PSAT 2022 SUCCESS STARTS NOW
Right now, in March, sophomores have seven months before the junior PSAT/NMSQT in October. This information is crucial to receiving the best possible score.
Treat preparing the next few weeks for the PSAT like a part-time job. If you have already gone through the eCourse, start again. This will solidify the information so you can apply it appropriately and internalize the strategies. If you want to raise your score but don’t own the eCourse, you can purchase it here.
It is a bragging right for many colleges to admit National Merit Scholars since it makes the school look good! Some offers you may receive are: full-ride, free tuition, free room and board, study-abroad stipends, grad school money, spending cash and more.
Crash List Course Checklist for the PSAT
40+ Real SAT and PSAT practice tests at: collegeprepgenius.com/sat-practice-tests
Note: You can get test booklets back from the QAS of the College Board. (This service is offered for three SATs each year.)
Unlike the SAT and ACT exams, you can only sit this test once per year. That test is generally administered in the third week of October, on Wednesday or Saturday. If you miss that date there may be an alternate date a week or two later, but you can only take it on either sitting, not both
For juniors, the goal is to make the senior year test optional. If you also get your desired SAT score in the junior year, the pressure is off in the senior year. Students can then still apply for early action/decision and receive those scholarships.
Rising seniors can follow the same plan but omit points (3) and (7).
Keep in mind that if you don’t quite get the desired PSAT score as a junior, full-rides are available on the SAT as well! As you study for one, you study for the other one!
Predicted PSAT scores for your state: collegeprepgenius.com/predictedPSATscores
Understanding PSAT percentiles: collegeprepgenius.com/PSATscores
Schools that give scholarships on high PSAT scores: collegeprepgenius.com/NationalMeritSchools
Two Inside Secrets
- 1If your rising junior takes the PSAT/NMSQT and doesn’t quite get the score needed, there is another opportunity: If you child is doing a super-senior year, i.e. five years in high school, your student can take the PSAT twice for the National Merit Scholarship program. The quote is found on page 6 of the Official Student Guide:
Students who plan to take five years to complete grades 9 through 12 can participate in the National Merit Program if they take the PSAT/NMSQT in the third year of high school and again in the fourth year. These students’ Selection Index scores will not be eligible for the program until a written request for entry to the competition is approved by NMSC. The request should include the student’s name, high school name and location, year the student began high school, year the student will complete high school, and a brief explanation of the student’s educational pattern.
The official guide also offers information about cancellations for all or a specific group to test takers. The College Board allows the school or testing location to request an “alternate test date or provide other options for testing.” This information can be found on page 39 under Section 6.
- 2If your junior misses the October PSAT test dates, there is the another option. The PSAT/NMSQT is a test used for a scholarship contest in the junior year, but if you miss those dates, all is not lost. The opportunity for the PSAT alternative test date, is the Alternative Entry Testing Method. In essence, you can take the SAT, and the National Merit Corporation (NMC) will convert the score. Generally, this approach is reserved for you if you were sick or unable to attend due to extenuating circumstances. There is a specific set of actions students or parents must take to take advantage of this. It starts with contacting the NMC by April 1 of your junior year, and there’s a special code (0085) you pop in at the top of your SAT test so your test will be converted for the PSAT. A great advantage to this system is that you can take the SAT numerous times and only your highest score results (from one entire test) will be counted.
National Merit Scholarship Corporation | 1560 Sherman Avenue, Suite 200, Evanston, Illinois 60201-4897 | Phone: (847) 866-5100
For younger students, taking the PSAT 8/9 and PSAT 10 are opportunities to get familiar with this test. This helps to lessen anxiety and gain test maturity. Once you are a junior, this test can be life changing. The is PSAT is not merely a “practice” SAT but a venue to the beginning of a debt-free college degree.
