I guess this answers the question What is Vanderbilt looking for?

I'm impressed with UT Dallas, Florida, and Alabama. I always find it interesting when schools decide they are going to devote some resources to get the top students they can. These are schools with ambition.

Re-orderd with undergraduate size taken into consideration

1.(9) MIT 154 [1,136 Freshmen, 13.5%]
2. (7) Vanderbilt 185 [1,624 Freshmen, 11.3%]
3. (8) Harvard 160 [1,644 Freshmen, 9.7%]
4. (13) Yale 127 [1,554 Freshmen, 8%]
5. (14) Princeton 116 [1,497 Freshmen, 7.7%]
6. (3) USC 262 [3,402 Freshmen, 7.7%]
7. (12) Stanford 129 [1,733 Freshmen, 7.4%]
8. (10) Penn 147 [2,415 Freshmen, 6%]
9. (5) UT Dallas 232 [4,218 Freshmen, 5.5%]
10. (16) Duke 94 [1,744 Freshmen, 5.3%]
11. (27) Columbia 75 [1,522 Freshmen, 4.9%]
12. (30) Emory 67 [1,424 Freshmen, 4.7%]
13. (41) Dartmouth 49 [1,124 Freshmen, 4.4%]
14. (2) Florida 297 [6,612 Freshmen 4.4%]
15. (40) Rice 51 [1,201 Freshmen, 4.3%]
16. (29) Brown 69 [1,717 Freshmen, 4%]
17. (1) Alabama 323 [8,279 Freshmen, 3.9%
18. (15) Northeastern 97 [2,519 Freshmen, 3.9%]
19. (28) Northwestern 75 [2,038 Freshmen, 3.7%]
20. (33) Tufts 63 [1,694 Freshmen, 3.7%]
21. (38) Case Western 55 [1,553 Freshmen, 3.5%]
22. (37) Georgetown 56 [1,603 Freshmen, 3.5%]
23. (43) Johns Hopkins 48 [1,406 Freshmen 3.4%]
24. (45) Carnegie Mellon 47 [1,716 Freshmen, 2.7%]
25. (4) Purdue 260 [9,353 Freshmen, 2.7%]
26. (18) Georgia Tech 90 [3,646 Freshmen, 2.5%]
27. (11) UMD 144 [5,821 Freshmen, 2.5%]
28. (44) UChicago 48 [2,053 Freshmen, 2.3%]
29. (23) BU 77 [3,635 Freshmen, 2.1%]
30. (6) Texas A&M 219 [12,419 Freshmen, 1.7%]
31. (39) Cornell 54 [3,491 Freshmen, 1.5%]
32. (17) UC Berkeley 93 [6,707 Freshmen, 1.4%]
33. (49) Miss State 43 [3,367 Freshmen, 1.2%]
34. (24) UCLA 77 [6,461 Freshmen, 1.2%]
35. (19) UCF 85 [7,512 Freshmen, 1.1%]
36. (25) USF 77 [6,773 Freshmen, 1.1%]
37. (36) BYU 59 [5,567 Freshmen, 1%]
38. (35) Georgia 60 [6,250 Freshmen, 1%]
39. (26) Michigan 76 [7,050 Freshmen, 1%]
40. (20) UT Austin 85 [9,109 Freshmen, .9%]
41. (46) Clemson 45 [4,588 Freshmen, .99%]
42. (47) Missouri 45 [4,983 Freshmen, .9%]
43. (55) UVA 35 [4,020 Freshmen, .9%]
44. (51) UNC 40 [4,689 Freshmen, .8%]
45. (31) Indiana 67 [9,736 Freshmen, .7%]
46. (32) Arizona 65 [9,069 Freshmen, .7%]
47. (53) Oklahoma State 36 [4,643 Freshmen, .7%]
48. (48) NYU 44 [6,184 Freshmen, .7%]
49. (34) ASU 62 [10,022 Freshmen, .6%]
50. (52) Illinois 39 [8,297 Freshmen, .5%]
51. (42) Michigan State 49 [9,829 Freshmen .5%]
52. (500 Rutgers 43 [7,780 Freshmen, .5%]

Just turned 55 this year (former NMF) and received a letter from National Merit Scholarship Corporation asking me to donate to the NMF Scholarships.

Is this new? Or age-related?

Our private school puts virtually no emphasis on psat or psat results. We have great college placement this year so far, and I'm sure more to come, but none of the ivys or equivalent are NMSF.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An interesting list. Why is UVA so low?

Because Virginia’s cutoff for NMF is very high

But also, UVA is a relatively small school, is one of three public colleges in Virginia are targets for NMF-calibre students, and most importantly, does not automatically convert NMSF=> NMF. Taking Alabama as an example, they will not only turn every NMSF matriculator into an NMF, but will shower money on them -- five years of tuition, $3500/y supplemental for four years, $2,000 for study abroad... It's a terrific deal, and what's more is that matriculants will be grouped with a couple hundred other high-SAT scorers in their freshman class. Success breeds itself.

