National Merit Semifinalist Cut-off Scores for High School Class of 2016

[Anonymous]

Wow, if that's true, that's a terrible reflection on SWW. I thought they were all about helping their kids get to college, with scholarships?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
These posts crack me up. The names of all the semifinalists in Arlington, Fairfax, and Montgomery Counties are all a matter of public record, but we apparently must keep the identities of any private school semifinalists under wraps. It kind of makes you wonder whether it's the identities of those private school kids who are semifinalists that need to be kept secret, or the identities of those who are not.

The Georgetown Patch published the DC list last year. Maybe they will get to it this week or maybe they have decided not to publish for the sake of protecting Malia Obama's privacy, as there is obvious interest. I don't think it's about anyone else. Too bad, the PSAT doesn't mean much but it's nice for kids to be recognized for academic achievement. It doesn't happen often. At my DD's private, there is no recognition of academic achievement in any form, but there's a big athletic awards ceremony every year.

[Anonymous]

Most newspapers -- even the Patch -- are well-trained not to post anything about Malia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
These posts crack me up. The names of all the semifinalists in Arlington, Fairfax, and Montgomery Counties are all a matter of public record, but we apparently must keep the identities of any private school semifinalists under wraps. It kind of makes you wonder whether it's the identities of those private school kids who are semifinalists that need to be kept secret, or the identities of those who are not.

The Georgetown Patch published the DC list last year. Maybe they will get to it this week or maybe they have decided not to publish for the sake of protecting Malia Obama's privacy, as there is obvious interest. I don't think it's about anyone else. Too bad, the PSAT doesn't mean much but it's nice for kids to be recognized for academic achievement. It doesn't happen often. At my DD's private, there is no recognition of academic achievement in any form, but there's a big athletic awards ceremony every year.

Historically, the Patch has released the DC list a while after the national release date. Many of these early releases come from the school districts themselves (see Arlington Public Schools for instance). In DC, the private school dominance of the list reduces the incentive for DCPS to release it, and the individual privates are probably a bit loathe to list individuals' names.

[Anonymous]

Any information on how kids learn if they are commended?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do kids who were commended get letters? My child missed the 225 cutoff just barely, but we have not received any notification.

Yes, Commended kids should get certificates that are sent to the school. The kids who are Commended are top 5% in the country; they really should get more recognition. I'm in Fairfax County and I know the schools right around my area usually have an award ceremony for the Commended Students, but they don't publicize the names.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any information on how kids learn if they are commended?

I've read that the cutoff for commended this year is 202. You can call NMSC and ask if your child is on the list. Some schools are not great at notifying students about this.

[Anonymous]

I think commended is actually the top two percent in the country, and especially disappointing if you miss NMSF by one or two points in a tough jurisdiction like DC.

[Anonymous]

Commended students are among the top 50,000 PSAT takers who are in their junior year of high school. NMSC says that about 1.5 million juniors take the test. The top 16,000 are named Semi-finalists, so about 34,000 receive the commended designation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think commended is actually the top two percent in the country, and especially disappointing if you miss NMSF by one or two points in a tough jurisdiction like DC.

It can mean the difference between Harvard and Penn State.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most newspapers -- even the Patch -- are well-trained not to post anything about Malia.

It's pure speculation that she would be NMSF. More likely not.

[Anonymous]

DC schools were asked not to publish the names this year because the presence or absence of Malia's name would subject her to unwanted scrutiny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC schools were asked not to publish the names this year because the presence or absence of Malia's name would subject her to unwanted scrutiny.

That kind of stinks for the other kids selected.

[Anonymous]

Yes, everyone can stop looking. The list will not be released this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC schools were asked not to publish the names this year because the presence or absence of Malia's name would subject her to unwanted scrutiny.

That kind of stinks for the other kids selected.

Yes, but it does not take away the honor and it might actually make things more pleasant for kids within DC schools. Every year there is so much scrutiny on the list. When so-so students make it, there are always the "how did he/she make it" comments, and when top students don't make it, people ask why. It's just one test and the SATs and ACTs and school record matter so much more. I can attest to this because one of my kids is a great tester and the other is a good, but not great, tester. It did not make any difference in college admissions.