Reply to PSAT results came out

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "PSAT results came out "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

Since you are wise and experienced in all this, please advise us on another question. She has also taken a practice ACT, on which she scored much better compared to peers. (29 on ACT which their chart says is equivalent to an SAT of something in the 1300s.)  I've read some advice that people should just choose one (ACT or SAT) and prepare for that one. But I also don't want my kids to spend their teenage summers doing test prep. (when I was in high school, we took the SAT without any prep other than maybe doing the sample practice test that came in the pamphlet.) Is it okay to choose one now based on this sophomore data?    [/quote]

SAT and ACT are basically different types of tests and they test different things.  SAT and ACT kids are kids with two slightly different kinds of test taking strengths and also slightly different kinds of content knowledge.  Colleges don't really differentiate between ACT and SAT.

Having said that,  here are the factors that you have to consider -
- What does your kid wants to study in college?
- Do you need NMS for education dollar?
- Do you need NMS for resume padding or signaling to Admissions Committee etc? 
It is an extremely individual and strategic decision.

If NMS is important to you for any reason (money or resume-padding), then it is more than likely that your kid will end up taking PSAT for NMSQT and then a SAT or ACT as the proof test.  If they score very well in NMSQT, NMSC will also submit a "proof" SAT (or ACT?) from the finalists to show that the NMSQT performance was not a fluke.

My kid was not willing to take ACT because he wanted to study for one test (SAT) and be done with both SAT and NMS. Also, having access to Khan Academy and being able to use his PSAT and SAT tests to practice was another bonus for him. He is also a quant kid and so Math was easy for him and he did not want to write a lot in ACT.   BTW - you could stop at just being a NMSF and not go all the way to become a finalist. Even that is also an option.

Generally, it is recommended that students do a test SAT and a test ACT and see which do they naturally do well in. In your case, with just looking at an 1100 score on PSAT and a 1300 score on ACT, it seems that ACT has a distinct aand big advantage.

Just to be very sure, you may decide to schedule a nother complimentary SAT vs ACT test again, as many private college counseling companies will give your kid one for free.  Take a look at that result and then make a decision.  Sometimes the unfamiliarity with test format can influence results. Now that your kid has taken both, it is worth it to go for the comparison test again.

(Also, the National Merit scholarship is a very tiny amount from NMS but some colleges give a very generous amount of money to NMSF (UT @ Dallas, for example give full tuition, honors college, stipend for room and board and a semester abroad)     I would also suggest that you search out which schools give great merit scholarships to NMSF students  and if that appeals to you and your kid has a shot, then that can influence your NMS journey --> and that can influence your PSAT or alternate route decision --> and that can influence ACT or SAT.  NMSC help desk is usually super helpful in answering these questions if you catch them in off months.)

I hope  this helped
 [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics