Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What weirdo family preps their kid for the 10th grade PSAT? Who even has time for that? That is the prep, lol. Have them get a job instead. No wonder there is so much anxiety problems with kids now.

No one should have their kid prep before a 10th grade PSAT. However, plenty do take it in 10th for an indication of where they stand.

Poster you’re responding to. Totally agree. That’s my point. The 10th grade psat is the prep and indicator. In fact, many counties also do a 9th grade psat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What weirdo family preps their kid for the 10th grade PSAT? Who even has time for that? That is the prep, lol. Have them get a job instead. No wonder there is so much anxiety problems with kids now.

No one should have their kid prep before a 10th grade PSAT. However, plenty do take it in 10th for an indication of where they stand.

10th and 11th grade PSAT both count for the national recognition programs. So if your kid is eligible for one of those, they should prep for the 10th grade PSAT.

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.

Anonymous wrote:What weirdo family preps their kid for the 10th grade PSAT? Who even has time for that? That is the prep, lol. Have them get a job instead. No wonder there is so much anxiety problems with kids now.

No one should have their kid prep before a 10th grade PSAT. However, plenty do take it in 10th for an indication of where they stand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t do so well - 1290, 11th grade.

Mine did way worse as 10th grader. Sigh.

Yea we’re sitting over here with a 940 wondering if college is even an option

100% it is there if your kid wants it. Even if the GPA isn’t high either.

My junior got a 950 in 10th grade. She went in cold and had absolutely zero prep.
Started taking a self-paced SAT course through Kaplan a couple months ago.
We're waiting on her 11th grade October PSAT results but she said she felt so much more confident this round. Hoping this bumped her up a few hundred points but let's see. She said what helped was knowing the tips and tricks learned from the SAT course but most importantly, a lot of the stuff she learned in math during her sophomore year made things so much easier for her.

This gives me hope for my sophomore who also didnt prep.

Yes, I think what we see here in DCUM is heavily skewed towards the small percentage of kids who do amazingly well the first try. Most kids are not like this. My DD's senior friend also had a below 1000 PSAT score during her sophomore year. Got a 1250 her junior year PSAT, then winter SAT was 1410. She just took it again recently and is waiting for results.

What weirdo family preps their kid for the 10th grade PSAT? Who even has time for that? That is the prep, lol. Have them get a job instead. No wonder there is so much anxiety problems with kids now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t do so well - 1290, 11th grade.

Mine did way worse as 10th grader. Sigh.

Yea we’re sitting over here with a 940 wondering if college is even an option

100% it is there if your kid wants it. Even if the GPA isn’t high either.

My junior got a 950 in 10th grade. She went in cold and had absolutely zero prep.
Started taking a self-paced SAT course through Kaplan a couple months ago.
We're waiting on her 11th grade October PSAT results but she said she felt so much more confident this round. Hoping this bumped her up a few hundred points but let's see. She said what helped was knowing the tips and tricks learned from the SAT course but most importantly, a lot of the stuff she learned in math during her sophomore year made things so much easier for her.

This gives me hope for my sophomore who also didnt prep.

Anonymous wrote:A bunch of 11th graders got above 1450 at my kids school. My kid got 1420 and very disappointed. He thinks he won’t even become commended

His August SAT was 1530.

that is rally great to hear, mine got 1450 on this psat and taking sat next week, really worried about it,

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t do so well - 1290, 11th grade.

Mine did way worse as 10th grader. Sigh.

Yea we’re sitting over here with a 940 wondering if college is even an option

100% it is there if your kid wants it. Even if the GPA isn’t high either.

My junior got a 950 in 10th grade. She went in cold and had absolutely zero prep.
Started taking a self-paced SAT course through Kaplan a couple months ago.
We're waiting on her 11th grade October PSAT results but she said she felt so much more confident this round. Hoping this bumped her up a few hundred points but let's see. She said what helped was knowing the tips and tricks learned from the SAT course but most importantly, a lot of the stuff she learned in math during her sophomore year made things so much easier for her.

Anonymous wrote:TJ 11th - PSAT 1520. Also got SAT 1580 in August

Nice. How did their classmates do?

Just coming on here to represent a more average student.

Last year 10th grade PSAT: 1050
August SAT 1200 (640 V, 560 M)
This oct 11th grade PSAT: 1140

That SAT score was after a summer of prep with a weekly tutor.

We’re hoping they can get to 1250 or even 1300 the next time they take the SAT in spring or summer. But they will probably just go test optional at some schools.

Not everyone in dcum land is 1400-1600

Anonymous wrote:My kid has 1500 with a 224 index. Same for one of the 15 or so friends in their chat. Given their school had only 6 NMSF last class I wonder if the cutoff this year will be above 224 - this is VA. Just because if it is 6-7 NMSF again and I know 2 of them that’s highly unlikely. They are a very motivated bunch, but still.

A few thoughts on trying to predict what will happen with cutoffs: the sample size from one high school may be too small to conclude much. My kid's high school had 2 NMSFs for class of 2024, out of 100 kids, my kid being one of them. Class of 2025 has 5 or 6, first digital PSAT. I don't think that means anything.

There are PSAT tests that haven't happened yet. One of my kids is taking the PSAT tomorrow (not in VA). Historically, with the paper tests, the scoring scales were a bit different for some PSAT test dates than others. Now all that's opaque with the adaptive test and weighted question scores, but just looking at online chatter for Aug vs Oct SAT differences, scoring for the digital test seems inconsistent and unpredictable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has 1500 with a 224 index. Same for one of the 15 or so friends in their chat. Given their school had only 6 NMSF last class I wonder if the cutoff this year will be above 224 - this is VA. Just because if it is 6-7 NMSF again and I know 2 of them that’s highly unlikely. They are a very motivated bunch, but still.

I was thinking the same for NJ- the cutoff will be higher this year? How accurate is Compass Prep cutoff prediction?

https://www.compassprep.com/national-merit-semifinalist-cutoffs/comment-page-14/

DP. This is the most accurate prediction available.

I don't recall ever seeing a cutoff above 224.

DD (11th grade) managed a 1400 without prepping at all, so she's very happy (up about 150 points from last year). It was useful because she knows exactly what she needs to study for the SAT in the spring (Geometry! She hasn't looked at it in 3 years and had to guess on nearly all of those problems). NMSC index was 216, which I assume will be Commended.

Anonymous wrote:My kid has 1500 with a 224 index. Same for one of the 15 or so friends in their chat. Given their school had only 6 NMSF last class I wonder if the cutoff this year will be above 224 - this is VA. Just because if it is 6-7 NMSF again and I know 2 of them that’s highly unlikely. They are a very motivated bunch, but still.

I was thinking the same for NJ- the cutoff will be higher this year? How accurate is Compass Prep cutoff prediction?

https://www.compassprep.com/national-merit-semifinalist-cutoffs/comment-page-14/