Anonymous wrote:How many people even take the PSAT anymore? Our college counselor advised in most cases it isn’t worth the effort. Better to devote time to other things that actually move the needle for admissions.

They give different advice to different students.

Anonymous wrote:MCPS pays for all 10th graders to take it, and all 10th graders are automatically registered for it.

11th graders have to affirmatively opt in and then also pay for it, although it's pretty cheep. But that is a sign of the value MCPS puts on using it to prepare for SAT v. trying to get kids to take it to qualify for NMS

If all juniors took the test would the NM qualifying scores go down? It is currently the top 1% in the state, but the kids taking in junior year are already self-selecting. I would expect that to lead to even higher cutting scores to be in the top 1% since you only have kids who are more serious about the test taking it.

Also, realistically the NM cutoff scores are very high. I have to assume anyone who thinks they could get NM is probably taking it. That is just a very small group of kids at most schools as evidenced by how small the lists are from many schools.

Anonymous wrote:Mostly "Asian" names.
Congrats to the lone homeschooler!

cheap

MCPS pays for all 10th graders to take it, and all 10th graders are automatically registered for it.

11th graders have to affirmatively opt in and then also pay for it, although it's pretty cheep. But that is a sign of the value MCPS puts on using it to prepare for SAT v. trying to get kids to take it to qualify for NMS

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Anonymous wrote:On the link it says they took the 2022 test. Is this a typo? Doesn't the list contain current seniors so they would have taken the test junor year or 2023 not 2022?

I think it's:

2023 in oct - juniors take test
2024 in sept - semifinalists are announced and can apply for to be a scholar
2025 - finalists and scholars announced

I think this is why they call it the 2025 program, because any awards are made at that time when the kids are going to college so the program year corresponds to the graduation year.

Don’t they usually take it in sophomore year?

only 11th grade scores count towards national merit

In that case why do all 10th graders take it in MCPS and optional for 11th?

Not ALL 10th grade students take the PSAT. They are not required to. If they CHOOSE to take the PSAT when they are in 10th, that score will not count for national merit. Then, in 11th grade, those who CHOOSE to take the PSAT can and those scores can qualify them for NM.

Students who didn't take PSAT in 10th sometimes will just wait until 11th to take the test. I think schools and others advise 10th grade students to take it to get a feel for the test (especially after test went digital) and see how they do. #testmakingcollegeboard

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the link it says they took the 2022 test. Is this a typo? Doesn't the list contain current seniors so they would have taken the test junor year or 2023 not 2022?

I think it's:

2023 in oct - juniors take test
2024 in sept - semifinalists are announced and can apply for to be a scholar
2025 - finalists and scholars announced

I think this is why they call it the 2025 program, because any awards are made at that time when the kids are going to college so the program year corresponds to the graduation year.

Don’t they usually take it in sophomore year?

only 11th grade scores count towards national merit

In that case why do all 10th graders take it in MCPS and optional for 11th?

Not ALL 10th grade students take the PSAT. They are not required to. If they CHOOSE to take the PSAT when they are in 10th, that score will not count for national merit. Then, in 11th grade, those who CHOOSE to take the PSAT can and those scores can qualify them for NM.