Anonymous
11/09/2025 10:57
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:Also each PSAT section maxes out at 760, not 800, so 224 for California out of a maximum of 228 is actually quite hard. Only three combinations are possible:
• Perfect reading + up to 40 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 20 points off in math
• 20 points off in reading + perfect math
That's it. At least California is not New Jersey, Massachusetts, or DC where the cutoff is 225 which means only these would make the cut:
• Perfect reading + up to 30 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 10 points off in math
Respect for those who made NMSF in these states 🫡
Is there a way to know how many kids from other states achieved 224 or higher even though the state cutoff was lower?
Anonymous
11/09/2025 10:56
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Also each PSAT section maxes out at 760, not 800, so 224 for California out of a maximum of 228 is actually quite hard. Only three combinations are possible:
• Perfect reading + up to 40 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 20 points off in math
• 20 points off in reading + perfect math
That's it. At least California is not New Jersey, Massachusetts, or DC where the cutoff is 225 which means only these would make the cut:
• Perfect reading + up to 30 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 10 points off in math
Respect for those who made NMSF in these states 🫡
This. It’s much harder to get NMSF than a 1550 SAT in NJ, MA, or DC. At our NJ public school where 30-40 kids get a 1550 SAT, we have only 8-12 NMSF.
Maybe there is some embellishment about the number of 1550 plus scorers. At our public high school there are 35 NMSF with a selection index of 224. Just a bit fewer than 1550 scorers.
But what state are you in? In NJ, MA, and DC, only 14% of students who score above the national “commended” line are NMSFs. In a lot of other high-performing states, like MD, VA, and CA, it’s 1.5x as high, 21-25%. In states like Ohio and Georgia, it’s more than 2x as high, 33%. In more than 20 states it’s over 50%, including four states where it’s more than 7x as high at 100%. So the ratio between NMSFs and kids who score high on the SAT should vary significantly by state.
Anonymous
11/09/2025 10:48
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Also each PSAT section maxes out at 760, not 800, so 224 for California out of a maximum of 228 is actually quite hard. Only three combinations are possible:
• Perfect reading + up to 40 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 20 points off in math
• 20 points off in reading + perfect math
That's it. At least California is not New Jersey, Massachusetts, or DC where the cutoff is 225 which means only these would make the cut:
• Perfect reading + up to 30 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 10 points off in math
Respect for those who made NMSF in these states 🫡
OR…a 224 in another state…(tho only the student would know the score)
Pp - meaning, cutoff in state was lower, but student scored 224.
Anonymous
11/09/2025 10:47
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Also each PSAT section maxes out at 760, not 800, so 224 for California out of a maximum of 228 is actually quite hard. Only three combinations are possible:
• Perfect reading + up to 40 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 20 points off in math
• 20 points off in reading + perfect math
That's it. At least California is not New Jersey, Massachusetts, or DC where the cutoff is 225 which means only these would make the cut:
• Perfect reading + up to 30 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 10 points off in math
Respect for those who made NMSF in these states 🫡
This. It’s much harder to get NMSF than a 1550 SAT in NJ, MA, or DC. At our NJ public school where 30-40 kids get a 1550 SAT, we have only 8-12 NMSF.
Maybe there is some embellishment about the number of 1550 plus scorers. At our public high school there are 35 NMSF with a selection index of 224. Just a bit fewer than 1550 scorers.
Anonymous
11/09/2025 10:45
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:Also each PSAT section maxes out at 760, not 800, so 224 for California out of a maximum of 228 is actually quite hard. Only three combinations are possible:
• Perfect reading + up to 40 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 20 points off in math
• 20 points off in reading + perfect math
That's it. At least California is not New Jersey, Massachusetts, or DC where the cutoff is 225 which means only these would make the cut:
• Perfect reading + up to 30 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 10 points off in math
Respect for those who made NMSF in these states 🫡
OR…a 224 in another state…(tho only the student would know the score)
Anonymous
11/09/2025 10:38
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:Also each PSAT section maxes out at 760, not 800, so 224 for California out of a maximum of 228 is actually quite hard. Only three combinations are possible:
• Perfect reading + up to 40 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 20 points off in math
• 20 points off in reading + perfect math
That's it. At least California is not New Jersey, Massachusetts, or DC where the cutoff is 225 which means only these would make the cut:
• Perfect reading + up to 30 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 10 points off in math
Respect for those who made NMSF in these states 🫡
Thanks for laying it out like this! Yes, when you count it as “points off,” it’s clear that the NMSF cutoffs are harder than the supposedly equivalent SAT scores. Especially since it’s possible to lose 10-20 points on a single question! Maybe the content isn’t harder (PSAT v SAT) but there’s zero room for error.
