Compass projects lower qualifying scores for the Class of 2027
The junior year PSAT is also the NMSQT — the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Each year, National Merit recognizes the top 57,000 test takers. In order to be included in that group, students need to be among the top 4% of the 1.4 million students who take the PSAT. Of that elite group, approximately 17,000 are recognized as Semifinalists for having the highest scores within their states. Semifinalists have the opportunity to continue in the program to become Finalists and, potentially, scholarship recipients. The remaining 40,000 students are recognized as Commended Students. More information can be found in our National Merit Explained post.
For the Class of 2027, the exact scores needed to qualify (“cutoffs”) will not be released until September 2026 (the Commended cutoff is likely to leak in April). In order to give students context for their test results, Compass has analyzed the scores from the October 2025 to produce estimates for the national Commended cutoff and the individual state cutoffs. We predict that the majority of state cutoffs will decline this year.
National Merit uses the Selection Index (SI), found on the PSAT score report, to rank students. The Selection Index can be calculated by doubling the Reading & Writing score (RW), adding the Math score (M), and dividing that sum by 10. For example, a student with a 720 RW and 700 M score has a Selection Index of 214 — (720 x 2 + 700)/10. The weighting of the index means that not all students with a 1420 Total Score have the same SI. A student with a 700 RW and 720 M has a Selection Index of 212. The highest SI a student can receive is 228 (760 RW and 760 M). Last year, the Commended cutoff was 210, and Semifinalist cutoffs ranged from 210 to 225 depending on the competitiveness of the state.
Why do we foresee lower cutoff scores?
College Board does not release any information about the distribution of Selection Indexes, but it does produce summaries of broad score ranges. The number of students in the 1400 – 1520 Total Score range has proved to be an excellent indicator of the Commended cutoff. The Class of 2027 saw 16% fewer top scores than did last year’s class. The 52,400 students at 1400 and above is closer to what we saw two years ago with the Class of 2025 and, going back further, similar to the results for the Classes of 2017 and 2021.
Most of the students who will qualify for National Merit recognition fall in the 1400 – 1520 band (or just outside it). With approximately 10,000 fewer students in the top band of scores this year, we expect the Commended level to drop to 208 or 209. The chart below shows the historical relationship between high scores and the Commended cutoff.
Explaining why last year’s cutoffs reached record levels
After examining this year’s numbers, we also have a better understanding of why Semifinalist cutoffs jumped to such extreme levels last year, and why it should not happen again. The 2024 PSAT saw an unprecedented 18% jump in the number of high Reading & Writing scores (700-760). The weighting of RW in the Selection Index magnified the impact of that change. The table below shows scores for the last three years and how results have fluctuated.
On the 2025 PSAT, the number of high RW scores dropped by 27%. In fact, the RW count for this year is even lower than it was two years ago. The decline in RW scores could even produce Selection Indexes lower than those in the Class of 2025 — at least in some states. The Commended cutoff may provide additional insight in the spring.
The ratio of 700+ M scores to 700+ RW scores reveals just how bizarre last year’s spike was. Traditionally, Math scores have higher distributions at the extremes. There are more very high Math scores on the PSAT and SAT, and there are more very low Math scores.
On the October 2024 PSAT, though, almost as many students scored 700-760 on RW as did on Math. The ratio of high Math scores to high RW scores was 1.02. This helps explain why some cutoffs went as high as 224 and 225 for the first time ever. Students achieved 750 and 760 RW scores in record numbers. In most years, there would be more students scoring 730 RW and 760 M (222 SI), for example, than scoring 760 RW and 730 M (225 SI). That was not true in the the Class of 2025, where there was a more equal distribution. It appears that scores for the Class of 2027 have returned to the traditional Math-heavy distribution. The ratio of high Math scores to high RW scores was 1.33 on the 2025 PSAT/NMSQT. For this reason, we don’t believe we will see a repeat of the 224 and 225 cutoffs seen last year.
Was last year a fluke, shift, or a trend?
