Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ My kid put it down for an HYPSM. Why not? He took ACT so it did show something a little different.

What if they had a 35/36 on the Act? Wouldn’t commended look worse in comparison?

Do you realize that in DC for the class of 2024, a student could have a 222 and still only be "commended?" The criteria for NMSF is very high in many states/DC. I bet there are many students in these high qualifying cutoff states that got 35/36 on the ACT but were below the cutoff for NMSF.

Compare that with North Dakota, Wyoming and West Virginia, where the student only had to get 207 to be a NMSF.

right, but if you put commended, for all the college knows you barely scraped by. do you put your 222 on the application?

NP. I would.

Lol then DD should put 226 on her application so the colleges know she ‘s not just scalped by as NMSF

Great score

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, where is this thread coming from? One of our kids was commended and we could find a single $2k scholarship from one school that was even relevant to us. Got large merit award from T50 school. Semifinalist child had broader options.

There has been a news story that one school didn't hand out notifications and students were not able to put this on college applications.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ My kid put it down for an HYPSM. Why not? He took ACT so it did show something a little different.

What if they had a 35/36 on the Act? Wouldn’t commended look worse in comparison?

Do you realize that in DC for the class of 2024, a student could have a 222 and still only be "commended?" The criteria for NMSF is very high in many states/DC. I bet there are many students in these high qualifying cutoff states that got 35/36 on the ACT but were below the cutoff for NMSF.

Compare that with North Dakota, Wyoming and West Virginia, where the student only had to get 207 to be a NMSF.

I had a 206 and was a semifinalist. No idea at the time that it was based on which state I was in.

Anonymous wrote:Our school just now told us that our child received the Commended award. How much do you think it helps to have it listed in an application?

“Better than nothing” much

DD was commended and put it on her applications. I think it is most useful at test blind schools as a data point.

That said, I went and looked for the TJ thread in the other forum where the controversy seems to be at least somewhat about the student not knowing so unable to put on his applications. Any parent that was paying attention to this or cared could have figured out it their kids scores made the cut for Commended. I knew DD was commended last year long before it was official because the estimates were publicly out and it wasn't even close.

As I told my kids, this is a one way thing, there is no downside as it is a nice to have but it doesn't matter if you don't have it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coming out of TJ, any PSAT result is totally meaningless. It’s in the noise.

Well, the vast majority of students in this country do not go to TJ, so what's your point?

This is related to a parent whose kid graduated last year and she’s raising a ruckus because TJ didn’t rush to make a big deal over the commended status. There’s a giant thread in another party of the site about it.

Yes I know. I posted a lot in that thread. But THIS thread is not specifically about what happened in TJ. It's about ALL students who were commended and whether or not they should put it on their college applications.

So AGAIN, what was your point in saying "coming out of TJ" as if TJ students are the only ones that get commended? There are approximately 33,800 ish non TJ students who will get "commended" this year. It's not all about TJ students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coming out of TJ, any PSAT result is totally meaningless. It’s in the noise.

Well, the vast majority of students in this country do not go to TJ, so what's your point?

Read the news.

I know about what happened at TJ, but that's not what this thread is about specifically. So again, what is your point?

The current controversy at TJ is not only relevant, but overwhelming reason why most people care about this thread.

It’s growing. In addition to TJ, Principal Greer at Langley and the Westfield’s principal both conveniently forgot to notify students. Despite letters and communication from the NMSF asking principals several weeks ago to notify students, as it would be the only notification students receive. So lame and transparent.

My son got a 1490 on the PSAT - missed NM by 1 point (got a 220). BUT - the proctor in the room had them skip filling out all of the demographic information before the test because they were behind........He is a teenager and never went back to the College Board site and provided the information, so was not declared a Commended Scholar. Not listed on his apps at all....

That being said, he got into his ED school So, I am not concerned about it....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD didn't have room - had 5 other awards to list instead

You do understand that you can attach a supplemental sheet and list more awards?

You do understand admissions folks don’t read any separate sheet?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ My kid put it down for an HYPSM. Why not? He took ACT so it did show something a little different.

What if they had a 35/36 on the Act? Wouldn’t commended look worse in comparison?

Do you realize that in DC for the class of 2024, a student could have a 222 and still only be "commended?" The criteria for NMSF is very high in many states/DC. I bet there are many students in these high qualifying cutoff states that got 35/36 on the ACT but were below the cutoff for NMSF.

Compare that with North Dakota, Wyoming and West Virginia, where the student only had to get 207 to be a NMSF.

right, but if you put commended, for all the college knows you barely scraped by. do you put your 222 on the application?

"Barely scraping by" puts you in the top 3% of the country. What is wrong with you people? You are like the posters who whine about being poor because you only make $500K per year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coming out of TJ, any PSAT result is totally meaningless. It’s in the noise.

Well, the vast majority of students in this country do not go to TJ, so what's your point?

Read the news.

I know about what happened at TJ, but that's not what this thread is about specifically. So again, what is your point?

The current controversy at TJ is not only relevant, but overwhelming reason why most people care about this thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ My kid put it down for an HYPSM. Why not? He took ACT so it did show something a little different.

What if they had a 35/36 on the Act? Wouldn’t commended look worse in comparison?

Do you realize that in DC for the class of 2024, a student could have a 222 and still only be "commended?" The criteria for NMSF is very high in many states/DC. I bet there are many students in these high qualifying cutoff states that got 35/36 on the ACT but were below the cutoff for NMSF.

Compare that with North Dakota, Wyoming and West Virginia, where the student only had to get 207 to be a NMSF.

right, but if you put commended, for all the college knows you barely scraped by. do you put your 222 on the application?

NP. I would.

Lol then DD should put 226 on her application so the colleges know she ‘s not just scalped by as NMSF

Yes, DS put it on the common app. It is one more piece of the puzzle. Plus, when you live in a place that has the highest threshold for semi-finalist in the country (DC), schools realize that you likely just missed it, but scored higher than kids from other states who are semi-finalists. When the SAT backs that up, it means a little something.

My son was commended apparently. I didn't even know this was a thing. We didn't get any notification, but there was an article on the schools website naming them. That's the first I heard about it. This is him taking the test with no accommodations (which was really annoying), so I do wonder if he would have been a finalist with his accommodations.

Anonymous wrote:DD didn't have room - had 5 other awards to list instead

You do understand that you can attach a supplemental sheet and list more awards?