<p>I think this process with S has shown how it is important for hispanic students to hear about these opportunities when they are freshman and sophomores. My D is 3 years behind big brother and all of her friends are firstborns and onlies and many are hispanic. When I tell parents about the offers my s is getting now and how important the psat is for this they are amazed that the counselors downplay the psat as a “practice”. My son walked into the PSAT cold and was lucky to get NHS. His SAT was up significantly after some prep. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, that PSAT is really important for getting some of this attention and financial support based on the NHS designation, particularly for the kids who are first time college applicants in the family or have immigrant parents who are unaware of the incredible variety of schools as well as financial support for college educatiothat are out there for our kids. SO…I am actively recruiting parents to get our kids into a PSAT prep class and see if we can get one of the test prep companies to give us a special group offer for our 10th graders next year. As you know, prep for these things can’t be done well quickly. Many will need extra help with the vocab and it is nicer to be with a group of kids that share similar backgrounds and challenges. Last, my D is far more likely to take a PSAT class (at the risk of being labeled a nerd) if she has friends in it who also share pushy parents who want to increase scholarship chances. </p>
<p>The “recruit other Latino parents to join a group effort” has been highly successful for rules about D dating before age 16 (over your father’s dead body) and curfew (10pm on football night only, dinner time the rest of the week) The football night curfew is a concession to living in the US. Thank goodness I can point to Pilar, Angela, Maria, as facing the same curfew and dating regime. Why not add PSAT preparation as another cultural burden to bear as a child of hispanic parents?</p>