The results from the Class of 2027 have answered one of the nagging questions from last year: Were the high cutoffs a fluke, shift, or trend? The answer appears to be fluke. More accurately, results could be labeled an error in test construction and scaling. There is no evidence that the Class of 2026 possessed special test-taking skills. As sophomores, that class performed in line with expectations on the 2023 PSAT. There is no evidence that the Class of 2027 has diminished skills. As sophomores, the class saw the same inflated scores as did the juniors on the 2024 PSAT. The best explanation is that College Board lost control of the scale. College Board dramatically shortened the PSAT when it switched from paper to digital. On the paper test, the Reading and Writing sections had 91 questions, and students were given 95 minutes. The RW on the digital PSAT is truncated to 54 questions over 64 minutes. And only 50 of the questions count toward a student’s score! A shorter exam means a less reliable exam. We saw the occasional wild ride on the paper PSAT, but the rides may get wilder and more frequent on the digital PSAT.
We anticipate the majority of state Semifinalist cutoffs to decline for the Class of 2027. Knowing this overall trend, however, doesn’t tell us which states will be in that majority or how much lower scores will go. The table below provides a Most Likely cutoff score, but the more useful information is the Estimated Range. Almost all cutoffs should fall within that range.
State | Class of 2027 (Most Likely) | Class of 2027 (Est. Range) | Class of 2026 (Actual) | Class of 2025 (Actual) | Class of 2024 (Actual) | Avg NMSFs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 213 | 210 - 216 | 214 | 212 | 210 | 250 |
| Alaska | 214 | 210 - 216 | 215 | 214 | 209 | 35 |
| Arizona | 218 | 215 - 220 | 218 | 217 | 216 | 398 |
| Arkansas | 213 | 210 - 216 | 215 | 213 | 210 | 143 |
| California | 223 | 220 - 224 | 224 | 221 | 221 | 2,115 |
| Colorado | 218 | 216 - 221 | 219 | 218 | 216 | 286 |
| Connecticut | 222 | 220 - 223 | 223 | 221 | 221 | 175 |
| Delaware | 219 | 218 - 221 | 220 | 219 | 219 | 44 |
| Florida | 217 | 216 - 220 | 219 | 217 | 216 | 999 |
| Georgia | 219 | 217 - 221 | 220 | 218 | 217 | 602 |
| Hawaii | 218 | 215 - 220 | 219 | 217 | 217 | 62 |
| Idaho | 214 | 211 - 217 | 215 | 213 | 211 | 96 |
| Illinois | 220 | 218 - 222 | 222 | 220 | 219 | 704 |
| Indiana | 217 | 214 - 219 | 218 | 217 | 216 | 313 |
| Iowa | 213 | 211 - 216 | 214 | 212 | 210 | 145 |
| Kansas | 216 | 213 - 219 | 216 | 215 | 214 | 144 |
| Kentucky | 214 | 211 - 217 | 214 | 213 | 211 | 201 |
| Louisiana | 215 | 212 - 218 | 216 | 214 | 214 | 222 |
| Maine | 215 | 212 - 217 | 217 | 214 | 213 | 55 |
| Maryland | 223 | 221 - 225 | 224 | 222 | 221 | 308 |
| Massachusetts | 223 | 221 - 225 | 225 | 223 | 222 | 318 |
| Michigan | 219 | 216 - 220 | 220 | 218 | 217 | 485 |
| Minnesota | 218 | 216 - 220 | 219 | 217 | 216 | 279 |
| Mississippi | 213 | 210 - 215 | 213 | 212 | 209 | 155 |
| Missouri | 216 | 213 - 218 | 217 | 215 | 214 | 289 |
| Montana | 211 | 208 - 214 | 213 | 209 | 209 | 47 |
| Nebraska | 213 | 210 - 216 | 214 | 211 | 210 | 105 |
| Nevada | 214 | 211 - 217 | 214 | 214 | 211 | 168 |
| New Hampshire | 217 | 214 - 219 | 219 | 217 | 215 | 60 |
| New Jersey | 223 | 222 - 225 | 225 | 223 | 223 | 451 |
| New Mexico | 211 | 208 - 214 | 210 | 211 | 207 | 104 |
| New York | 221 | 219 - 223 | 223 | 220 | 220 | 1,012 |
| North Carolina | 219 | 216 - 221 | 220 | 218 | 217 | 510 |
| North Dakota | 210 | 207 - 212 | 210 | 210 | 207 | 30 |
| Ohio | 218 | 215 - 220 | 219 | 217 | 216 | 538 |
| Oklahoma | 212 | 208 - 214 | 212 | 211 | 208 | 204 |