Kid made the cut for NMSF and we are strongly considering Alabama because of this amazing package.

PP back with an update. Kid has started to receive decisions and merit packages:

Accepted
ASU $12k/year
Arizona $17k/year
Alabama full ride
Oklahoma full tuition + (not quite full ride)
UT Dallas full ride
U South Florida full ride (incl waiver)
U Central Florida full ride (incl waiver)
Minnesota - in state tuition waiver + $15k

Waiting on decisions from U South Carolina and U Tulsa (both offer full rides)

Also waiting for RD decisions (Ivies and T30)

Nice. Alabama, UT Dallas, and USF are all a little more than $50,000 a year OOS. So scholarships worth $200,000+.

A pretty good return for three hours taking the PSAT.

UVA is on par with Missouri.

Nice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An interesting list. Why is UVA so low?

Because Virginia’s cutoff for NMF is very high

But also, UVA is a relatively small school, is one of three public colleges in Virginia are targets for NMF-calibre students, and most importantly, does not automatically convert NMSF=> NMF. Taking Alabama as an example, they will not only turn every NMSF matriculator into an NMF, but will shower money on them -- five years of tuition, $3500/y supplemental for four years, $2,000 for study abroad... It's a terrific deal, and what's more is that matriculants will be grouped with a couple hundred other high-SAT scorers in their freshman class. Success breeds itself.

Kid made the cut for NMSF and we are strongly considering Alabama because of this amazing package.

PP back with an update. Kid has started to receive decisions and merit packages:

Accepted
ASU $12k/year
Arizona $17k/year
Alabama full ride
Oklahoma full tuition + (not quite full ride)
UT Dallas full ride
U South Florida full ride (incl waiver)
U Central Florida full ride (incl waiver)
Minnesota - in state tuition waiver + $15k

Waiting on decisions from U South Carolina and U Tulsa (both offer full rides)

Also waiting for RD decisions (Ivies and T30)

Many thanks for taking the time to post this info, and good luck with the rest of the process!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An interesting list. Why is UVA so low?

Because Virginia’s cutoff for NMF is very high

But also, UVA is a relatively small school, is one of three public colleges in Virginia are targets for NMF-calibre students, and most importantly, does not automatically convert NMSF=> NMF. Taking Alabama as an example, they will not only turn every NMSF matriculator into an NMF, but will shower money on them -- five years of tuition, $3500/y supplemental for four years, $2,000 for study abroad... It's a terrific deal, and what's more is that matriculants will be grouped with a couple hundred other high-SAT scorers in their freshman class. Success breeds itself.

Kid made the cut for NMSF and we are strongly considering Alabama because of this amazing package.

PP back with an update. Kid has started to receive decisions and merit packages:

Accepted
ASU $12k/year
Arizona $17k/year
Alabama full ride
Oklahoma full tuition + (not quite full ride)
UT Dallas full ride
U South Florida full ride (incl waiver)
U Central Florida full ride (incl waiver)
Minnesota - in state tuition waiver + $15k

Waiting on decisions from U South Carolina and U Tulsa (both offer full rides)

Also waiting for RD decisions (Ivies and T30)

Nice. Having options is the best feeling. Congratulations to you and your child. NMSF winners don't get to run out of a tunnel to the cheers of thousands but they are the real winners in academia.

Roll Tide!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An interesting list. Why is UVA so low?

Because Virginia’s cutoff for NMF is very high

But also, UVA is a relatively small school, is one of three public colleges in Virginia are targets for NMF-calibre students, and most importantly, does not automatically convert NMSF=> NMF. Taking Alabama as an example, they will not only turn every NMSF matriculator into an NMF, but will shower money on them -- five years of tuition, $3500/y supplemental for four years, $2,000 for study abroad... It's a terrific deal, and what's more is that matriculants will be grouped with a couple hundred other high-SAT scorers in their freshman class. Success breeds itself.

Kid made the cut for NMSF and we are strongly considering Alabama because of this amazing package.

PP back with an update. Kid has started to receive decisions and merit packages:

Accepted
ASU $12k/year
Arizona $17k/year
Alabama full ride
Oklahoma full tuition + (not quite full ride)
UT Dallas full ride
U South Florida full ride (incl waiver)
U Central Florida full ride (incl waiver)
Minnesota - in state tuition waiver + $15k

Waiting on decisions from U South Carolina and U Tulsa (both offer full rides)

Also waiting for RD decisions (Ivies and T30)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An interesting list. Why is UVA so low?

