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National Merit -- Top 50,000


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2 hours ago, LisaK in VA is in IT said:

Congratulations to anyone who found out today they were among the top 50,000.  Wishing they didn't make us wait until September to find out if we're commended or semi-finalists!

 

How can you find this out?  

 

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@Kassia NM sends out a letter about student who score at Commended level or higher in early April. Homeschoolers  (who marked themselves as homeschoolers and didn't use a school code) would receive that letter. If your DD didn't mark herself as a homeschooled, have her check with the school who would have received her scores. If she did mark herself as a homeschooled and you haven't received the letter, see if her PSAT score report shows she is eligible for the NMSC competition (it is either an asterisk or the lack of an asterisk on her Selection Index section-I don't remember which)

ETA: Clarifying:  schools get the letter & so do homeschoolers, but individual students don't get this one.

Edited by RootAnn
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43 minutes ago, Kassia said:

 

How can you find this out?  

 

We were notified by the school here where she took the test.  Online, it looks like anyone who had a score of 212 or better should be in the Commended range (compass prep article).  We are 99.9% certain PonyGirl won't advance (probably needs a 222-223 in our area, has a 220)

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37 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

@Kassia Just double check her score report that it shows she's eligible. The school normally doesn't notify the kids in April. The NM letter now is for the schools to verify student eligibility ahead of the fall.

 

Sorry if I'm being dense here. 

I looked up her score report and it says this next to her NMSC Selection index:

 

Eligibility Information

You meet entry requirements for the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program and your Selection Index score will be considered among 1.6 million program entrants.

If your Selection Index places you among the 50,000 high scorers who qualify for National Merit Scholarship Program recognition, you will be notified next September when qualifying Selection Index scores will be made available.

 

I assume this message is for all PSAT test takers and not just ones who are eligible?  

 

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Nope. That's what she needs to have on there & what I was referring to. Perfect! (When you don't get the letter because your kid isn't strictly homeschooled, you want to make sure she is marked eligible & not be surprised by a misbubbling or misunderstanding of one of the eligibility questions.)

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@klmama - here is what the National Merit website says about commended scholars (coped and pasted):

Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score that may vary from year to year and is typically below the level required for participants to be named Semifinalists in their respective states. Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for National Merit® Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for Special Scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.

 

There is a national cutoff for commended.  Approximately 2/3 of the 50,000 (around 34,000) remain at commended level. Approximately 16,000 move on. 

 

Edited by Hoggirl
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@klmama I don't know how they come up with the Commended cutoff, but it is the same for every state. The Semi-Finalists Selection index cutoffs, on the other hand, are different for every state. If I remember correctly, North Dakota's SI cutoff is often the same as the national Commended number, so they would have the same number of both (only about 30 kids statewide according to Compass Prep). The higher scoring states (California, much of the east coast) will have a much higher number of Commended students than Wyoming, West Virginia, or North Dakota.

Edited by RootAnn
Ug. Typos!
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