| Oregon | 218 | 215 - 220 | 219 | 216 | 216 | 188 |
| Pennsylvania | 220 | 217 - 222 | 221 | 219 | 219 | 596 |
| Rhode Island | 217 | 214 - 220 | 219 | 217 | 215 | 47 |
| South Carolina | 214 | 210 - 217 | 215 | 214 | 209 | 236 |
| South Dakota | 210 | 207 - 213 | 211 | 208 | 209 | 42 |
| Tennessee | 218 | 215 - 219 | 219 | 217 | 217 | 319 |
| Texas | 221 | 218 - 222 | 222 | 219 | 219 | 1,623 |
| Utah | 212 | 210 - 216 | 213 | 211 | 209 | 196 |
| Vermont | 215 | 211 - 217 | 216 | 215 | 212 | 28 |
| Virginia | 222 | 220 - 224 | 224 | 222 | 219 | 437 |
| Washington | 222 | 220 - 224 | 224 | 222 | 220 | 348 |
| West Virginia | 209 | 207 - 212 | 210 | 209 | 207 | 64 |
| Wisconsin | 214 | 213 - 217 | 215 | 214 | 213 | 292 |
| Wyoming | 209 | 207 - 212 | 210 | 209 | 207 | 24 |
| District of Columbia | 223 | 222 - 225 | 225 | 223 | 223 | 36 |
| Territories | 209 | 207 - 211 | 210 | 208 | 207 | 39 |
| Outside US | 223 | 222 - 225 | 225 | 223 | 223 | 86 |
| Commended | 209 | 207 - 210 | 210 | 208 | 207 |
How cutoffs are determined
Qualifying scores (“cutoffs”) are not based on the total score for the PSAT (360-1520) but on the Selection Index, which is calculated by doubling the RW score, adding the Math score, and then dividing the sum by 10. The maximum Selection Index is 228. Students can find a historical set of cutoff data here or see how Semifinalist and Commended counts have changed state by state.
We estimate that the Semifinalist cutoffs will range from 209 to 223. Semifinalists are allocated by state, and cutoffs are calculated by state. If Florida is allocated 1,000 Semifinalists based on its population of high school graduates, then NMSC works down from a perfect 228 Selection Index until it gets as close as possible to that target. Last year, 1,008 students scored at or above the cutoff of 219. A cutoff of 220 would have produced too few Semifinalists. A cutoff of 218 would have gone over the allocation. Because score levels can get crowded, it is easy for cutoffs to move up or down a point even when there is minimal change in testing behavior or performance.
Why does each state have its own Semifinalist cutoff if the program is NATIONAL Merit?
This is always a hot button question. NMSC allocates the approximately 17,000 Semifinalists among states based on the number of high school graduates. That way, students across the nation are represented. It also means that there are very different qualifying standards from state to state. A Massachusetts student with a 220 might miss out on being a Semifinalist. If she lived 10 miles away in New Hampshire, she would qualify.
No Semifinalist cutoff can be lower than the national Commended level. Cutoffs for the District of Columbia and for U.S. students studying abroad are set at the highest state cutoff (typically New Jersey). The cutoff for students in U.S. territories and possessions falls at the Commended level each year. Boarding schools are grouped by region. The cutoff for a given region is the highest state cutoff within the region.
Change is always the theme
Over the last two decades, at least half of the state cutoffs have changed each year. In some years, as many as 49 states saw ups or downs, usually because of questionable test forms. In addition to last year’s exam, the PSATs from 2011 (Class of 2013), 2016 (Class of 2018), and 2019 stand out as problematic. The anomalous 2019 results could be traced back to a particularly mis-scaled form, which I wrote about at the time. The Class of 2014 also saw significant changes, but those were more of a bounce-back from the previous year. The question for the Class of 2027 is how much of a bounce-back will be seen this year.
