Should I Put National Merit Scholar On My Resume
Should I Put National Merit Scholar On My Resume – Below we cover the most frequently asked questions about the National Merit Scholarship Programme. See our National Merit Semifinal Cutoffs page for updated information on actual and projected Selection Index cutoffs by state.
The NMSP is a program administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation in cooperation with the College Board to recognize high-achieving high school seniors. Some recognition levels are based solely on junior PSAT/NMSQT scores, while other levels have additional qualifications (explained below). The NMSC awards approximately $50 million in scholarships each year, and some colleges provide reduced – or even free – tuition to recognized students, multiplying the net impact of National Merit many times over.
Should I Put National Merit Scholar On My Resume
You must take the PSAT/NMSQT as a high school junior and either attend high school in the United States or US Territories or be a US student studying abroad. On your PSAT score report, you will see a section with your Selection Index and how you answered the questions about your admission eligibility. If there is an asterisk next to your Selection Index, it means that NMSC believes you are ineligible.
Here Are Maryland’s 2022 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
Every year students miss the PSAT for legitimate reasons such as illness. In order to give those students a chance to compete in National Merit, NMSC has a process called Alternative Entry. Due to the pandemic, NMSC has adopted a no-excuse-necessary policy for Alternative Entry for the class of 2022. Students can apply directly to NMSC and be considered based on their SAT scores.
The Selection Index is a weighting of your PSAT component scores to determine your level of recognition within the initial stages of the National Merit program.
The Selection Index is twice the sum of your Reading, Writing and Language, and Mathematics Test Scores. For example, a student with scores of 34, 35, and 36 would have a Selection Index of (34+35+36)x2 = 210. Most students remember their section scores (160–760) rather than u test scores 8–38 . The Selection Index is still easy to calculate. First, ignore the trailing zero in your scores; then double your ERW score; then add your Maths score. For example, a student with an ERW score of 690 and a Math score of 720 would have a Selection Index of (69)x2 + 72 = 210. Both methods will always work because of the fixed relationship between test scores and section scores. You cannot calculate Selection Index directly from total score (320–1520). For students entering the competition with an SAT score via Alternative Entry, note that – when calculating a Selection Index – each SAT section is capped at 760. If, for example, you have a 700 ERW and an 800 Math, your Selection Index would be ( 70)x2 + 76 = 216.
The emphasis on “verbal” skills has a long history with the NMSP. Even when there was no Writing section on the PSAT or SAT, the Verbal section was doubled and added to the Math score for a 60-240 Selection Index range. Also, the College Board considers Reading and Writing and Language to be separate tests. In short, the “doubling” is nothing new.
A National Merit Scholarship Success Story
Although you can use the Compass projections to estimate whether you are likely to qualify as an Honors or Honors Student, there is no way to know your official status until the NMSC notifies high schools in early September of your senior year ( sometimes schools will hear from the end of August). Compass has announced the cutoffs for the class of 2021. The Honors cutoff for future classes comes unofficially in April after the PSAT. Compass will report on this score and how it may affect Semi-Final cutoffs on our regularly updated cutoffs post. NMSC does not publish state cutoffs publicly, so Compass provides this information to students. For the class of 2022, the Semi-Final cut-offs can only be estimated until September 2021.
Will I qualify as a Semifinalist if I am in the 99th percentile for Selection Index according to my score report?
Although about 1% of test takers will become Semifinalists, there are a number of reasons why percentile scores are far too inaccurate to determine eligibility, especially since cutoffs vary dramatically from state to state . Compass projections are better estimates, but they are still only estimates.
Although Distinguished Scholars are honored based on a single national cutoff, NMSC distributes Semifinalists proportionally to states (and the District of Columbia and US Territories) based on the number of students graduating in the state. For example, California sees about 2, 100 Semifinalists each year – the most in the country. It gets 13% of Semifinalists because it produces about 13% of high school graduates. Mississippi, on the other hand, typically sees about 135 National Merit Semifinalists, because the state produces slightly more than 0.8% of US graduates. The classification is not strictly related to the number of students taking the PSAT in the state.
Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalist
Two things that affect cutoffs are participation rates and demographics. In some states, the ACT is the primary test and not as many students take the PSAT. This leaves some students out of the competition and will tend to produce lower cutoffs. Some states have large pockets of highly qualified students and are particularly competitive. For example, Massachusetts and New Jersey have class of 2021 cutoffs of 222. At the other end of the spectrum, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming had NMSF cutoffs of 209 for the class of 2021. The lowest Semifinal cutoff for a state is the national Commendation level. For example, if the Commendation cutoff is 210, no state can have a Semifinal cutoff less than 210.
Homeschooled children are treated no differently than other in-state students. US students studying abroad will have to meet the highest state cutoff in the country. For the class of 2021, that was 222. Boarding school cutoffs are the most complicated to calculate. Rather than being set at the state level, they are set regionally. A Northeast boarding school student, for example, must meet the highest cutoff of any state in the Northeast region. NMSC defines residential schools as schools with primarily out-of-state students. NMSC considers your state where you went to school when you took the PSAT, not your state of residence or the state of your new school.
NMSC has made this part of the process easier to understand than it was in the past. Students in high school in the United States or US Territories are eligible. Period. Students studying abroad are eligible as long as they are US citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States (“green card”) or or have applied for permanent residence, the application has not ‘to refuse) and intend to become citizens of the United States at the first opportunity permitted by law.
NMSC posts information to schools at the end of August. Some schools inform students of their status early in September. Many schools wait until NMSC officially releases students’ names to the press in the second week of September. Compass will track all the latest news on our Semifinalists cut-off page.
Thomas Pauloz ’20 Named Commended Student In The National Merit Scholarship
While Semifinal status is a nice award to list on your application, you shouldn’t expect it on its own to have a significant impact on your chances of admission at most colleges. The recognition tells the college that you did well on the PSAT. Your SAT and ACT scores are much more important to colleges; your National Merit status does not add much new information. However, having a high number of registered Semifinalists is considered a badge of honor at some colleges and will be a factor in their admissions decisions. Some colleges have programs specifically to attract National Merit Finalists and offer major merit awards.
What happens after I am named a Semifinalist? Semifinalists will receive login credentials for the Finalist application portal. You will need to provide background information and an essay. Your school will need to provide its recommendation and submit your application electronically in the second week of October,
NMSC may change the drive in the coming years, but it has been the same for many years. It is broad enough that most students can use or slightly rework their Common App essay. For the class of 2022, the impetus was:
“To help the reviewers get to know you, describe an experience you’ve had, a person who’s influenced you, or an obstacle you’ve overcome. Explain why this is meaningful to you. Use your own words and limit your response to the space provided.”
National Merit Commended Scholars
There is no specific word limit, but the essay must fit within the space provided (approximately 3500 characters). Expect to keep your essay to 600 – 650 words.
Among the requirements to advance from Semi-Final to Final is that you receive a “confirmation score.” This score helps verify that, on the official SAT or ACT test date, you can achieve a high score and confirm your testing skill.
The confirmation score is determined each year by the NMSC and is calculated in the same way as the PSAT Selection Index. The confirmation score is set nationally, so it doesn’t matter which Semi-Final cutoff you met. The confirming SAT Selection Index (SSI) falls across the board
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