PSAT Prep Recommendations

[Anonymous]

Looking for PSAT prep options for my daughter. Open to online or books. TIA.

[Anonymous]

You will get a bunch of people trolling you for trying to prep your kid for the PSAT.

Kaplan and Khan Academy have fine free resources. Have your kid take a couple of practice tests so they get an idea of the length and type of questions.

[Anonymous]

Just use Khan Academy. They can even bypass the PSAT lesson and just go straight into the SAT part.

[Anonymous]

You're not supposed to prep for the PSAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're not supposed to prep for the PSAT.

You can’t be NMSF in the DMV if you don’t prep. Around here the bar is so high that it’s not just about knowing all the material, it’s about not making a single mistake. If the parent cares about NMSF, they need to make their kid prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're not supposed to prep for the PSAT.

You can’t be NMSF in the DMV if you don’t prep. Around here the bar is so high that it’s not just about knowing all the material, it’s about not making a single mistake. If the parent cares about NMSF, they need to make their kid prep.

Just prep for the SAT, it transfers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're not supposed to prep for the PSAT.

You can’t be NMSF in the DMV if you don’t prep. Around here the bar is so high that it’s not just about knowing all the material, it’s about not making a single mistake. If the parent cares about NMSF, they need to make their kid prep.

Just prep for the SAT, it transfers.

Not if you wait until after the PSAT, which is what too many kids do.

[Anonymous]

Foreigner here.

Does the NMSF title make a difference for a kid who is taking the most advanced courses at their high school, and will probably get a near-perfect score on their ACT or SAT? I say this because my oldest got a 35 out of 36 on the ACT (he never took the PSAT or SAT), and my second is a lot smarter, so I'm not worried about their future test score.

From my ignorant perspective the PSAT is just another make-work hoop to jump through, but please tell me if I'm missing something. Apparently my second kid's school is offering a free mock PSAT next month.

[Anonymous]

Another suggestion to prep for taking an SAT around the same time as PSAT. At this point, perhaps November SAT. Most kids who have a chance to get NMSF on PSAT also have a reasonable chance of a high SAT score fall of junior year.

The prep for both tests is the same. Practice material for the SAT is somewhat limited, so use it wisely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Foreigner here.

Does the NMSF title make a difference for a kid who is taking the most advanced courses at their high school, and will probably get a near-perfect score on their ACT or SAT? I say this because my oldest got a 35 out of 36 on the ACT (he never took the PSAT or SAT), and my second is a lot smarter, so I'm not worried about their future test score.

From my ignorant perspective the PSAT is just another make-work hoop to jump through, but please tell me if I'm missing something. Apparently my second kid's school is offering a free mock PSAT next month.

NMSF won't make or break a college application. It is one accolade a kid could list that maybe shows an ACT or SAT score wasn't a fluke. Plus, there are several schools that provide big or full scholarships based on NMSF or NMF status. That is really it.

https://blog.collegevine.com/national-merit-scholarship-full-ride

[Anonymous]

Is there an app that students can start freshman year to work on the little things like vocabulary and grammar? 15 to 30 minutes a day? If so, what app do you suggest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there an app that students can start freshman year to work on the little things like vocabulary and grammar? 15 to 30 minutes a day? If so, what app do you suggest?

A library.

The best thing your kid can do is READ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there an app that students can start freshman year to work on the little things like vocabulary and grammar? 15 to 30 minutes a day? If so, what app do you suggest?

A library.

The best thing your kid can do is READ.

Harsh but true. Book and a dictionary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another suggestion to prep for taking an SAT around the same time as PSAT. At this point, perhaps November SAT. Most kids who have a chance to get NMSF on PSAT also have a reasonable chance of a high SAT score fall of junior year.

The prep for both tests is the same. Practice material for the SAT is somewhat limited, so use it wisely.

This. Practice for the PSAT and SAT are the exact same resources. The SAT is harder than the PSAT. If you are trying for NMSF you should be scoring very very well on the SAT if you want to reach the DMV cutoff for the PSAT.

My NMSF kid read parts of the SAT black book which you can order online for $30, and did some college board tests. She did nothing to prep for the 10th grade PSAT beyond ensure her Chromebook was charged.