PSAT question

court4 · 10-05-2012, 08:04 PM

Hi, I have been gaining a lot of information from CC, but this is my first question. My S, 15yo sophomore, is just getting back into the school "groove" after dealing with a concussion for the past couple of weeks. The plan was for him to take the PSAT on Oct. 20 at his school. Now his guidance counselor is recommending that he skip the test. I feel that he should register for the test and then if he doesn't feel that he can take it, to skip it. He seems to be doing fine now and able to do the school work, concentrate, etc...

So I guess my question is, if he doesn't do well on the test, is it a big deal in the realm of college acceptances? Is it actually better if he skip it, or does it not matter at all? I am not clear on why guidance wants him to skip it??

Thanks in advance for your input!!

goodnoodle · 10-05-2012, 08:10 PM

It affects nothing for sophomores. If he wants to take it he should. Worst case scenario: he doesn't take it and you lose 14 bucks

Mufasa11 · 10-05-2012, 08:14 PM

Colleges don't look at PSAT scores. PSAT 's purpose is to see your level of how you would perform in an actual SAT and how you can improve. The only other purpose for it is in junior year when you can enter competition for National Merit if you score high

court4 · 10-05-2012, 08:18 PM

Ok. Great! Thanks for the info!!

YoHoYoHo · 10-06-2012, 08:14 PM

Colleges don't look at PSAT scores. The PSAT score earned during 11th grade will determine if S qualifies for NMSF (score of say 220 out of 240, varies by state), commended student (score over approx 201), etc. The purpose to taking a soph PSAT is to see if he would even be close in the running for the above during Jr year. However, if your son has recently had a concussion, then his soph PSAT score may be skewed and may inadvertently discourage him. If he got a poor score, he would not know if it was due to the concussion, or his baseline aptitude and thus it may affect his attitute towards the real, 11th gr PSAT. Thus, if it were my S, I would skip the PSAT this year, use the practice test/booklet and make him sit down and take it under test conditions maybe 6 months from now, when he has more fully recovered, self score it, and use those results to make his future decisions (i.e. is his score close to 200 or close to 220). Colleges will take positive note if he is a NMSF (score around 220).

BTW, the only reason to take a soph PSAT is if you are very smart so that you think you might have a chance for NMSF. For most people, it's not necessary.