NMSF for DC

[Anonymous]

The NMSF designation goes to the top 0.5 percent of kids in each state, so of course DC only has a few compared to the much larger high school populations of VA and MD. The cut off score also varies by state, with MD and MA usually having the highest cutoff. DC 's cutoff is set at the highest state cutoff, and is generally higher than VA's cutoff score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For being such fancy privates these numbers aren’t impressive. TJ kicks the snot out of them.

Well TJ is an entirely different culture. It's test-prep central.

My kid is in 11th at NCS and the school doesn't offer the 9th grade PSAT. They did offer the 10th grade one but it was on a weekend and less than 1/2 of the class took it.
There is surprisingly little test prep going on by students now in 11th grade. Maybe 50/50 among my kid's friends?
Many kids my daughter knows are planning on taking the junior year PSAT cold (cold meaning they haven't done any SAT prep yet and have yet to take ANY SAT/ACT/PSAT, etc).

Lots of kids take the PSAT ‘cold’. It sounds like you are making lots of excuses for the results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this one student a typical result for GDS?

It’s down. Hard to know if it’s a blip but if you read the private school board there are rumors that GDS is moving in a less academic direction.

Majority of GDS kids sit out PSAT. So there is that. My DC didn’t even take the test. Most of his friends didn’t.

Curious why?

Probably because it rarely leads to any significant scholarship dollars and colleges don't really care about the NMSF designation.
It's really not emphasized at the private schools around here. Many kids don't take it.

Really? I thought colleges actually do find it meaningful.

(I was one and I definitely think it helped get me in)

Many colleges care about the NMSF designation, and some offer significant scholarship dollars for those who earn it.

The GDS poster is wrong.

I'm not actually a GDS parent.
On the college board here, posters are always going on that the NMSF designation does not mean much to colleges. I don't know why but I've read it on DCUM many times.

Here are the only colleges that offer money for the "finalist" designation (not semifinalist but finalist which requires a further essay and selection): https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/national-merit-scholarships
Most (of this already limited pool) give $500-2000 per year. It's not big money.
Alabama is the exception but GDS students are generally not attending Alabama.

Hmmm. Well, it's a nice club to be in. I do know a lot of formwr NMSFs who were all academic superstars etc and they ended up at great schools... it was just something that correlated with all their other achievements. I also think it helped me specifically because I blew off some courses in high school and had some very bad grades, but I really think the NMSF designation got me into our state flagship and probably some other schools. I just remember my guidance counselor trying to get me to lower my expectations based on my grades, but the NMSF tipped the scale in the other direction.

[Anonymous]

It is nice recognition, but NMSF really does not mean much for most kids in private school who will be full pay in college. My kids' school did not emphasize the PSAT at all, telling students to put their effort into the SAT or ACT. High PSAT indicates high SAT, but colleges look at the SAT, It is very helpful for kids applying to the schools that give NMSF scholarships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The NMSF designation goes to the top 0.5 percent of kids in each state, so of course DC only has a few compared to the much larger high school populations of VA and MD. The cut off score also varies by state, with MD and MA usually having the highest cutoff. DC 's cutoff is set at the highest state cutoff, and is generally higher than VA's cutoff score.

Why the heck would they do this? Seems like a very odd design choice, given the high poverty rate for families in DC.

Why wouldn't they just apply the same 0.5 percent methodology to kids in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you are right - that was the wrong reddit page. But here is the correct one (on the same page as Delaware)!
https://www.reddit.com/r/psat/comments/16kmgsx/delaware_national_merit_2024_2_pages/

What do the three digit codes mean next to each kid's name?

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to see the DC page without using the Reddit app? I can only see the left page, at least on my phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you are right - that was the wrong reddit page. But here is the correct one (on the same page as Delaware)!
https://www.reddit.com/r/psat/comments/16kmgsx/delaware_national_merit_2024_2_pages/

What do the three digit codes mean next to each kid's name?

Intended major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The NMSF designation goes to the top 0.5 percent of kids in each state, so of course DC only has a few compared to the much larger high school populations of VA and MD. The cut off score also varies by state, with MD and MA usually having the highest cutoff. DC 's cutoff is set at the highest state cutoff, and is generally higher than VA's cutoff score.

Why the heck would they do this? Seems like a very odd design choice, given the high poverty rate for families in DC.

Why wouldn't they just apply the same 0.5 percent methodology to kids in DC?

Ask the College Board? This is how they’ve always done it.

But DC has a higher rate of commended scholars per capita than any of the 50 states, so the New Jersey cut score may actually be lower than the DC score would otherwise be. Remember the distribution of high school students in DC is a barbell, and the high school graduates are heavily weighted toward the upper end of that barbell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The NMSF designation goes to the top 0.5 percent of kids in each state, so of course DC only has a few compared to the much larger high school populations of VA and MD. The cut off score also varies by state, with MD and MA usually having the highest cutoff. DC 's cutoff is set at the highest state cutoff, and is generally higher than VA's cutoff score.