Cutoffs are particularly bumpy in states with smaller pools of test takers and National Merit Semifinalists. Over the last dozen years, cutoffs in the 12 largest states have remain unchanged 36% of the time, while the cutoffs in the smallest states have remain unchanged only 1 time out of every 5. No large state’s cutoff has jumped by more than 3 points in a year, whereas 6-point changes have occurred in the pool of smaller states.
When are National Merit Semifinalists announced?
The lists of Semifinalists will not be distributed to high schools until the end of August 2026. With the exception of homeschoolers, students do not receive direct notification. NMSC asks that schools not share the results publicly until the end of the press embargo in mid-September, but schools are allowed to notify students privately before that date. NMSC does not send Commended Student letters to high schools until mid-September. Compass will keep students updated on developments as the dates approach.
Do state and national percentiles indicate whether a student will be a National Merit Semifinalist?
No! Approximately 1% of test takers qualify as Semifinalists each year, so it is tempting to view a 99th percentile score as indicating a high enough score — especially now that College Board provides students with percentiles by state. There are any number of flaws that rule out using percentiles as a quick way of determining National Merit status.
- Percentiles are based on section scores or total score, not Selection Index
- Percentiles are rounded. There is a large difference, from a National Merit perspective, between the top 0.51% and the top 1.49%
- Percentiles reveal the percentage of students at or below a certain score, but the “at” part is important when NMSC is determining cutoffs.
- The number of Semifinalists is based on the number of high school graduates in a state, not the number of PSAT takers. Percentiles are based on PSAT takers. States have widely varying participation rates.
- Most definitive of all: Percentiles do not reflect the current year’s scores! They are based on the prior 3 years’ performance. They are set even before the test is given. And if you are going to use prior history, why not use the record of prior National Merit cutoffs rather than the highly suspect percentiles?
Entry requirements for National Merit versus qualifying for National Merit.
Your PSAT/NMSQT score report tells you whether you meet the eligibility requirements for the NMSP. In general, juniors taking the October PSAT are eligible. If you have an asterisk next to your Selection Index, it means that your answers to the entrance questions have made you ineligible. Your answers are conveniently noted on your score report. If you think there is an error, you will also find instructions on how to contact NMSC. Meeting the eligibility requirements simply means that your score will be considered. Approximately 1.4 million students enter the competition each year. Only about 55,000 students will be named as Commended Students, Semifinalists, Finalists, or Scholars. See National Merit Explained for more information.
Hi Art,
I hope you are doing well. Do you think Texas has a good chance of going to 221? My son got a 220 index.
Jeff,
We’ve seen Texas at 221 in 3 of the last 9 years, but in each of those years, we saw more 1400-1520 scores nationally than we saw this year. I think 220 is the most likely score, but I’d put the odds of a 221 at around 30-35%.
Thanks Art, “it’s never happened before, and it won’t happen in 2026, lol”
Another quick question, you said in April or May 2026, students are typically notified if they are commended. If my daughter is named a commended student.. which means she will not qualify for semi-finalist? Or will she also get the semi-finalist notification in mid September ?
Tricia,
Clarification: Compass usually learns of the Commended cutoff in April/May. Students are NOT notified at that time. Semifinalists are not announced until September (packets sent to schools in late August) and Commended students in late September (packets sent to schools in mid-September). So the only new information we get in the spring is what the national Commended level is.
Hi Art, Thank you again for all your patience and dedication in answering patents’ seemingly endless questions. You stated that Compass finds out the commended cutoff in April/May. Does Compass find this out directly from National Merit Scholarship Corporation or from another source? Will Compass make the commended cutoff public? Also, will you be analyzing the official cutoff against your predicted SI ranges? Thank you again!
Betty,
I always share what I know regarding cutoffs. NMSC shares nothing with me directly.
I will update my estimates, but I really doubt that they will change much beyond the states closest to the Commended cutoff. What is the thing that prevents any of us from having more refined state estimates? The uncertainty about in-state performance. The national Commended level doesn’t address that uncertainty.
