is the lowest and he's going for a degree that requires strong math skills then obviously that wouldn't make sense to give a scholarship - but what if he's going for say a journalist major and his writing score is high?

 

[smartestnumber5]

Great! Was that high enough for NMSF in your state? Were you actually able to use a NMSF scholarship?

I was a national merit scholar finalist. It's been almost 10 years, so I don't have a great memory of what happened, but (as someone else said) I'm pretty sure that it all really depends on which schools you apply to. (Maybe there are also some scholarships that can come directly from the NMSC--I don't know, I didn't get any of those.)

I believe only one school I applied to offered any scholarships on that basis. I believe it was something like $5000. This actually didn't really end up benefiting me because my family needed way more than that in need-based financial aid, and what the school did was it just took the amount of need-based financial aid it was offering me (say $26,000 or something) and then subtracted the $5000 merit aid off of that. But actually even if I hadn't been a merit finalist I would have gotten the same amount of aid anyway merely on the basis of need.

It turned out that at least two other schools offered more/better financial aid packages, so I turned down the $5000 national merit scholarship and went to a different school.

I think that scores have to be in the top 99% for initial screening into the Merit program (Semi-Finalist, Finalist, Merit Scholar). Anyone know for sure?

agnes!

That's what Wikipedia says. But I really don't remember being so high in the percentiles.

Though Wikipedia also says the percentiles it goes by are state ones, so maybe PA just has lower scores than the national ones (which is probably the only % I would have seen).

 

[Debbie7452]

Hi,

I was a National Merit Scholarship Finalist and got a scholarship from it, back in the day (1984!) Back then, they didn't have the writing section, so they doubled the verbal score and added it to the Math score, so the numbers are comparable, sort of...

I got a small University based scholarship to the school I wanted but it was only $500/year, so $2000 total. The real benefit to being a National Merit Semi-Finalist was in the prestige of the program and getting schools to recruit me. I think it helps to get some leverage with the school of your choice if they know they are competing for your high achiever. I ended up getting a very lucrative merit based scholarship at my school of choice.

It was also fun getting offers from schools all over the country recruiting me with scholarship offers included...a few were full ride offers! Some schools offered expense paid trips to come visit.

BTW, I only had a 195 score...the cutoff in TX last year for semi-finalist was 217, so the competition is WAY stiffer now-a-days.

My freshman daughter just got her score and it was 195, which is great but we still have work to do to qualify by the time she is a Junior. I found last years state cutoff info on the web. Each state's number is different.

 

[VickiVM]

Hi,

I was a National Merit Scholarship Finalist and got a scholarship from it, back in the day (1984!) Back then, they didn't have the writing section, so they doubled the verbal score and added it to the Math score, so the numbers are comparable, sort of...

I got a small University based scholarship to the school I wanted but it was only $500/year, so $2000 total. The real benefit to being a National Merit Semi-Finalist was in the prestige of the program and getting schools to recruit me. I think it helps to get some leverage with the school of your choice if they know they are competing for your high achiever. I ended up getting a very lucrative merit based scholarship at my school of choice.

It was also fun getting offers from schools all over the country recruiting me with scholarship offers included...a few were full ride offers! Some schools offered expense paid trips to come visit.

BTW, I only had a 195 score...the cutoff in TX last year for semi-finalist was 217, so the competition is WAY stiffer now-a-days.

My freshman daughter just got her score and it was 195, which is great but we still have work to do to qualify by the time she is a Junior. I found last years state cutoff info on the web. Each state's number is different.

Thanks for sharing...I now know a number that can be helpful

 

[natcat117]

Hey everyone! I was named a 2008 National Hispanic Scholar and a National Merit Commended student. I was told that for this year the cutoff for NMS in TX was somewhere around 215, and I believe I got a 201. Because of the Hispanic Scholar, I was offered a few full rides to out-of-state schools. Sadly, none of the local universities seem to care! Some schools in Oklahoma are offering me $35,000 a year, but one of the few schools I'm actually considering says that they're only willing to pay the $60 application fee. I wasn't expecting any schools to actually give me money or anything like that, but $60 compared to $140,000 seems like a big gap.

