Tuesday, September 30, 2014

National Merit Commended Student




 Friday, we received notification in the mail that our son, Jesse, has been named a National Merit Commended Student.  

This was not a surprise to us since we have gone through the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying process five other times and have a good idea of what score is needed to achieve this.  Based on his PSAT selection index score, we knew it was not high enough to qualify as  a Semi-Finalist in Texas (selection index 218) , but would qualify for Commended status.  We are proud of his accomplishment.




What is a National Merit Commended Student?


Of the 1.5 million students who took the 2013 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT)  50,000 students were identified as the highest scorers.  Some 16,000 of those high performers were designated Semifinalists on a state representational basis.  Only Semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition to advance to Finalist.

The other 34,000 high performers are named as Commended Students on the basis of a Selection Index score of 201 or higher, applicable to all program participants without regard to state-by-state distribution.

Does this mean Jesse will be overwhelmed with full-ride scholarship offers?

Nope.  There are very few full-ride (tuition, fees, books, room and board) scholarships available, even to National Merit Finalists.  

Jesse is fully aware that any scholarship offers will be based on more than just his test scores.  He is busy filling out applications, writing essays, asking for recommendations, and creating his academic resume.

His National Merit Commended status will be a plus for him, but he is certainly not resting on his laurels.

For more information about the PSAT/NMSQT see these previous posts:

7 Tips About the PSAT/NMSQT Test

How Does National Merit Qualifying Work? 

 How to Prepare for the SAT

My homeschooling high school interview at Homeschool Leadercast

Have questions?  Post them in the comments section and I will be glad to answer them.



Shared at Finishing Strong Linkup 


3 comments:

9peasMom said...

Go Jesse! I truly appreciate how you share the preparation process via your blog and help guide those of us who do not know what we are doing with regards to the PSAT, SAT, and ACT - I'm learning though!

Sheryl at LibertyHillHouse.com said...

Congratulations!!!

angel said...

My thoughts, exactly. Congratulations, Jesse! You must have a wonderful teacher. :)

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