Reply to 2020 National Merit semifinalists in DC

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't know anyone in DC who cares about this test and very few kids who prep for it. So maybe that't the problem? Nobody cares.[/quote]

Yea, because you probably don't have a clue about what it takes to crack an Ivy, Stanford, MIT, a military academy, even a flagship state school etc., like most DC public school parents.

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BS. If you are a recruitable athlete or legacy, you don't need anywhere near a NMSF PSAT score to get into the most highly selective private universities. Short of that, you need a 1500 SAT (lower than NMSF level), great grades, and a unique hook. [/quote]

You're painting with too broad a brush, PP.  Much depends on where a college applicant applies.  Harvard's legacy admit rate is only around 20% now - it was close to 60% as recently as the mid 80s.  You can bet that Ivy applicants who are NMSF semifinalists get a second look, and that legacies whose parents aren't willing and able to donate campus buildings and endowed chairs no longer breeze into top schools with mediocre standardized test scores.  The PSAT is not required to apply anywhere, meaning that PSAT scores are very seldom submitted with applications.  All that SAT scores of 700 plus per section guarantee is that your UMC applicant's application will be read in full.

Recruitable athletes are few and far between, particularly in DC public. The term "hook" in admissions is generally used to indicate that a faculty or staff member of the college is fighting an applicant's corner, trying to ensure that they're admitted and induced to enroll, e.g. a musician for an orchestra that needs a first-rate clarinet player.  This is a soft form of being recruited.  Right, having a niche interest to bring to the table certainly doesn't hurt.[/quote]

All that NMSF means is you did well on the PSAT. I've never heard of a school looking at PSAT rather than SAT. Even then, the colleges know that the SAT is highly coachable and expect their candidates to have taken the effort to get to the point to get a respectable score. A poor score means you didn't put the effort in, that's all. Beyond a certain point a good score doesn't move the dial. [/quote]

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