National Merit Scholarship question

[Dawn in MI]

My son is a semi-finalist & just got his SAT score which is around 2100. He tells me that is comparable to his PSAT (& slightly higher) so he is OK to advance. Is he correct? We had already pre-registered him to take the SAT on December 4--just in case the October SAT didn't go well. Is there any advantage in him taking it again to get a higher score? I'm such a newbie at this since my other 3 kids don't have the academic focus that this one has.

Thanks for your help,

Dawn

[Kendall]

I called last year to see if my son's score was high enough. So you could call, but I think I was told that it varies a little from year to year but that the year before it was upper 1900s I think. It wasn't a score per kid but for the group. So it doesn't have to match their PSAT x 10. My son had 20something and was fine. I think 2100 is plenty high enough.

[MomsintheGarden]

From what I've heard (secondhand anecdotal evidence but from a longtime WTM poster I respect), a score of about 2000+ is just fine. That said, it might be good to try again IF he really thinks he can raise his score and IF the college(s) he wants to attend doesn't give big merit scholarships to NM finalists, but instead awards them for high SAT scores.

 

HTH,

GardenMom