<p>Same here. I went to school and went to my regular class and my teacher is like, “Aren’t you taking the PSAT.” And I said yes and went to the correct room.</p>
<p>Eh, don’t sweat it. a 168 is a solid score for a soph (although not impressive enough for a comp. programming class to crowd aroud you, lol). With more prepping your scores definetely WILL improve. You have an entire year to raise them. And being in honors/AP classes helps with improve math and reading abilities.</p>
<p>When I was a soph, I did awful on the PSAT–44 in math and a 55 in verbal, which is equivalent to a 990 SAT score, which was at the national average, or maybe lower. (Writing was 560, I think) 
But with the help of my insanely smart brother who got a 1600, an affordable prep course, and studying on my own w/ the 10 Real SATs, I was eventually able to raise that score 360 pts. to a 1350 (V:750, M:600) on the SAT I.</p>
<p>For the critical reading section: On the dual passages, read Passage 1 first, do the questions pertaining to passage 1. The info from that passage will be fresh in your mind then. Then go back and read Passage 2 and do the questions pertaining to that passage. Then do the questions that pertain to both passages.</p>
<p>Also, there should always be be material in the pasage that supports your answer choice–like specific words, phrases, and sentences that prove that the answer you chose is correct.
Keep in mind, that a statement in an answer could be absolutely correct, but could still be the wrong answer. Answer exactly what the question is asking!
Don’t think/dwell too much on a question or you’ll bog yourself down.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thanks. The weird thing is I got that PSAT score, and then I took a practice SAT and got a 1510.</p>
<p>does anyone know what the cutoff for the natl merit finalist thing in texas was? i got a 210 and someone said that was the cutoff…does anyone know for sure?</p>
<p>We talked about that at my school, it’s only 200 this year.</p>
<p>Hmmm… are you sure? I’ve always thought that National Merit Semi-Finalist was in the 210-220 range. Last year it was 214 for Kansas i think. And I think someone in another thread said that national merit for texas was around 216 last year. Thats a pretty big flunctuation.</p>
<p>Maybe Texas people got stupider, I was told the line was 200.</p>
<p>maybe that was the line for getting commended.</p>
<p>It’s okay… nothing too amazing, there’s room for improvement, and you may hav a chance at Finalist if you improve quite a bit… so, there’s hope, you’ll have one more year under your belt when it counts…</p>
<p>Yes, the line for commended was 200 last year for Kansas too, that sounds more reasonable.</p>
<p>Texas state cut-off is 216. It’s incredibly high for some stupid reason the rest of the world may never know about. I made 200 (96%), but I almost didn’t go to school that day because I came down with strep throat.</p>
<p>Cheer up–you’re a sophmore and you’ve got a whole year ahead of you. I remember the night before, I was just about to fall asleep and I remembered I had to take the PSAT. I was freaking out! I took a practice PSAT and got a 36 on the writing. I was on the verge of tears. And it turned out that I broke 70s on it!</p>
<p>There are a variety of factors for why you didn’t score too hot, but it’ll get better! Keep on practicing, keep on practing…the distorted words of Dory.</p>
<p>sj</p>
<p>The 200 point cut-off for commended is countrywide. Each state has its own semi-finalist cut-off, which fluctuates depending on the scores of the test-takers. States like Mass. have very high cut-offs, Texas is fairly high - and a few states are very low - commended level for their NMFs.</p>
<p>Do you happen to know which state has the lowest cutoff rate? </p>
<p><em>moves off to lowest cutoff state :p</em></p>
<p>well, sentient, according to last year’s semifinalist cutoffs you have a choice between the lovely states of arkansas and west virgina.</p>
<p>I’m flying to WV to take the PSAT next year I guess.</p>
<p>-Your score sucks.
That sentence summarizes all the posts here.</p>
<p>I got a 204 as a sophomore and I was kicking myself for being stupid. I only got 1 wrong in Math an the ******* curve brought me down to a 76.</p>
<p><a href=“http://hseagle.sas.edu.sg:8068/hscounseling/Tests/NMSCindex.htm[/url]”>http://hseagle.sas.edu.sg:8068/hscounseling/Tests/NMSCindex.htm</a>
Looks like Arkansas and West Virginia tie for the lowest cutoff with a 202. My s was a NMF. Don’t mean to scare you, but he got a 182 as a freshman, and it went up from there. My younger s. just got a 180 as a freshman. But 168 as a soph. is nothing to sneeze at. I am sure you will do great next year. Good luck.</p>
<p>My son took the PSAT in Oct (jr) and his score was 166. Eh, OK. Then he took the SAT last month and got 1330 (740m 590v). He really didn’t do any prep courses or studying, other than to borrow his friend’s book and take about 2 or 3 practice SATs. In his case, the PSAT was just good practice for the SAT.</p>
<p>Texas, you got a 60 on the PSAT math and call urself a “whiz”? Just playin…but uhh 168 isint that great for a sophmore, because the kids i kno at my school are pulling at least 180- even the dumb ones. But, theres room for improvement bro.</p>