Hi Art – this information is so very appreciated. What do you think the chances are that Florida jumps all the way to a 221 cutoff? (from the mom with a son sitting at 220) – thank you in advance.
Elizabeth,
I don’t think it can happen. Up 4 points and 2 points above it’s record high? Nope. Your son should be a Semifinalist.
In Illinois, PSAT/NMSQT is no longer required. I would suspect that would result in an overall decrease in students taking the test in Illinois. I would also guess that those who do take it are likely to have higher scores than those who took a pass (less motivated, thought they wouldn’t do well anyway). The net result would be overall higher scores in the state and more difficulty being within the top 1/5% within the state. Maybe a lesser impact on a national level, but it still changes the dynamics, doesn’t it?
Let me know if I’m not thinking about this the right way.
Eric,
I suspect the same thing. Unfortunately, we don’t know how big the change will be. Where we diverge is in what the consequences will be. The number of NMSFs is set based on high school population and NOT on the % of students taking the test. Less participation almost always leads to lower cutoffs. “Almost,” because it is not a straight line. Higher scoring students are more likely to try to find a way to test. We saw this same transition in reverse a decade ago when IL switched to the SAT. Cutoffs settled about 2 points higher than they had been running (this is hard to say exactly, because cutoffs move for many reasons). The same thing occurred in Michigan when it switched. I don’t want to imply that IL will fall by 2 points, but the move to the PreACT and ACT are likely to reduce upward pressure.
Hi Art, I got a 217 as my NSMQT score being located in NC. What’s the chances of NC staying at a 217, rather than going to the predicted 218?
Edison,
I believe that last year’s cutoff was 218, so there would actually need to be a drop to 217 (the cutoff has been at 217 in 3 of the last 5 years). The problem is that we are seeing strong scores nationally, and that is associated (though hardly a given) with higher state cutoffs. So, unfortunately, I’d put the chance of a 217 at about 25%.
Hi Art,
Thank you for everything you do. My daughter received a 214 selection index in Oklahoma. What do you think her chances are for semifinalist status?
Philip,
Your daughter is in excellent shape to be named a Semifinalist, but Oklahoma is a difficult state to pin down. If we look at the range of cutoffs over the last 9 years, the state ranks near the top. It’s been as low as 208 and as high as 216. I’d put your daughter’s chances at 80-90%.
Hi Art, I got 223 as my score and I am in California. In your opinion, what’s the chance that I got semi-finalist? I think this year’s exam is simpler than last year and I see multiple classmates got very high scores. Thanks.
Amy,
I feel confident that you will named a Semifinalist. If we see the first 224 cutoff this year, it won’t be in California. Yes, scores came in better this year, but nothing that points to extreme changes.
Hi Art.
My son goes to boarding school in central Virginia. He had a scaled score of 222. What are the chances he will be a NMSF?
BP
Britt,
Thank you for mentioning the boarding school angle. There is part of me that wants to asterisk every post I make with “…unless you attend a boarding school.” Boarding schools represent their own “selection units,” and cutoffs are determined regionally. The cutoff is the highest state cutoff within the region. There is nothing confidential or proprietary about a list of states, so surely NMSC publishes this information. Except that it doesn’t. I believe — but am far from certain — that Virginia falls with New Jersey in a Central Atlantic region. That would mean that your son needs both Virginia AND New Jersey to come in at 222 or lower. Because of my uncertainty about the regional definitions, I don’t want to try to set exact odds. Virginia itself is unlikely to go to 223, but it seems unlikely that NJ will fall to 222.
Thanks Art. Reading between the lines, I was worried that you were going to say he needed NJ’s score. Is it just me or does it seem supremely unfair that my son who is from NC and goes to school in VA needs a score to match a state that’s nowhere near where he lives or goes to school and just happens to have the highest cutoff for NMSF of all the states? Is it worth asking the school counselor to inquire?
Thank you.
BP
If you would like to know now, then I would check with your counselor.
