<p>@69forthewin I wouldn’t so hastily call a person who qualify to take USAMO to have “no math maturity” to make stupid mistakes in SAT math. (since what you were trying to say seems to be that the person whom I know took USAMO was probably immature in math, and that’s why he made mistakes in SAT math) MAA is very selective and score-based, as you should very well know if you took USAMO, in picking USAMO takers, and they use AMC scores and AIME scores (both of which are a lot harder than SAT math) to determine the qualifiers, meaning those who take USAMO already proved their mathematical maturity twice by taking AMC and AIME. </p>
<p>@AverageStudent97 Why you assume such thing about me? I take IMO (International Math Olympiad) from my country once, i get bronze medal, 1 point from silver. i know to solve 1, 2, 4, 5 of USAMO 2014. Most year of usamo 1, 2, 4, 5 not too hard, just take mastery of fundamental. If you don’t believe then ask david yang who get 2 gold medal at IMO for USA, age 14 and 15. He says that first. 3 and 6 can be hard, but usually one of them can be done, 3 in 2014 was just algebraic manipulation, 2013 6 was just simple geometry bash, 2012 6 was just square, simple algebra and probbility, 2011 6 is just easy set theorie. </p>
<p>but you all not hear what i say, jump to conclusion too fast. I know PSAT math is stupid but not has stupid as you think. I say there are some who think they are very good, even qualify for usamo who not mature enough to not make many stupid mistake. Not only in PSAT but in other test too, but it show in PSAT. But you think i said converse, that if usamo qualifier make stupid mistake on PSAT, he not mature. HAHAHA I friends with Iurie Boreico, 2 PERFECT SCORE at IMO, 3 gold medal, even he not make 800 on SAT math. He is very mature. but this no contradict my point, since i only say just because you think you can do one usamo problem you don’t need care about PSAT. Most people “good” at math think that way, but really they need to rexamine their basics and see WHY they make stupid mistake, usually because of bad math habit.</p>
<p>Freshman year: 153
Sophomore year: 181
Junior year (predicted using Palm’s method): 204</p>
<p>Didn’t study at all for the freshman and sophomore PSATs but prepped for the junior one and broke 200, so hopefully I get Commended I’m still very disappointed that I definitely didn’t make the Florida cutoff for NMSF (which is probably around 211 this year) but I’m aiming for at least a 2200 on the SATs. Hopefully I make it!</p>
You don’t study for a test that measures intelligence, or you will get inaccurate results. Since many people study for the PSAT, it doesn’t measure intelligence accurately. There can be someone that is really smart that does worse than a person that is an idiot simply because the idiot studied for the PSAT. The SAT measures how prepared you are for college, and it does a very poor job of it, because again, people study for it making the results inaccurate. If no one studied for the test, the results would be accurate.
Sophomore year I got a 175 on the PSAT. Junior year I got a 211. Did I transform from an idiot to a genius in 1 year? No. I simply studied for the test and I did better. I probably didn’t get much smarter during that one year but my score went up 36 points. There are people out there much smarter than me that scored lower because they didn’t study as much. There are people out there much dumber than me that scored higher on the test because they studied more than me. The PSAT does not measure intelligence. The SAT does not measure intelligence.
@balrog29 I agree the SAT isn’t the best measure of intelligence, but think about what you’re actually studying when you study for the SAT. Save the writing section, the math and critical reading sections do test your critical thinking skills. When you study for the SAT your improving those skills even if its in a narrow way. Those critical thinking skills are what make the SAT a test for whether someone is college prepared. If you look at the ACT, especially the CR section, it is a much poorer measure of Critical thinking than is the SAT.
By studying I become more knowledgeable, but there is a big difference between knowledge and intellect. It would be accurate to say I became much more knowledgeable over the course of one year, but I did not become much more intelligent.
@balrog29 true but I’m saying studying for the SAT does help develop certain critical thinking skills. Also, having the ability to raise your SAT score does take some intelligence, not any person can just raise his score by studying a little. I studied a lot from my sophomore to junior year and raised my PSAT score from a 172 to a 218. My friend studied nearly as much as me and only saw his PSAT score rise from a 156 to a 162.
I got 214 and I live in Arizona, where the cutoff for the last 3 years was… 212, 214, and 213 respectively I think, with 213 being the most recent. It’s practically been eating away at me from the inside, because if the cutoff jumps 2 points, I won’t make it. I don’t suppose someone could make a good guess as to whether or not the cutoff will go up or down to ease my worrying?
Hmm… I got a 211. For South Carolina that’s been good to qualify the last few years, based on he last few years do you all think I’ll be okay? And if the cutoff is 211, does that mean I still make it? Ahh so nervous!
Edit: last few years were: 209 210 208 211 208
I feel you. I scored a 211, which is right on the border for last year’s NMSF in my state. I’m hoping the cutoffs really don’t change much, but the huge fluctuations the past few years don’t help to ease my worry. However, I think you should be safe with a 214 in AZ. The year that AZ got as high as 214 was a record high year for many states, so I doubt it would go higher than that.
I’m still very disappointed that I definitely didn’t make the Florida cutoff for NMSF (which is probably around 211 this year) but I’m aiming for at least a 2200 on the SATs. Hopefully I make it!</p>
I don’t suppose someone could make a good guess as to whether or not the cutoff will go up or down to ease my worrying?