 

[agnes!]

According to collegeconfidential
(http://talk.collegeconfidential.com...08-national-merit-semifinalists-h-s-09-a.html) for last year's test (2008 Merit competition) the cut-off scores were as follows:
AL = 209
AK = 213
AZ = 211
AR = 201
CA = 217
CO = 213
CT = 217
DC = 223
DE = 219
FL = 212
GA = 214
HI = 213
IA = 209
ID = 204
IL = 213
IN = 213
KS = 212
KY = 208
LA = 206
MA = 223
MD =221
ME = 211
MI =209
MN =213
MO = 211
MS = 202
MT = 207
NE = 207
NV = 208
NC = 214
ND = 202
NH = 215
NJ =221
NM = 208
NY =219
OH = 211
OK = 207
OR = 213
PA = 214
RI = 212
SC = 210
SD = 203
TN = 213
TX = 215
UT = 202
VA = 217
VT = 216
WA = 215
WI = 208
WV = 200
WY = 200

agnes!

 

[Soarin08]

Was that similar to your SAT score?

No. I never took the SAT. Weirdly enough, we were required to take the PSAT at my HS here in MS but not the SAT- I took the ACT to get into college.

 

[tar heel]

One of my sons got a University-sponsored National Merit Scholarship, and it was a whopping $1,000 a year. It could have been as much as $2,000 if he had had financial need. As I recall (and I may not be remembering correctly), the corporate National Merit Scholarships were only $2,500 a year.

As a National Merit Finalist, however, he was offered some full scholarships at schools he didn't apply to. The most prestigious was probably the University of Florida. One of the universities in the North Carolina state system offered a full ride and a computer.

VM -- I'm not sure whether the individual parts of the score are even considered. My son had a 227, so all his scores were high, but he didn't get the corporate or overall scholarship. Most National Merit Semifinalists become finalists as the main criteria is to make a comparable SAT score and show them a decent academic/extra-curricular record.

 

[tar heel]

I just asked my high school freshman whether he took the PSAT this year and was disappointed to hear he didn't.

VM -- In answer to your question about how this translates to the SAT, my son made exactly what his junior PSAT predicted. I think that was about 100 points more than the score predicted on his sophomore year practice PSAT, but I can't remember exactly what that score was.

 

[SomedayI'llBe]

National Merit Finalist from last year (freshman in college now). That list from College Confidential is VERY accurate- lots of people help to compile that. Few errors, but most would be within the 1 to 2 point range.

It's very helpful in getting schools to notice you. I got piles of mail from lots of schools offering scholarships- some of the best were from state universities (University of Oklahoma and LSU I remember well as full scholarships). I'm using a full scholarship at one of the schools now- sometimes the scholarship isn't really publicized, but if you qualify and talk to them, you can get it. One of the biggest helps is the qualification it gives you- many states offer GREAT scholarships for students who attend instate universities and qualify for a state-offered scholarship. One of the pre requisites will possibly be a National Merit Semifinalist or Finalist.

The corporation itself does offer a scholarship, but it's only a $2500 one time award. In other words, it's rather cruddy compared to what some schools will offer you. I wasn't offered that scholarship, but I still have a great one.

In order to qualify for the scholarship, you must (quoted from the website)

To participate in the National Merit® Scholarship Program, a student must:

1. Take the PSAT/NMSQT® in the specified year of the high school program and no later than the third year in grades 9 through 12, regardless of grade classification or educational pattern;
2. Be enrolled full time as a high school student, progressing normally toward graduation or completion of high school, and planning to enroll full time in college no later than the fall following completion of high school; and
3. Be a citizen of the United States; or be a U.S. lawful permanent resident (or have applied for permanent residence, the application for which has not been denied) and intend to become a U.S. citizen at the earliest opportunity allowed by law.

More questions? PM me. It's not guaranteed I'll find this thread tomorrow!