It certainly seems antiquated. Turn back the clock 40-50 years when boarding schools were more prominent is some areas. It would have been unfair to regular Massachusetts students to compete with boarding school students from all over the country. So there was a separate selection unit for New England Boarding Schools. So why not have students compete in their home states? Because NMSC doesn’t recognize that concept. Students are tied to the school that they attend.
Do you think Florida will move up? Last two years index cutoff was 216. My son has a 216!
Kenneth,
Florida had a cutoff at 216 for two of the last three years, but last year the cutoff was at 217. We are seeing far more high scores nationally than we’ve seen recently, and that tends to correlate with higher cutoffs. There is still a chance for a 216 cutoff, as states don’t move in lockstep. I’d put the chances at about 25%.
How does my class-of-2026’s 222 index in Maryland sound to you? Does he have a decent shot at being a semi-finalist?
Shanda,
His chances are quite good. Maryland, though, is among the handful of states where a 223 cutoff is not impossible. We need to throw out its pandemic-era 224, because that was about alternate entry and SAT scores. In the other 8 years since the introduction of the new PSAT scoring, Maryland has reached 223 once. That was in a year where there were more high scores nationally than we are seeing this year. So I think there is about a 90% chance that Maryland will remain at 222 (or below).
Hello, my son in Class of 2026 got a 221 index in New York. How likely is it for New York cutoff to jump to 222? And how likely is it that he will become a Semifinalist?
Janet,
It’s quite unlikely. New York is a large state with a high cutoff, and those tend to be stabilizing factors. We have not seen a 222 cutoff in New York. It’s not out of the question that some states will set new highs this year, but I’d place the odds of a 221 qualifying at 90-95%.
How should my daughter feel about her 215 in Arkansas? Thank you for your help!
Suzanne,
She should feel fabulous! Crazy things can happen, so I don’t know that I’d call her odds 100%. But it’s in the 99% range. Arkansas would need to set a new record to go above 215.
Hi, I am from NJ and got a 222 as my score. What are the chances that the NJ score will go to 222 this year? I know that in the past 8 years, it has been 222 3 times.
Maya,
3 of 9, I think. And during 2 of those years, the Commended cutoff was 209, so it’s not like New Jersey only is at 222 when nationwide scores are at their lowest. If I were setting betting odds, though, I’d still give the nod to 223. The national numbers point higher rather than lower. I’d say it’s 75/25.
Art,
Would you consider Georgia a large or medium sized state? How do you anticipate upward movement will go now that the final installment of PSAT scores have been made available? Significant chance it will go above 219? Still around 30-35% as predicted earlier? Thanks.
Matt
Matt,
Georgia is a “large” state based on annual graduates and PSAT participants. The final group of scores pretty much confirmed the interpretation that cutoffs, as a whole, will see an upward trend. Yes, I still think there is a 30-35% chance of a 220.
Art,
My daughter received a 224 and we are in Texas. Assuming she will be a semifinalista, what would a commensurate SAT score be to be considered to be a finalist? Thank you.
Paul,
Sorry for the severely delayed reply! The good news is that your daughter’s score does not need to be commensurate with her 224; it just needs to meet a nationwide minimum, which is generally set at the Commended cutoff. If we allow for a margin of error, an SAT with a Selection Index of 212 will be sufficient. Essentially a low 1400s SAT will make for a “confirming” score. And congratulations to your daughter!
Hi Art-
I live in Oklahoma , and I got a score of 212. I saw that your most likely score is 212, but I’m nervous about the deviation from that score. How much do your most likely scores tend to be underestimates, and what do you think my chances are given Oklahoma’s past scores?
Edwin,
I expect cutoffs to come in above the Most Likely about one-quarter of the time. Oklahoma is always going to be a tricky state to pin down because of its large swings. I’d say your chances are in the 70-75% range.
Hello, I scored 224 in Washington D.C., Is there any chance that I will not qualify as a semifinalist?
Ben,
No chance. I’ve been vocal about the fact that we will never see a 225 cutoff (at least as long as the PSAT is score as it is now), and I am going to hold to that position. Congratulations!
