national merit semifinalists announced - link to area schools

[Anonymous]

Wait - new to this. Why does it make sense to have different cutoffs from different states? Isn't this supposed to be a "Merit" award??

[Anonymous]

It is pretty meaningless for college admissions, as an earlier poster said the colleges are well aware of the different cutoffs. But it has meaning to communities and students to be able to say "we had X number of merit scholars.." and it has meaning financially, since a Merit Scholar gets a $2500 non-need-based award if makes it to finalist (which in our recent experience is just about automatic from semi-finalist). So seems quite strange that a student with same scores from a DC high school would not get this award but quite a few kids say from TJ get the award with the same exact scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait - new to this. Why does it make sense to have different cutoffs from different states? Isn't this supposed to be a "Merit" award??

It makes sense because the NM people want every state substantially represented. If it we purely based on the raw numbers, then most winners would be concentrated in a smaller number of states. I suppose you also could make arguments that children in a low performing state (like Mississippi for example) who manage to meet the top-1% cutoff score are actually overcoming significant obstacles in reaching that score, and so deserve just as much kudos as children who reach a higher score in a more advantaged state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait - new to this. Why does it make sense to have different cutoffs from different states? Isn't this supposed to be a "Merit" award??

It makes sense because the NM people want every state substantially represented. If it we purely based on the raw numbers, then most winners would be concentrated in a smaller number of states. I suppose you also could make arguments that children in a low performing state (like Mississippi for example) who manage to meet the top-1% cutoff score are actually overcoming significant obstacles in reaching that score, and so deserve just as much kudos as children who reach a higher score in a more advantaged state.

Exactly. As an admissions person from UVA said last year at my DCs school when asked about how they evaluate kids in supercompetitive schools - "To whom much is given, much is expected"

[Anonymous]

So why should so much be expected of DC public school kids when they are given so little?

[Anonymous]

I think it has something to do with how NMSC calculates cutoff scores, and the small number of people in DC. Below is NMSC's description of how it sets cutoff scores (with key parts underlined). I'm guessing that if NMSC followed this same method for calculating a cutoff score for DC or the other special "selection units," it might result in those selection units getting an unfairly small number of semifinalist slots (even fewer than they get now using the "highest state score" cutoff). For example, tiny little Rhode Island only had 8,200 seniors take the SAT last year, and DC had only half that number (4,100).

Maybe I'm wrong about this, but that's my best guess why there's a different standard.

NMSC designates Semifinalists on a state representational
basis to ensure that academically able young
people from all parts of the United States are included
in this talent pool. Using the latest data available, an
allocation of Semifinalists is determined for each state,
based on the state’s percentage of the national total of
high school graduating seniors. For example, the number
of Semifinalists in a state that enrolls approximately two
percent of the nation’s graduating seniors would be about
320 (2 percent of the 16,000 Semifinalists).

NMSC then arranges the Selection Index scores of all
National Merit Program participants within a state in
descending order. The score at which a state’s allocation
is most closely filled becomes the Semifinalist qualifying
score. Entrants with a Selection Index at or above
the qualifying score are named Semifinalists. As a result
of this process, Semifinalist qualifying scores vary from
state to state and from year to year, but the scores of all
Semifinalists are extremely high.

In addition to Semifinalists designated in each of the
50 states and without affecting the allocation to any
state, Semifinalists are named in several other selection
units that NMSC establishes for the competition. These
units are for students attending schools in the District of
Columbia, schools in U.S. commonwealths and territories,
schools in other countries that enroll U.S. citizens,
and U.S. boarding schools that enroll a sizable proportion
of their students from outside the state in which the
school is located. A participant can be considered for
Semifinalist standing in only one state or selection unit,
based on the high school in which the student is regularly
enrolled when taking the PSAT/NMSQT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So why should so much be expected of DC public school kids when they are given so little?

So if the number drops down to something like 210 do you think that will really capture a big chunk of public school kids? Probably just means huge numbers of private school kids get added to the list, and maybe a couple more from Wilson or Walls.

[Anonymous]

It's the spirit of the cutoff as well as the actual difference in what a lower cutoff would mean for DC. It's outrageous to me that this is allowed! DC and Massachusetts? I'm not following the reasoning behind this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Potomac had 1 semifinalist.

What is the source for this?

[Anonymous]

1 at Georgetown Prep? That's absolutely pathetic for what's supposed to be a top school. I wonder if the 1300 listed SAT score is a fraud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Potomac had 1 semifinalist.

What is the source for this?

I have the Virginia press release listing all the semifinalists.

[Anonymous]

1 at Georgetown Prep? That's absolutely pathetic for what's supposed to be a top school. I wonder if the 1300 listed SAT score is a fraud.

Consistent with a circulating opinion on these boards the area D.C. private schools are generally mediocre despite a "top school" designation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is pretty meaningless for college admissions, as an earlier poster said the colleges are well aware of the different cutoffs. But it has meaning to communities and students to be able to say "we had X number of merit scholars.." and it has meaning financially, since a Merit Scholar gets a $2500 non-need-based award if makes it to finalist (which in our recent experience is just about automatic from semi-finalist). So seems quite strange that a student with same scores from a DC high school would not get this award but quite a few kids say from TJ get the award with the same exact scores.

Lots of misinformation here. Merit Scholars get $2500 not all finalists do. It is not meaningless to colleges. Many of them note exactly how many NMF and Scholars attend their school. If they brag about it you can bet they care. Will it get anyone into Harvard. Nope. But calling it meaningless is quite ignorant.

[Anonymous]

It is pretty meaningless for college admissions, as an earlier poster said the colleges are well aware of the different cutoffs. But it has meaning to communities and students to be able to say "we had X number of merit scholars.." and it has meaning financially, since a Merit Scholar gets a $2500 non-need-based award if makes it to finalist (which in our recent experience is just about automatic from semi-finalist). So seems quite strange that a student with same scores from a DC high school would not get this award but quite a few kids say from TJ get the award with the same exact scores.

If you look at the mean and median PSAT and SAT scores (year in and year out) from TJ compared to any D.C. school, private or public, you will immediately recognise your stupidity and/or ignorance.

[Anonymous]

It is not fair to judge National Merit Semi-Finalists at DC schools versus MD. Maryland is always in the top two in the country in competitiveness. If any of the Maryland schools were lucky enough to be in DC they would have many more semi-finalists. That is why Gonzaga has more than GP and Landon