Anonymous
11/09/2025 10:34
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:Also each PSAT section maxes out at 760, not 800, so 224 for California out of a maximum of 228 is actually quite hard. Only three combinations are possible:
• Perfect reading + up to 40 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 20 points off in math
• 20 points off in reading + perfect math
That's it. At least California is not New Jersey, Massachusetts, or DC where the cutoff is 225 which means only these would make the cut:
• Perfect reading + up to 30 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 10 points off in math
Respect for those who made NMSF in these states 🫡
This. It’s much harder to get NMSF than a 1550 SAT in NJ, MA, or DC. At our NJ public school where 30-40 kids get a 1550 SAT, we have only 8-12 NMSF.
Anonymous
11/09/2025 10:27
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Also each PSAT section maxes out at 760, not 800, so 224 for California out of a maximum of 228 is actually quite hard. Only three combinations are possible:
• Perfect reading + up to 40 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 20 points off in math
• 20 points off in reading + perfect math
That's it. At least California is not New Jersey, Massachusetts, or DC where the cutoff is 225 which means only these would make the cut:
• Perfect reading + up to 30 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 10 points off in math
Respect for those who made NMSF in these states 🫡
• Perfect reading + up to 40 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 20 points off in math
• 20 points off in reading + perfect math
That's it. At least California is not New Jersey, Massachusetts, or DC where the cutoff is 225 which means only these would make the cut:
• Perfect reading + up to 30 points off in math
• 10 points off in reading + up to 10 points off in math
Respect for those who made NMSF in these states 🫡
Anonymous
11/09/2025 10:10
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:After today's SAT, you get the familar complaints of how the real SAT was harder than the practice test, this module was s hard, not enough time, etc.
I think the realization for many is that getting a 1550 is just hard and they just complain.
In California, only about 2000 students get to be NMSF. Now of course this is based on the PSAT and selection index, but as a point of reference a 1550 is harder to get than a selection index score of 224.
Berkeley and UCLA enroll almost 13,000 freshman. Safe to say the great majority couldn't score a 1550.
Perceptions get skewed because a magnet school that already self selected might have 50% scoring above 1500.
Still rare and in actual number, quite few.
Why do you say a 1550 is harder than a 224?
A selection index of 224 can be achieved with a "1530" SAT. In quotes because obviously they are different tests. However, the College Board allows for an alternate entry if one misses a PSAT because of illness, etc. A 1530 will qualify you.
Thanks. Just wondering because I know multiple kids who didn’t hit 224 on the PSAT but did score above 1530 on the SAT. But maybe that’s math vs verbal, or school culture, or maturity, or something like that.
Most likely math was higher than reading since even for alternate entry, the College Board weights Reading 2x and Math 1x.
Anonymous
11/09/2025 09:52
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:After today's SAT, you get the familar complaints of how the real SAT was harder than the practice test, this module was s hard, not enough time, etc.
I think the realization for many is that getting a 1550 is just hard and they just complain.
In California, only about 2000 students get to be NMSF. Now of course this is based on the PSAT and selection index, but as a point of reference a 1550 is harder to get than a selection index score of 224.
Berkeley and UCLA enroll almost 13,000 freshman. Safe to say the great majority couldn't score a 1550.
Perceptions get skewed because a magnet school that already self selected might have 50% scoring above 1500.
Still rare and in actual number, quite few.
Why do you say a 1550 is harder than a 224?
