2022 PSAT Scores

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any value to being a semifinalist for NMSQT (i.e. meeting the benchmark) -- other than having something nice to put on your college applications?

Realistically, my kid could meet the benchmark with just a little prep. But, he isn't going to win any scholarship competition b/c he doesn't have a "resume" of fabulous things he's done.

So, other than bragging rights on college apps, is there any value to being a NMSQT semifinalist?

Yes, if you follow 'the path'. A typical semifinalist almost always is a finalist that qualifies them for merit aid at a small subset of schools. A few years ago, University of Florida used to offer a full ride, probably the highest ranked school to do so. Don't think they do that any longer. USC (california) and NorthEastern are two other highly rated schools that offer strong, partial aid. USC offers a 50% scholarship and NEU offers enough money to make the tuition comparable to what you'd pay for UVA instate. Some schools like UCF and UTD offer full rides and automatic admit into their sought after honors programs (the schools themselves don't rank high).

Thing is, most finalist kids have strong GPAs and are likely to get into highly ranked schools. If you plan to ignore those admissions and go where cost is lowest, then by all means focus on the PSAT. If not, it's no more than something to brag about on your college app.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any value to being a semifinalist for NMSQT (i.e. meeting the benchmark) -- other than having something nice to put on your college applications?

Realistically, my kid could meet the benchmark with just a little prep. But, he isn't going to win any scholarship competition b/c he doesn't have a "resume" of fabulous things he's done.

So, other than bragging rights on college apps, is there any value to being a NMSQT semifinalist?

Most semifinalists become finalists.

Can you back up a little. If you meet the benchmark score for your state (let's say 221)... then are you a "semi-finalist"? And if you are a "semi-finalist" what has to happen to make you a "finalist"? I thought that there were only a much smaller number who actually get the scholarships out of some 16,000 (?) who meet the benchmark.

You need to submit an essay (could be the same as your common app essay), a letter of recommendation from your school and proof that your grades are good and that you have a good SAT score to qualify as a finalist. About 15,000 of the 16K semifinalists generally qualify. Of the 15K, only 2,500 get a NM scholarship by the NMSC. Others get scholarships through their parents' employers or through a college that gives out National merit scholarships. College Confidential has extensive discussions on this topic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10th grader got a 1080. He's solidly in the 70th-80th percentile ranges. I'm very proud of him. He's amazing!

That was exactly my 10th grader's score last year. We get this years 11th grade score tomorrow- curious to see if it improved at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any value to being a semifinalist for NMSQT (i.e. meeting the benchmark) -- other than having something nice to put on your college applications?

Realistically, my kid could meet the benchmark with just a little prep. But, he isn't going to win any scholarship competition b/c he doesn't have a "resume" of fabulous things he's done.

So, other than bragging rights on college apps, is there any value to being a NMSQT semifinalist?

Yes, if you follow 'the path'. A typical semifinalist almost always is a finalist that qualifies them for merit aid at a small subset of schools. A few years ago, University of Florida used to offer a full ride, probably the highest ranked school to do so. Don't think they do that any longer. USC (california) and NorthEastern are two other highly rated schools that offer strong, partial aid. USC offers a 50% scholarship and NEU offers enough money to make the tuition comparable to what you'd pay for UVA instate. Some schools like UCF and UTD offer full rides and automatic admit into their sought after honors programs (the schools themselves don't rank high).

Thing is, most finalist kids have strong GPAs and are likely to get into highly ranked schools. If you plan to ignore those admissions and go where cost is lowest, then by all means focus on the PSAT. If not, it's no more than something to brag about on your college app.

Most UMC kids are not doing it to get the scholarship. You have to be a very strong candidate to do so well. Also, you have to also show the same kind of performance in the SAT also for you to become a finalist. My kid is a scholar now. His school gave him 1K for 4 years (so 4K total). The recognition is a flex, not the money. For the top students, NMS is a low hanging fruit. They already have the grades, the ECs, the essays, the recommendation, the SAT scores etc. It is not a hard process for the prepared kid.

Yes, there are many decent schools that will give full rides too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:10th grader got a 1080. He's solidly in the 70th-80th percentile ranges. I'm very proud of him. He's amazing!

That was exactly my 10th grader's score last year. We get this years 11th grade score tomorrow- curious to see if it improved at all.

Am in VA and managed to get in to see my kids score (in a similar range here). It’s the same exact score.

[Anonymous]

DC got 1510 - 750 and 760. How do you calculate the National Merit score from this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC got 1510 - 750 and 760. How do you calculate the National Merit score from this?

Is this a joke? This will be a qualifying score.
Take away the zeros, double verbal plus math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC got 1510 - 750 and 760. How do you calculate the National Merit score from this?

https://www.compassprep.com/national-merit-semifinalist-cutoffs/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:10th grader got a 1080. He's solidly in the 70th-80th percentile ranges. I'm very proud of him. He's amazing!

That was exactly my 10th grader's score last year. We get this years 11th grade score tomorrow- curious to see if it improved at all.

Am in VA and managed to get in to see my kids score (in a similar range here). It’s the same exact score.

How do we see the score -
also is there a way to see it without logging into the College Board website

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC got 1510 - 750 and 760. How do you calculate the National Merit score from this?

You dumb

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC got 1510 - 750 and 760. How do you calculate the National Merit score from this?

You dumb

+1 Where did her kid get the intelligence genes from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC got 1510 - 750 and 760. How do you calculate the National Merit score from this?

Is this a joke? This will be a qualifying score.
Take away the zeros, double verbal plus math.

Is this accurate? or is it just a good guess?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC got 1510 - 750 and 760. How do you calculate the National Merit score from this?

Is this a joke? This will be a qualifying score.
Take away the zeros, double verbal plus math.

Is this accurate? or is it just a good guess?

https://www.leaprogram.com/blogs/college-bound/how-to-calculate-national-merit-selection-index

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much can one realistically expect an 1160 to rise with the SAT?

My DD scored around 1050 as a sophomore, junior year PSAT was in the 1100s. She has test anxiety, so took the SAT a few times and ended up with a 1390. So it can go up quite a bit!

Mine went up almost exactly the same!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much can one realistically expect an 1160 to rise with the SAT?

My son went from an 1190 to a 1440 senior year.