Because Virginia’s cutoff for NMF is very high

But also, UVA is a relatively small school, is one of three public colleges in Virginia are targets for NMF-calibre students, and most importantly, does not automatically convert NMSF=> NMF. Taking Alabama as an example, they will not only turn every NMSF matriculator into an NMF, but will shower money on them -- five years of tuition, $3500/y supplemental for four years, $2,000 for study abroad... It's a terrific deal, and what's more is that matriculants will be grouped with a couple hundred other high-SAT scorers in their freshman class. Success breeds itself.

Kid made the cut for NMSF and we are strongly considering Alabama because of this amazing package.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An interesting list. Why is UVA so low?

Because Virginia’s cutoff for NMF is very high

But also, UVA is a relatively small school, is one of three public colleges in Virginia are targets for NMF-calibre students, and most importantly, does not automatically convert NMSF=> NMF. Taking Alabama as an example, they will not only turn every NMSF matriculator into an NMF, but will shower money on them -- five years of tuition, $3500/y supplemental for four years, $2,000 for study abroad... It's a terrific deal, and what's more is that matriculants will be grouped with a couple hundred other high-SAT scorers in their freshman class. Success breeds itself.

I think you’re confusing NMSF, NMF, and National Merit Scholar. About 16,000 NMSF. Almost all (about 15,000) become NMF—College Board makes this determination based on essay and confirmation from school that student deserves it. Then only a subsection get the “Scholar” designation, usually by matching with a school that offers the “scholarships” or being related to employee of corporate sponsor, etc. NMSF/NMF are virtually the same thing and based on the test scores.

Yes, sorry, I am running on not enough caffeine today.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An interesting list. Why is UVA so low?

Because Virginia’s cutoff for NMF is very high

But also, UVA is a relatively small school, is one of three public colleges in Virginia are targets for NMF-calibre students, and most importantly, does not automatically convert NMSF=> NMF. Taking Alabama as an example, they will not only turn every NMSF matriculator into an NMF, but will shower money on them -- five years of tuition, $3500/y supplemental for four years, $2,000 for study abroad... It's a terrific deal, and what's more is that matriculants will be grouped with a couple hundred other high-SAT scorers in their freshman class. Success breeds itself.

I think you’re confusing NMSF, NMF, and National Merit Scholar. About 16,000 NMSF. Almost all (about 15,000) become NMF—College Board makes this determination based on essay and confirmation from school that student deserves it. Then only a subsection get the “Scholar” designation, usually by matching with a school that offers the “scholarships” or being related to employee of corporate sponsor, etc. NMSF/NMF are virtually the same thing and based on the test scores.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An interesting list. Why is UVA so low?

Because Virginia’s cutoff for NMF is very high

But also, UVA is a relatively small school, is one of three public colleges in Virginia are targets for NMF-calibre students, and most importantly, does not automatically convert NMSF=> NMF. Taking Alabama as an example, they will not only turn every NMSF matriculator into an NMF, but will shower money on them -- five years of tuition, $3500/y supplemental for four years, $2,000 for study abroad... It's a terrific deal, and what's more is that matriculants will be grouped with a couple hundred other high-SAT scorers in their freshman class. Success breeds itself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what's the source of your data? Is that NMF destinations in 2022? There are some huge changes over 2021.

Here's a spreadsheet I found tracking data back to 1989.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10mEvJutJsMyQC0V5MfMvwSuLD7bodTDcAWDPSNslvsA/edit#gid=181988488

There are three pieces of information I would *love* to have, if anyone has pointers.

1. Number of commended students by high school, because a) score cut-offs do vary for NMSF and b) NMSF is a small enough percentage that it gets kind of streaky.

2. NMSF admits to colleges, which would bypass the NMF gamesmenship.

3. All the above data for the ACT and the CLT both of whose providers are, as far as I can tell, more close-mouthed than the SAT. Or maybe I just don't know them well enough.

There are some really interesting trends in here. If the data is accurate. Some of the patterns are so strange, I wonder if the data has any errors. Can anyone look at their school and comment on changes in pattern over time? To me, the Pitt and Penn State data look believable. The UMD CP line shows an interesting increase in 2021. I wonder if that measures any real phenomenon at the school. And further wonder what went on in 2022 and 2023.

You can have pretty wild changes in the space of a year due to changes in scholarship criteria, and but also data will skew for all sorts of other reasons in a medium term - popularity of an exam in a particular state (number of NMSF per state is influenced by number of people taking the SAT), inflation eating away at the value of a college's scholarship offer, etc.

One of the most interesting things to me has been the slow but steady decline of Harvard - they've never offered scholarships themselves, and their home region is skewed to the SAT. But their number of finalists has gradually fallen from 455 in 2002 to 160 recently, via the hopefully accurate numbers at the start of the thread. I would like it to be due solely to people wising up about the academic value of a Harvard undergrad degree, but I suspect it's also that high performing Asians are increasing as a percentage of NMF, and Harvard limits their admissions.