Why the heck would they do this? Seems like a very odd design choice, given the high poverty rate for families in DC.

Why wouldn't they just apply the same 0.5 percent methodology to kids in DC?

I don't think they apply it differently. I think we have a much higher cutoff because the NMSFs skew to a very high-income demographic in DC. You won't see another state where private schools represent 80% of the schools having NMSFs like we do in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The NMSF designation goes to the top 0.5 percent of kids in each state, so of course DC only has a few compared to the much larger high school populations of VA and MD. The cut off score also varies by state, with MD and MA usually having the highest cutoff. DC 's cutoff is set at the highest state cutoff, and is generally higher than VA's cutoff score.

Why the heck would they do this? Seems like a very odd design choice, given the high poverty rate for families in DC.

Why wouldn't they just apply the same 0.5 percent methodology to kids in DC?

I don't think they apply it differently. I think we have a much higher cutoff because the NMSFs skew to a very high-income demographic in DC. You won't see another state where private schools represent 80% of the schools having NMSFs like we do in DC.

Huh? it doesn't matter what you "think."

DC has the highest cut-off because there is a rule that DC automatically gets the cut-off of the highest state which this year is New Jersey with 223. Americans living abroad are given the same cut-off.

https://www.compassprep.com/national-merit-semifinalist-cutoffs/#:~:text=New%20Jersey%20also%20established%20the,Wyoming%20%E2%80%94%20had%20cutoffs%20of%20207.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The NMSF designation goes to the top 0.5 percent of kids in each state, so of course DC only has a few compared to the much larger high school populations of VA and MD. The cut off score also varies by state, with MD and MA usually having the highest cutoff. DC 's cutoff is set at the highest state cutoff, and is generally higher than VA's cutoff score.

Why the heck would they do this? Seems like a very odd design choice, given the high poverty rate for families in DC.

Why wouldn't they just apply the same 0.5 percent methodology to kids in DC?

I don't think they apply it differently. I think we have a much higher cutoff because the NMSFs skew to a very high-income demographic in DC. You won't see another state where private schools represent 80% of the schools having NMSFs like we do in DC.

Huh? it doesn't matter what you "think."

DC has the highest cut-off because there is a rule that DC automatically gets the cut-off of the highest state which this year is New Jersey with 223. Americans living abroad are given the same cut-off.

https://www.compassprep.com/national-merit-semifinalist-cutoffs/#:~:text=New%20Jersey%20also%20established%20the,Wyoming%20%E2%80%94%20had%20cutoffs%20of%20207.

Great.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The NMSF designation goes to the top 0.5 percent of kids in each state, so of course DC only has a few compared to the much larger high school populations of VA and MD. The cut off score also varies by state, with MD and MA usually having the highest cutoff. DC 's cutoff is set at the highest state cutoff, and is generally higher than VA's cutoff score.

Why the heck would they do this? Seems like a very odd design choice, given the high poverty rate for families in DC.

Why wouldn't they just apply the same 0.5 percent methodology to kids in DC?

I don't think they apply it differently. I think we have a much higher cutoff because the NMSFs skew to a very high-income demographic in DC. You won't see another state where private schools represent 80% of the schools having NMSFs like we do in DC.

Huh? it doesn't matter what you "think."

DC has the highest cut-off because there is a rule that DC automatically gets the cut-off of the highest state which this year is New Jersey with 223. Americans living abroad are given the same cut-off.

https://www.compassprep.com/national-merit-semifinalist-cutoffs/#:~:text=New%20Jersey%20also%20established%20the,Wyoming%20%E2%80%94%20had%20cutoffs%20of%20207.

Great.

Why?

Who knows? This PP was just pointing out that the PP before them just made crap up...

[Anonymous]

My DC did not take it -- was sick that day -- and nothing was lost. PSAT really has little meaning. There is no reason to study for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The NMSF designation goes to the top 0.5 percent of kids in each state, so of course DC only has a few compared to the much larger high school populations of VA and MD. The cut off score also varies by state, with MD and MA usually having the highest cutoff. DC 's cutoff is set at the highest state cutoff, and is generally higher than VA's cutoff score.

Why the heck would they do this? Seems like a very odd design choice, given the high poverty rate for families in DC.

Why wouldn't they just apply the same 0.5 percent methodology to kids in DC?

I don't think they apply it differently. I think we have a much higher cutoff because the NMSFs skew to a very high-income demographic in DC. You won't see another state where private schools represent 80% of the schools having NMSFs like we do in DC.

Huh? it doesn't matter what you "think."

DC has the highest cut-off because there is a rule that DC automatically gets the cut-off of the highest state which this year is New Jersey with 223. Americans living abroad are given the same cut-off.

https://www.compassprep.com/national-merit-semifinalist-cutoffs/#:~:text=New%20Jersey%20also%20established%20the,Wyoming%20%E2%80%94%20had%20cutoffs%20of%20207.

Great.

Why?

Because DC is not a state.