Reply to Why is being a National Merit Finalist a big deal?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
There's a strange misconception on this thread that you can become a NMF with a great PSAT score and SAT doesn't matter.  That's incorrect.  You can become a "Commended" student or Semifinalist based on the PSAT, but you need to score equally well on the SAT to advance to a Finalist or Scholar.[/quote]

This is not true.  You need to have a confirming score that matches or exceeds the Commended (National-level) score of 212.  So, in DC (223 index), you could get a 1500 PSAT and still move to Finalist with a 1360 SAT (760RW + 600M, 76+76+60=212).  Note that the SAT components are capped at the 760 PSAT level.  I'm not sure if the confirming score is relevant to becoming a Scholar; I don't think it officially is, but may matter to some of the sponsors (NM, Corp, College).

Also, in the DMV, a qualifying PSAT is much higher than 1% of the 1.6M national PSAT test takers, and way, way higher than 1% of the 4+M high school seniors (0.2%?).[/quote]

You are confirming what I wrote while saying you're contradicting it.  I said the SAT does matter and it is not based on PSAT alone, and you went on a rant that "that is not true" while ... laying out the required SAT scores.[/quote]

"but you need to score equally well on the SAT"

THIS IS NOT TRUE.  Does that help?[/quote]

Your SAT scores have to confirm the PSAT scores.  SAT scores matter.  You cannot become a NMF based on PSAT alone.  This is the point, as I said explicitly.  Of course the scores don't have to be identical because it's a standard cutoff so some people will score higher or lower than their performance on the PSAT while still exceeding the cutoff for their state.

But the SAT scores, like the PSAT scores, must be higher than the cutoff set by the NMST.   You have to beat the cutoff both times.  You are correct (while being pedantic to the point of inanity) that the PSAT and SAT scores do not have to be identical for each applicant.  But each person who advances to Finalist must have been above the cutoff for [i]both [/i]tests, not just the PSAT.

Good luck on your kid's prep.[/quote]

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