Anonymous
12/01/2025 19:09
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:All you need to be a NMF is a high score on the PSAT. The precursor to the SAT. It's a complete nothing burger. No one cares.
My kid did both- MNF and 1580 SAT (actually took the SAT one time June sophomore year)... Went to UMD with B/K scholarship.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 19:05
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:At Rice, 94.3% of the class are not NMSF.
25% of the Rice incoming class have 1570+ SAT score.
Make sure have your priority right. Don't focus on things that are marginally relevant.
LOL. NMSF is not extra effort if you have the capability of scoring 1570+ on SAT.
NMSF is a widely different cutoff for states! in many states it is the same or slighly above the commended cutoff, in other words it is similar to a 1430. In about 5 states, the highest scoring states, one can miss 3 questions and not get NMSF. A 1570 can usually be achieved missing 4 questions, nevermind all the 1570 superscorers that make it quite a lot easier than a 1570+ non-super-scored.
NMSF cannot be used to compare quality of students when the bar is so different across states. Instead, 1570 non superscored should be used but that is not a known datapoint. 1530 superscored is known and is in another thread.
The colleges with the highest % of 1530+ superscored were MIT, CalTech, Penn, Hopkins, Princeton, Yale, Harvard I believe in that order.
Some ivies were not even in the Top 20 schools on that list.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 18:57
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Rice and Duke give merit aid so this is not that impressive
Duke does not give extra merit that relates to NMS. Duke's merit is now about 20 kids out of the entering class of 1650, a lot of it in past was demographic/URM based and was cut.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 17:52
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is it just me or is Rice super underrated in the DMV?
1. MIT (12% of class, 139 scholars)
2. Caltech (9.3% of class, 23 scholars)
3. Harvard (8.8% of class, 147 scholars)
4. Stanford (7.1% of class, 132 scholars)
5. Duke (6.9% of class, 118 scholars)
6. Princeton (6.5% of class, 92 scholars)
7. Yale (6.1% of class, 100 scholars)
8. UPenn (5.9% of class, 144 scholars)
9. Rice (5.7% of class, 65 scholars)
10. Brown (4.4% of class, 78 scholars)
11. Columbia (3.7% of class, 56 scholars)
12. Dartmouth (3.7% of class, 44 scholars)
13. Northwestern (3.2% of class, 68 scholars)
14. Johns Hopkins (3.2% of class, 41 scholars)
15. Georgetown (2.7% of class, 43 scholars)
16. Carnegie Mellon (2.2% of class, 38 scholars)
17. Notre Dame (2.1% of class, 43 scholars)
18. UChicago (2% of class, 35 scholars)
19. Cornell (1.9% of class, 74 scholars)
20. Washington University in St. Louis (1.8% of class, 35 scholars)
21. UCLA (1.2% of class, 77 scholars)
22. UMich (1.1% of class, 89 scholars)
23. Berkeley (1.1% of class, 73 scholars)
Now do the SLACs.
0% for most!
Mine historically has something like 7-10% of total incoming students that are NMSF. How does your alma mater do?
Anonymous
12/01/2025 17:36
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is it just me or is Rice super underrated in the DMV?
1. MIT (12% of class, 139 scholars)
2. Caltech (9.3% of class, 23 scholars)
3. Harvard (8.8% of class, 147 scholars)
4. Stanford (7.1% of class, 132 scholars)
5. Duke (6.9% of class, 118 scholars)
6. Princeton (6.5% of class, 92 scholars)
7. Yale (6.1% of class, 100 scholars)
8. UPenn (5.9% of class, 144 scholars)
9. Rice (5.7% of class, 65 scholars)
10. Brown (4.4% of class, 78 scholars)
11. Columbia (3.7% of class, 56 scholars)
12. Dartmouth (3.7% of class, 44 scholars)
13. Northwestern (3.2% of class, 68 scholars)
14. Johns Hopkins (3.2% of class, 41 scholars)
15. Georgetown (2.7% of class, 43 scholars)
16. Carnegie Mellon (2.2% of class, 38 scholars)
17. Notre Dame (2.1% of class, 43 scholars)
18. UChicago (2% of class, 35 scholars)
19. Cornell (1.9% of class, 74 scholars)
20. Washington University in St. Louis (1.8% of class, 35 scholars)
21. UCLA (1.2% of class, 77 scholars)
22. UMich (1.1% of class, 89 scholars)
23. Berkeley (1.1% of class, 73 scholars)
Now do the SLACs.
0% for most!
Anonymous
12/01/2025 17:35
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Is it just me or is Rice super underrated in the DMV?
