How did your sophomore do on the PSATs?

[Anonymous]

DS got 1028, and he's a junior. That's pretty low, right? He has a 3.88 gpa, but has never tested well. I'm assuming this # does not bode well for the SATs, which he'll take in the spring??

He's looking at middling colleges. Not a scholar by any means, but all his friends are very bright (they are looking at Brown, etc.), so he's feeling badly about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:220 selection index => 1470 raw.
Met expectations, as DC is a very strong test-taker.

Within days emails from second-rate colleges started arriving in multitudes. Nice side business selling our kids data, College Board!

Don't kids get to choose whether they get information from colleges or not?

Yes, but the kids are clueless and do not know that they have a choice, or forget to do this on the day of test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:220 selection index => 1470 raw.
Met expectations, as DC is a very strong test-taker.

Within days emails from second-rate colleges started arriving in multitudes. Nice side business selling our kids data, College Board!

Don't kids get to choose whether they get information from colleges or not?

Yes, but the kids are clueless and do not know that they have a choice, or forget to do this on the day of test.

I read an article in the NYT about this, so I warned my children not to fill out those sections on the PSAT. We've gotten no junk mail from colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS got 1028, and he's a junior. That's pretty low, right? He has a 3.88 gpa, but has never tested well. I'm assuming this # does not bode well for the SATs, which he'll take in the spring??

He's looking at middling colleges. Not a scholar by any means, but all his friends are very bright (they are looking at Brown, etc.), so he's feeling badly about this.

I think that's kind of low. If he could do some prep now maybe it will make a difference. Can he take the SAT in his Senior year? What is the cut off for college apps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS got 1028, and he's a junior. That's pretty low, right? He has a 3.88 gpa, but has never tested well. I'm assuming this # does not bode well for the SATs, which he'll take in the spring??

He's looking at middling colleges. Not a scholar by any means, but all his friends are very bright (they are looking at Brown, etc.), so he's feeling badly about this.

Try the ACT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SI 201. Don't recall the section scores. DS will start working to bring that up before next year.

Older DS raised his score 30 points between soph & junior year (old PSAT). It can be done. Hired a tutor who specializes in high-anxiety students: $1,500 total for several sessions. Also did independent prep and prep through the school. It's important to be consistent in test preparation. Slow and steady wins the race.

National Merit may not mean much to some DCs or families, but it was huge to us. DS is on a full tuition scholarship at state flagship, with another scholarship paying for his books. Medical expenses meant little college savings, so we are happy & grateful for that scholarship.

My daughter's PSAT score also went up 30 points between sophomore and junior year, and now should be in NMSF range. She didn't do PSAT-specific prepping, but did take a prep course for the SAT, which she took few weeks after the PSAT. The SAT course was not a huge time commitment--5 hours a week for 6 or 8 weeks--and she did not do any extra work outside of the prep sessions, so I don't think it detracted in any meaningful way from her other activities.

[Anonymous]

My 10th grader (sophomore) scored a 222 on the PSAT they took this past October. Is that a good score?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader (sophomore) scored a 222 on the PSAT they took this past October. Is that a good score?

Just looked it up again, the 222 is a 740 Math, 740 Verbal (reading and Writing) for a 1480 total. They have not taken an SAT prep course yet. Can someone recommend a good prep company?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader (sophomore) scored a 222 on the PSAT they took this past October. Is that a good score?

Just looked it up again, the 222 is a 740 Math, 740 Verbal (reading and Writing) for a 1480 total. They have not taken an SAT prep course yet. Can someone recommend a good prep company?

Yes, that's an outstanding score for a sophomore! We liked Capital Educators for SAT prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader (sophomore) scored a 222 on the PSAT they took this past October. Is that a good score?

Just looked it up again, the 222 is a 740 Math, 740 Verbal (reading and Writing) for a 1480 total. They have not taken an SAT prep course yet. Can someone recommend a good prep company?

The maximum score per section is 760. What percentile? Personally, I might encourage my kid to do Khan Academy SAT prep, but I would not spend money on test prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader (sophomore) scored a 222 on the PSAT they took this past October. Is that a good score?

Just looked it up again, the 222 is a 740 Math, 740 Verbal (reading and Writing) for a 1480 total. They have not taken an SAT prep course yet. Can someone recommend a good prep company?

The maximum score per section is 760. What percentile? Personally, I might encourage my kid to do Khan Academy SAT prep, but I would not spend money on test prep.

Went back and looked again, it is 99%th percentile across the board. Don't many students take a test prep course, though, because I don't want DC to be at a disadvantage when they take the SAT next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader (sophomore) scored a 222 on the PSAT they took this past October. Is that a good score?

Just looked it up again, the 222 is a 740 Math, 740 Verbal (reading and Writing) for a 1480 total. They have not taken an SAT prep course yet. Can someone recommend a good prep company?

For a strong scorer like your DC, you may want to try the Xiggi Method first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader (sophomore) scored a 222 on the PSAT they took this past October. Is that a good score?

Just looked it up again, the 222 is a 740 Math, 740 Verbal (reading and Writing) for a 1480 total. They have not taken an SAT prep course yet. Can someone recommend a good prep company?

The maximum score per section is 760. What percentile? Personally, I might encourage my kid to do Khan Academy SAT prep, but I would not spend money on test prep.

Went back and looked again, it is 99%th percentile across the board. Don't many students take a test prep course, though, because I don't want DC to be at a disadvantage when they take the SAT next year.

I would suggest asking your child's guidance counselor. According to what I have read, the score is likely to improve based solely on the familiarity of the test gained by taking it for a second time. I would look at the number and kind of questions missed. I certainly wouldn't sign up for a program, just because you believe everyone else is doing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader (sophomore) scored a 222 on the PSAT they took this past October. Is that a good score?

Just looked it up again, the 222 is a 740 Math, 740 Verbal (reading and Writing) for a 1480 total. They have not taken an SAT prep course yet. Can someone recommend a good prep company?

The maximum score per section is 760. What percentile? Personally, I might encourage my kid to do Khan Academy SAT prep, but I would not spend money on test prep.

Went back and looked again, it is 99%th percentile across the board. Don't many students take a test prep course, though, because I don't want DC to be at a disadvantage when they take the SAT next year.

Most students aiming for top colleges do prepping either through a course, with a tutor, or on their own. The method the PP linked to seems to be popular among high achievers on College Confidential. Most students don't do as well as your child did on the sophomore PSAT taking it cold though, so it may be that you don't have to go the formal/expensive route. I'd recommend taking practice exams for both the ACT and SAT next year, and seeing how they turn out.

[Anonymous]

660 V 570 M. I think this is a pretty good score. DD could bring up the M another 100 points by the time she takes the SAT. So I imagine she could score between she will get an SAT score that will make her competitive for a good college.