Reply to What score do you need to be a merit scholar?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My 10th grader scored 1260 and surprisingly put him in 96th percentile. He told me PSAT is out of 1520, not 1600.[/quote]

96%ile among 10th graders.

96%ile on 11th is almost high enough for Commended.

99%ile in 11th for SemiFinalist/Finalist

But remember that this "scholarship"s program is just a scam to sell expensive tests.

https://research.collegeboard.org/reports/sat-suite/understanding-scores/psat-nmsqt[/quote]
Why are you pretending it’s not an actual scholarship program? Being named a Semifinalist or better gets kids more merit aid from colleges because the schools want the prestige of attracting as many of these kids as possible. Being an actual Scholar gets you money directly from the NMSC. I earned a bachelor’s degree from a private university without paying a penny for tuition thanks to this program.[/quote]

You'd get that scholarship or it's equivalent even without the PSAT[/quote]

No, because a lot of colleges have spectacular money for NMF (and more rarely NMSF) but not always to high SAT scorers who didn't take the PSAT. It's a weird system.

As an example, take the University of Alabama, which is one of the most aggressive schools for courting high stats kids.  Here's a student with their top non-NMF auto scholarship:

"A student with a 4.0+ GPA and 36 ACT OR 1600 SAT will be selected as a Presidential Elite Scholar and will receive:

Value of tuition for up to four years or eight semesters for degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate or law studies 
First year of on-campus housing at regular room rate (based on assignment by Housing and Residential Communities) 
$2,000 one-time allowance for use in research or international study (after completing one year of study at UA) 
$1,500 per year supplemental scholarship for four years"

Compare with Alabama's easier to get NMF, which doesn't require either that high a SAT score or GPA:

"If admitted, students who are eligible for the National Merit Finalist package will receive:

Value of tuition for up to five years or 10 semesters for degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate or law studies
Four years of undergraduate on-campus housing at regular room rate* (based on assignment by Housing and Residential Communities)
$4,000 per year undergraduate supplemental scholarship for four years**
$2,000 one-time allowance for use in research or international study (after completing one year of study at UA)"

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