<p>The previous two years I’ve taken the PSAT I didnt study and was only notified that I would be taking the test the day before it was administered. My scores were
Freshman: 174
Sophomore: 186
So with these scores without any studying at all, is it possible for me to study enough to make a big jump to reach the cutoff to be a semifinalist? I live in Tennessee and the average cutoff was around 212. I just need to know is it doable and how I could do it/tips on studying.</p>
<p>Sure if you study. My D got a 35 point jump from sophomore to junior with SAT preparation over the summer.</p>
<p>Agree - definitely possible. D had huge jump between soph and junior year sores (will find out in Sept if she made the finalist cut). She did all her SAT prep over the summer and took the SAT in October (the Saturday before the PSAT) and did great on both… She had a tutor (kind of expensive but it paid off) - and she did a lot of practice tests as part of her homework…</p>
<p>The key is to study SAT for PSAT. You will feel so much easier when you’re taking PSAT.</p>
<p>Absolutely possible!! Practice, practice, practice! Good luck!</p>
<p>My D was a NMS from Tennessee a couple of years ago. She went from 188 to a 228 with studying with no tutor. The summer before junior year, she took 5-6 practice tests, than took 3 more the week before the PSAT. She also took the SAT the week before the PSAT. That removed some of the nervousness and gave her an idea of what to focus on in that last week. </p>
<p>I figured to get a 215, to be safe, if she got 8 or less wrong she most likely would make it. 9-11 cpuld go either way and 12 or more wrong would be too many. Get Direct Hits for vocabulary as soon as you can. Look at it a couple times a day for 5-10 minutes. Then go to the SAT Prep section of CC and use the Xiggi method and read Silverturtle’s guide. If you do this you should be able to increase your score by October.</p>
<p>Yes! A friend of my son’s jumped 50 points from soph to jr year with studying. It really paid off!</p>