1. MIT (12% of class, 139 scholars)
2. Caltech (9.3% of class, 23 scholars)
3. Harvard (8.8% of class, 147 scholars)
4. Stanford (7.1% of class, 132 scholars)
5. Duke (6.9% of class, 118 scholars)
6. Princeton (6.5% of class, 92 scholars)
7. Yale (6.1% of class, 100 scholars)
8. UPenn (5.9% of class, 144 scholars)
9. Rice (5.7% of class, 65 scholars)
10. Brown (4.4% of class, 78 scholars)
11. Columbia (3.7% of class, 56 scholars)
12. Dartmouth (3.7% of class, 44 scholars)
13. Northwestern (3.2% of class, 68 scholars)
14. Johns Hopkins (3.2% of class, 41 scholars)
15. Georgetown (2.7% of class, 43 scholars)
16. Carnegie Mellon (2.2% of class, 38 scholars)
17. Notre Dame (2.1% of class, 43 scholars)
18. UChicago (2% of class, 35 scholars)
19. Cornell (1.9% of class, 74 scholars)
20. Washington University in St. Louis (1.8% of class, 35 scholars)
21. UCLA (1.2% of class, 77 scholars)
22. UMich (1.1% of class, 89 scholars)
23. Berkeley (1.1% of class, 73 scholars)
Now do the SLACs.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 17:30
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is it just me or is Rice super underrated in the DMV?
1. MIT (12% of class, 139 scholars)
2. Caltech (9.3% of class, 23 scholars)
3. Harvard (8.8% of class, 147 scholars)
4. Stanford (7.1% of class, 132 scholars)
5. Duke (6.9% of class, 118 scholars)
6. Princeton (6.5% of class, 92 scholars)
7. Yale (6.1% of class, 100 scholars)
8. UPenn (5.9% of class, 144 scholars)
9. Rice (5.7% of class, 65 scholars)
10. Brown (4.4% of class, 78 scholars)
11. Columbia (3.7% of class, 56 scholars)
12. Dartmouth (3.7% of class, 44 scholars)
13. Northwestern (3.2% of class, 68 scholars)
14. Johns Hopkins (3.2% of class, 41 scholars)
15. Georgetown (2.7% of class, 43 scholars)
16. Carnegie Mellon (2.2% of class, 38 scholars)
17. Notre Dame (2.1% of class, 43 scholars)
18. UChicago (2% of class, 35 scholars)
19. Cornell (1.9% of class, 74 scholars)
20. Washington University in St. Louis (1.8% of class, 35 scholars)
21. UCLA (1.2% of class, 77 scholars)
22. UMich (1.1% of class, 89 scholars)
23. Berkeley (1.1% of class, 73 scholars)
You'd find better correlation with the semifinalists.
Becoming a finaliost does almost nothing to make you more attractive to colleges. It is mostly to make you eligible for scholarships
Schools won't admit you because you're a finalist/scholar, but there's definitely a correlation here. Not an accident that 2 of the top 3 are MIT and Harvard.
Because they have large Asian populations and Asians are more likely to cram for the test.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 17:27
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is it just me or is Rice super underrated in the DMV?
1. MIT (12% of class, 139 scholars)
2. Caltech (9.3% of class, 23 scholars)
3. Harvard (8.8% of class, 147 scholars)
4. Stanford (7.1% of class, 132 scholars)
5. Duke (6.9% of class, 118 scholars)
6. Princeton (6.5% of class, 92 scholars)
7. Yale (6.1% of class, 100 scholars)
8. UPenn (5.9% of class, 144 scholars)
9. Rice (5.7% of class, 65 scholars)
10. Brown (4.4% of class, 78 scholars)
11. Columbia (3.7% of class, 56 scholars)
12. Dartmouth (3.7% of class, 44 scholars)
13. Northwestern (3.2% of class, 68 scholars)
14. Johns Hopkins (3.2% of class, 41 scholars)
15. Georgetown (2.7% of class, 43 scholars)
16. Carnegie Mellon (2.2% of class, 38 scholars)
17. Notre Dame (2.1% of class, 43 scholars)
18. UChicago (2% of class, 35 scholars)
19. Cornell (1.9% of class, 74 scholars)
20. Washington University in St. Louis (1.8% of class, 35 scholars)
21. UCLA (1.2% of class, 77 scholars)
22. UMich (1.1% of class, 89 scholars)
23. Berkeley (1.1% of class, 73 scholars)
You'd find better correlation with the semifinalists.
