mcconnellboys Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I've looked and looked online, but incompetent internet flunky that I am, I can't find answers to my specific questions on any of the websites I've searched. I get the impression that to be in the running for NM finalist, kids must score about 205 or above in most years, in most states. How many are finally selected across the US as winners? And are those who are in the running, but who end up not winning the ones who comprise the "commendation" set? So, if you have a score lower than about 205, are you pretty much out of the running for commendation? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in MO Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I've looked and looked online, but incompetent internet flunky that I am, I can't find answers to my specific questions on any of the websites I've searched. I get the impression that to be in the running for NM finalist, kids must score about 205 or above in most years, in most states. How many are finally selected across the US as winners? And are those who are in the running, but who end up not winning the ones who comprise the "commendation" set? So, if you have a score lower than about 205, are you pretty much out of the running for commendation? Thanks! fairly recently I thought someone posted a list of the cutoff scores for each state. Here is a great website from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation which will give you some good answers regarding scores, etc. I was told by our guidance counselor that 100,000 students were selected across the nation for consideration for National Merit standing. I thought that figure sounded wrong, and it was. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation selects about 50,000 students nationwide every year. According to the link I posted, about two-thirds of those students are qualified to become National Merit Commended Scholars, which is still quite an honor, but doesn't qualify them for special scholarships from corporations. Then, about 16,000 students are notified that they are semifinalists; of those, according to this website, about 15,000 progress to National Merit finalist status. Then, there are additional hoops to jump through. I wish I could find the thread that discussed these additional steps. When I was in high school, our valedictorian and salutatorian were selected as semifinalists. I can't remember if they went to the next step as finalists or actually received a scholarship. Nevertheless, they both did very well: the valedictorian went to Dartmouth and then got his PhD at Stanford. The salutatorian, a girl, received an appointment to West Point. This was at a time when women being admitted to West Point was very, very new! Even if your dc doesn't become a semifinalist or finalist, a high score on the PSAT or becoming a National Merit Commended Scholar is still quite an achievement! I've got to believe that colleges look at all different types of qualifications when considering students for admissions and for scholarship potential. St. Louis University in St. Louis is one such school; it's a very good institution, founded by the Jesuits probably over 100 years ago. They really look closely at volunteer work when handing out scholarships. I hope this helps! Hopefully someone else can chime in here, or pull up some of the recent threads when this was discussed (I'm thinking November/December). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 here's another website that may be helpful, also it shows the cutoff numbers for states for the last two years - as you can see, some states moved up or down a point from one year to the next: http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 The "winning" scores vary by state, and vary each year. There's really no way to predict what will be and won't be a Merit finalist each year. My twins both recieved the commendation, but there's really absolutely no value in it, IMO. By the time they got this "recognition" they'd already applied to and been accepted (and awarded scholarships) at colleges. Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 Thanks for your help, ladies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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