A selection index of 224 can be achieved with a "1530" SAT. In quotes because obviously they are different tests. However, the College Board allows for an alternate entry if one misses a PSAT because of illness, etc. A 1530 will qualify you.
Thanks. Just wondering because I know multiple kids who didn’t hit 224 on the PSAT but did score above 1530 on the SAT. But maybe that’s math vs verbal, or school culture, or maturity, or something like that.
Anonymous
11/09/2025 09:34
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:After today's SAT, you get the familar complaints of how the real SAT was harder than the practice test, this module was s hard, not enough time, etc.
I think the realization for many is that getting a 1550 is just hard and they just complain.
In California, only about 2000 students get to be NMSF. Now of course this is based on the PSAT and selection index, but as a point of reference a 1550 is harder to get than a selection index score of 224.
Berkeley and UCLA enroll almost 13,000 freshman. Safe to say the great majority couldn't score a 1550.
Perceptions get skewed because a magnet school that already self selected might have 50% scoring above 1500.
Still rare and in actual number, quite few.
Why do you say a 1550 is harder than a 224?
A selection index of 224 can be achieved with a "1530" SAT. In quotes because obviously they are different tests. However, the College Board allows for an alternate entry if one misses a PSAT because of illness, etc. A 1530 will qualify you.
Anonymous
11/08/2025 20:41
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:After today's SAT, you get the familar complaints of how the real SAT was harder than the practice test, this module was s hard, not enough time, etc.
I think the realization for many is that getting a 1550 is just hard and they just complain.
In California, only about 2000 students get to be NMSF. Now of course this is based on the PSAT and selection index, but as a point of reference a 1550 is harder to get than a selection index score of 224.
Berkeley and UCLA enroll almost 13,000 freshman. Safe to say the great majority couldn't score a 1550.
Perceptions get skewed because a magnet school that already self selected might have 50% scoring above 1500.
Still rare and in actual number, quite few.
Why do you say a 1550 is harder than a 224?
Anonymous
11/08/2025 19:16
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
According to SFFA, a 1550 gave awhite applicant a 30% chance at Harvard. Slightly less if Asian.
Good odds considering overall acceptance rates.
Good odds considering overall acceptance rates.
Anonymous
11/08/2025 19:09
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
Anonymous wrote:After today's SAT, you get the familar complaints of how the real SAT was harder than the practice test, this module was s hard, not enough time, etc.
I think the realization for many is that getting a 1550 is just hard and they just complain.
In California, only about 2000 students get to be NMSF. Now of course this is based on the PSAT and selection index, but as a point of reference a 1550 is harder to get than a selection index score of 224.
Berkeley and UCLA enroll almost 13,000 freshman. Safe to say the great majority couldn't score a 1550.
Perceptions get skewed because a magnet school that already self selected might have 50% scoring above 1500.
Still rare and in actual number, quite few.
Caltech uses a bracket system, accroding to which 780 in each section is the score for "backet A". Really 1560 is the number, not 1550, for differentiation.
Anonymous
11/08/2025 19:05
Subject: SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest
After today's SAT, you get the familar complaints of how the real SAT was harder than the practice test, this module was s hard, not enough time, etc.
I think the realization for many is that getting a 1550 is just hard and they just complain.
In California, only about 2000 students get to be NMSF. Now of course this is based on the PSAT and selection index, but as a point of reference a 1550 is harder to get than a selection index score of 224.
Berkeley and UCLA enroll almost 13,000 freshman. Safe to say the great majority couldn't score a 1550.
Perceptions get skewed because a magnet school that already self selected might have 50% scoring above 1500.
Still rare and in actual number, quite few.
I think the realization for many is that getting a 1550 is just hard and they just complain.
In California, only about 2000 students get to be NMSF. Now of course this is based on the PSAT and selection index, but as a point of reference a 1550 is harder to get than a selection index score of 224.
Berkeley and UCLA enroll almost 13,000 freshman. Safe to say the great majority couldn't score a 1550.
Perceptions get skewed because a magnet school that already self selected might have 50% scoring above 1500.
Still rare and in actual number, quite few.