Hi Art, I live in Alabama and scored a 214. Is it safe to say I will be a semi-finalist, or what are the chances of the predicted cutoff to be lower than shown?
Belle,
Alabama’s cutoff has gone as high as 216 in some years. I don’t think that we will see it quite that high this year, but the possibility can’t be discounted. I think a 214 is in the 80-90% range.
Do you think a 215 in Alabama will be a semifinalist in Alabama (Class of 2026)?
How does curriculum and volunteer activities, etc affect the chances of a homeschool student being a finalist?
Ana,
The odds are very good, but I don’t think we can completely discount the possibility of a 216. I’d say a 215 is in the 90%+ range.
At the Finalist stage, activities are not considered. It is primarily based on academic qualifications. One thing to consider is that NMSC prefers to have a recommendation from a teacher/counselor/principal who is not the parent. For example, this might be an instructor where the student has done a dual enrollment course. AFAIK, it is not disqualifying if the parent is the only one capable of attesting to a students performance, but it is something that has been raised in prior years by homeschool students.
It is only at the scholarship stage where the complete application is considered, although the emphasis is still on academics.
My son took the SAT in June 2024, then the PSAT (as a Junior) in October 2024.
How do we submit the SAT as a confirming score? The NMSC web site doesn’t; say how to do this when the tests are taken out of order!
Matt,
You’ll report your son’s SAT scores the same way you would to a college via College Board’s score reporting service. The code for NMSC is 0085. This is the same no matter the order of testing.
Hi there- should student wait to report her SAT score if she might retake the SAT? Student received a 1490 which is we think will be a confirming score for here 1510 on PSAT. She is a bit disappointed and might retake it.
Kristen,
There is no reason to wait, as NMSC will automatically use her best reported score.
Thanks Art.
And greetings from Alaska! Looks like I’m the first one here!
Matt,
Yes you are! Welcome.
Hi! I took the October PSAT in California and I got a 220 index. Do you think I have a shot at the national merit scholarship award? Also if let’s say the cutoff is 221, and I don’t get the national merit scholarship, is there a way to let test blind schools know that you were very close to becoming a national merit scholar? Because I am planning to apply for UCs, which are test blind.
Thank You!
Jacob,
While I think a 221 is more likely, there is a chance that CA’s cutoff could decline. The state has seen fewer students taking the PSAT. I’d put the odds at around 20-25%.
You’ll be a Commended Student even if you miss the cutoff, but there is no method of reporting “just missed.”
Hi Art. What are the odds of making the cut with a 214 in Mississippi?
Howard,
I’d say that the odds are excellent (90%+). MS has gone as high as 215, so we can’t completely rule it out.
Hi Art, I’m the mom of a Class of 2026 Florida high school student with a 215 Index Score. I just learned that Florida’s Bright Futures standardized test requirements for the Class of 2026 have been reduced (I’m not sure what the cutoff was before, but for the “Florida Academic Scholar” category, they’re requiring a 1330 SAT score vs. Class of 2025’s requirement of 1340). Apparently this change was made in August 2024 (so BEFORE the most recent PSAT) in response to Florida students’ overall performance on national standardized tests. That got me thinking (hoping) about the state’s cutoff for National Merit Semi-Finalist. Do you think there could be any correlation and that we might see a lower cutoff in Florida this fall? Thanks for all of your helpful insights!
Marie,
I appreciate the detective work! Unfortunately, I don’t think we can draw any conclusions at all. I don’t know the time period over which Florida looks back to make decisions, but even if we assume that they used the most recent (and only the most recent) data available, that would be SAT scores for seniors in the class of 2024. Those students took their PSAT/NMSPQT in October 2022. That’s a different sample (class of 2024) and different tests (SAT for Bright Futures and 2022 PSAT for when they themselves competed in National Merit).
Hi Art,
Happy New Year to you and everyone in the forum!
Do you think a 218 will be a semifinalist in Florida for the Class of 2026?
Hannah,
Happy New Year! I think it is quite likely. We have, however, seen 219 cutoffs in Florida during strong years (albeit, stronger nationally, than this one). I would say that the odds of a 218 qualifying are at least 80-90%.