PSAT Results - Compare

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC got a 1500 (740,760) on PSAT. Does this help with college applications?

UC's and William & Mary are targets. GPA is on the low end (4.1)

SAT 1560 but many colleges are test blind.

The PSAT will help a little, but honestly the GPA and classes taken are the most important thing considered. If a 4.1 is considered low at your school, then I don't know if you should consider the UCs and W&M targets. Their CDS says a 4.18 is the very lowest end of the 50% of the class admitted. While the SAT is high, I think the class rigor, what the school profile will show is the GPA range for the class, and ECs will matter a lot.

[Anonymous]

PSATs will not help anyone get into a school. But if you are a NMF, they can help with money. But not at all schools. Do the research

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC got a 1500 (740,760) on PSAT. Does this help with college applications?

UC's and William & Mary are targets. GPA is on the low end (4.1)

SAT 1560 but many colleges are test blind.

The PSAT will help a little, but honestly the GPA and classes taken are the most important thing considered. If a 4.1 is considered low at your school, then I don't know if you should consider the UCs and W&M targets. Their CDS says a 4.18 is the very lowest end of the 50% of the class admitted. While the SAT is high, I think the class rigor, what the school profile will show is the GPA range for the class, and ECs will matter a lot.

The PSAT will not help at all; that score is not reported to schools. NMS semi-finalist or finalist status from the PSAT might help a little. SAT score is strong though; that WILL help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are PSAT scores in the college forum?

I mean, they are administered by the “College Board” so it seems like an okay topic for a “college board.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does being awarded National Merit Semi-Finalist make any difference on the college application?

No. NMSF is like the score itself but less precise. The actual score is strictly better.

I would agree that the actual score is better, especially a kid who has a high score coming from DMV or NJ versus a kid from Alabama or Florida who have a much lower index score cutoff for the NMSF.

What I don’t understand is how they are so many kids who seem to report 1500+ SAT scores and only a small number of students get NMSF (for Class of 2025, there were only 47 in DC, 296 in MD, and 394 in VA).

My kid is one of those 1500+ PSAT scorers who only got "commended" because her math score was higher than her verbal. The NM index weights the verbal twice as heavily as the math. (Also, DC's cutoff always matches the state with the highest cutoff--usually NJ--according to College Board's policy.)

A 1500 PSAT with the highest possible math would be 740 verbal/760 math, which would be a selection index of 224 and would have qualified in any of the last several years. Maybe you meant that your student had 1500+ on the SAT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you compare this psat with august or October sat score?

I don't know how the earlier PSATs felt in terms of difficulty, but my kid felt today's PSAT was easy, easier than expected. Also scored 1560 on the Aug SAT. We will have to wait for a few weeks to see how the PSAT score turns out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry

The kid is in 10th grade. Geez

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC got a 1500 (740,760) on PSAT. Does this help with college applications?

UC's and William & Mary are targets. GPA is on the low end (4.1)

SAT 1560 but many colleges are test blind.

The PSAT will help a little, but honestly the GPA and classes taken are the most important thing considered. If a 4.1 is considered low at your school, then I don't know if you should consider the UCs and W&M targets. Their CDS says a 4.18 is the very lowest end of the 50% of the class admitted. While the SAT is high, I think the class rigor, what the school profile will show is the GPA range for the class, and ECs will matter a lot.

The PSAT will not help at all; that score is not reported to schools. NMS semi-finalist or finalist status from the PSAT might help a little. SAT score is strong though; that WILL help.

Every 1560 NMF will put this down in awards. Of course the school knows.

[Anonymous]

Or “expected.”

[Anonymous]

you can also put "national commended" in awards, last year was above 208, will be above 207 or the most 211 this year

[Anonymous]

PSAT 10: 1390
PSAT 11: 1440

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PSAT 10: 1390
PSAT 11: 1440

ouch

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PSAT 10: 1390
PSAT 11: 1440

Nice improvement!

[Anonymous]

Not sure if it's just me, but it feels like scores from that first PSAT this year tend toward the low side of what is expected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PSAT 10: 1390
PSAT 11: 1440

ouch

Will be commended and did no work to improve. Likely will hit above a 1500 now…even with little or no work.