Becoming a finaliost does almost nothing to make you more attractive to colleges. It is mostly to make you eligible for scholarships
Schools won't admit you because you're a finalist/scholar, but there's definitely a correlation here. Not an accident that 2 of the top 3 are MIT and Harvard.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 11:55
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Agreed Rice is very underrated, people like to discount it because it takes such a heavy portion of its class from Texas, but Stanford does the same from California - both just happen to be massive states
Rice sounds great but I just couldn't do the red state thing.
It's interesting that so many Northern kids are flocking to the South for college now though
Economic opportunity has been growing in southern states faster than average and that has made schools like Vanderbilt and Emory much more desirable than it used to be.
The southern state schools are also now the party schools.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 11:52
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Is it just me or is Rice super underrated in the DMV?
1. MIT (12% of class, 139 scholars)
2. Caltech (9.3% of class, 23 scholars)
3. Harvard (8.8% of class, 147 scholars)
4. Stanford (7.1% of class, 132 scholars)
5. Duke (6.9% of class, 118 scholars)
6. Princeton (6.5% of class, 92 scholars)
7. Yale (6.1% of class, 100 scholars)
8. UPenn (5.9% of class, 144 scholars)
9. Rice (5.7% of class, 65 scholars)
10. Brown (4.4% of class, 78 scholars)
11. Columbia (3.7% of class, 56 scholars)
12. Dartmouth (3.7% of class, 44 scholars)
13. Northwestern (3.2% of class, 68 scholars)
14. Johns Hopkins (3.2% of class, 41 scholars)
15. Georgetown (2.7% of class, 43 scholars)
16. Carnegie Mellon (2.2% of class, 38 scholars)
17. Notre Dame (2.1% of class, 43 scholars)
18. UChicago (2% of class, 35 scholars)
19. Cornell (1.9% of class, 74 scholars)
20. Washington University in St. Louis (1.8% of class, 35 scholars)
21. UCLA (1.2% of class, 77 scholars)
22. UMich (1.1% of class, 89 scholars)
23. Berkeley (1.1% of class, 73 scholars)
You'd find better correlation with the semifinalists.
Becoming a finaliost does almost nothing to make you more attractive to colleges. It is mostly to make you eligible for scholarships
Anonymous
12/01/2025 09:13
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:At Rice, 94.3% of the class are not NMSF.
25% of the Rice incoming class have 1570+ SAT score.
Make sure have your priority right. Don't focus on things that are marginally relevant.
Sorry, meant to ask where do we see 25% of Rice incoming class have 1570+ SAT.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 09:10
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:At Rice, 94.3% of the class are not NMSF.
25% of the Rice incoming class have 1570+ SAT score.
Make sure have your priority right. Don't focus on things that are marginally relevant.
Not the focus of this thread, but where does this information come from? Thanks.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 08:52
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:At Rice, 94.3% of the class are not NMSF.
25% of the Rice incoming class have 1570+ SAT score.
Make sure have your priority right. Don't focus on things that are marginally relevant.
LOL. NMSF is not extra effort if you have the capability of scoring 1570+ on SAT.
Anonymous
12/01/2025 08:48
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
Anonymous wrote:Is it just me or is Rice super underrated in the DMV?
1. MIT (12% of class, 139 scholars)
2. Caltech (9.3% of class, 23 scholars)
3. Harvard (8.8% of class, 147 scholars)
4. Stanford (7.1% of class, 132 scholars)
5. Duke (6.9% of class, 118 scholars)
6. Princeton (6.5% of class, 92 scholars)
7. Yale (6.1% of class, 100 scholars)
8. UPenn (5.9% of class, 144 scholars)
9. Rice (5.7% of class, 65 scholars)
10. Brown (4.4% of class, 78 scholars)
11. Columbia (3.7% of class, 56 scholars)
12. Dartmouth (3.7% of class, 44 scholars)
13. Northwestern (3.2% of class, 68 scholars)
14. Johns Hopkins (3.2% of class, 41 scholars)
15. Georgetown (2.7% of class, 43 scholars)
16. Carnegie Mellon (2.2% of class, 38 scholars)
17. Notre Dame (2.1% of class, 43 scholars)
18. UChicago (2% of class, 35 scholars)
19. Cornell (1.9% of class, 74 scholars)
20. Washington University in St. Louis (1.8% of class, 35 scholars)
21. UCLA (1.2% of class, 77 scholars)
22. UMich (1.1% of class, 89 scholars)
23. Berkeley (1.1% of class, 73 scholars)
Cornell once again being the doormat of the ivy league
Anonymous
12/01/2025 08:20
Subject: Schools that Enroll the Most National Merit Scholars
All you need to be a NMF is a high score on the PSAT. The precursor to the SAT. It's a complete nothing burger. No one cares.