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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Not the PP, but my kids who did not do SAT prep (too busy with many extracurriculars) attended colleges in the top 25 list and were accepted to many top schools with offers of substantial [b]merit[/b] scholarships (not based on financial need, just the strength of their records).

[b]SAT prep helps some kids, but once you're over 2100 or so, the colleges really don't care, so it can be a waste of time and money for kids who are getting those scores without prep. PSAT gives you an idea of where their scores will shake out without prep, so parents can make a good decision for their own families whether it's worth it or not.[/b] [/quote]

To add on to this post, once an applicant has a high GPA with a rigorous course load and an SAT north of about 2100 (or ACT better than about 32), colleges start to look at what else the student was doing in high school. If a kid spends very little time on outside activities, or has a laundry list of the type of club that meets once a week or once a month, the admissions counselors start to think that he needed all his time to devote to his studies. Colleges want kids who can maintain a high GPA while being highly involved in one or two activities.  Spending time on SAT prep just takes time away from activities that are far more worthwhile in terms of enhancing a child's all around education. Colleges are looking for students who add something to the campus; kids who only have time for studying don't have time to be involved in activities that serve to benefit the college as a whole.

In general, a child who is scoring in the 200s or higher on the PSAT as a ninth or tenth grader will be likely to score similarly or higher on the SAT without any outside intervention. Sometimes schools offer free practice testing. These can be worthwhile but watch out for the scoring: they tend to use harder questions so the kids get a lower score so parents will sign their kids up for SAT prep.  :) [/quote]

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