PSAT scores

[WDWJDS]

DD has not received any mail from colleges, either. I know at one point I had marked "no 3rd party mailings" on her school registration paperwork because she was getting so much junk mail and charter school post cards, but I changed it last year so that she could get college mailings. She still has not received one college letter, even though her PSAT scores were great. I'm guessing that her mailing info never got updated.

Did you mark "no 3rd party mailings" on her high school paperwork? If memory serves, there is an area on the actual PSATs that the student has to check if he/she doesn't or does want to receive college mailings, which is unrelated to school paperwork.

I informed my child to check "no correspondence" for the freshmen and sophomore PSATs, but "yes" for the junior year. As a result, there were no mailings from colleges the first two years, but our mailbox has been swamped this year.

 

[WDWJDS]

Sophomore year is standard. DS made first round NMS.

When you say that sophomore year is standard, do you mean that every student takes it during their sophomore year?

The local high schools here have all freshmen and sophomores take it for free, then every junior takes it for free as well, which is the actual test that qualifies for NM.

I learned that not all schools provide this service. Some don't provide free PSAT tests even for juniors. Others don't offer the test during sophomore year, and so on and so on.

 

[TLuvsD]

We paid for every test D took, PSAT, SAT, ACT, AP etc.
You do need to check the box to receive mail, D did not check it until Junior Year.

Different tests are better for different students. She was National Merit Commended, but her ACT scores were much better.

 

[JessB320]

When you say that sophomore year is standard, do you mean that every student takes it during their sophomore year?

The local high schools here have all freshmen and sophomores take it for free, then every junior takes it for free as well, which is the actual test that qualifies for NM.

I learned that not all schools provide this service. Some don't provide free PSAT tests even for juniors. Others don't offer the test during sophomore year, and so on and so on.

In our school district PSAT is offered to all sophomores and juniors. Children who have qualified for reduced or free school lunch to not pay the fee for the test, the other students do pay a fee to take the test.

 

[Acklander]

Just reading along as I literally just dropped DS13 off to take the SATs! Nervous for him!!!

LOL. I dropped DS13 off this AM for the SATs as well. Not nervous since it doesn't count for colleges or anything beyond the Duke TIPS program. I think they use it to see how much the kids improve from year to year if they maxed out on the state standardized test. So, the pressure is on the teachers not the students this early in the game.

 

[clutter]

That explains the spurt of college mailings!!!

I'm here to tell you that you get them regardless of the score. I don't know what dd15's (sophomore) score was, but it wasn't very good. I don't remember there being a total, but each part was over 50th percentile, but not great. Still getting 6-8 pieces of mail a day. We thought it was something else that triggered it.

 

[Debbie7452]

It is possible to increase your score that much, but not without a lot of prep. Sign up for the SAT question of the day (it's free) on College Board, Dictionary.com has a word of the day to help vocab. Take some practice tests. I got my daughter a DS quiz game for SAT prep. My DD got a 195 as a freshman, then 210 as a sophomore then 221 for National Merit as a Junior.

Sign up and take the October SAT in Junior year. This is the most important tip! It is a few days before the PSAT. It is the best possible practice. Bonus is that you might be done with testing at that point (we were).

 

[Schmeck]

Sophomore year is standard. DS made first round NMS.

Well, then we were screwed by our guidance department! Younger daughter waited until junior year to take the PSAT, and made Commended status. She would have done much better if she had taken 'practice' ones years in advance.

BTW, it's not really a "National Merit" since it is based on state scores. Some states have really high scores (ours being one) and others have really low ones. DD would have been a full merit scholar in most states. I know an attorney who is getting involved with this issue. (not for us, but for others who think the term is misleading and unfair)

 

[HolidayRose]

It seems like most people didn't check the 'Don't share with Universities and Colleges' box, but just make sure you don't in their junior year. My daughter was a merit finalist and was offered full scholarships to University of Alabama, California Tech, University of South Carolina and University of Arizona just because she was a finalist. Read that mail; you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[IDoDis]

Did you mark "no 3rd party mailings" on her high school paperwork? If memory serves, there is an area on the actual PSATs that the student has to check if he/she doesn't or does want to receive college mailings, which is unrelated to school paperwork.

I informed my child to check "no correspondence" for the freshmen and sophomore PSATs, but "yes" for the junior year. As a result, there were no mailings from colleges the first two years, but our mailbox has been swamped this year.

I never saw the paperwork. DD filled it out at school. She said she does not think she checked anything about not getting any mail. She already knows where she wants to go to college, but it would have been nice for her to have seen some other options, too. Oh well.

 

[N&B'smom]

My son did the SATs as a 13 year old also. He really enjoyed doing it. His score was okay. He did MUCH better as a junior. I think they tell you that when you take it as a 7th/8th grader, you can add 400 points to that score and you will get an idea of how they will do as a junior. My son did WAY better than that, thank goodness. But I've read some things that some kids have done in 7th/8th grade and they are awesome scores.

Thanks for the information!! He was happy with his scores (it was higher than the 'average senior' SAT score for our high school, state and nationally) and now he has a plan in place to achieve the scores he feels he needs, now he knows exactly what he needs to improve upon! He is starting with an SAT prep person this summer to REALLY help him!

LOL. I dropped DS13 off this AM for the SATs as well. Not nervous since it doesn't count for colleges or anything beyond the Duke TIPS program. I think they use it to see how much the kids improve from year to year if they maxed out on the state standardized test. So, the pressure is on the teachers not the students this early in the game.

My DS was for a similar program through Johns Hopkins! It's nice to take it with NO pressure at all!!