That makes no sense though; it’s the National Merit Scholarship.
No, it’s because they compare it to the States in order to qualify for National. In New York, it’s something ridiculous like 220, but in other states where the education system isn’t as competitive (less kids), the cut off is lower, maybe 208. Despite the name, there are different cut offs depending on States. :p
@Nass, my point is this is pointless to say good luck, because even if you had good luck, what’s the point? Unless you’re scoring in the top 200s, which I don’t think anyone else on this site in that age range could do, no point. :p
Using absolutes is never a good idea. 😉 It still doesn’t matter what the state qualifications are. They still take the the top half of the semifinalists. From there, you have to write an essay and they halve it again (if I’m remembering correctly) based on your score and essay. Really, differences in state don’t matter. They still only take the top ~600 (I believe that’s the number) or so.