<p>“Altough your are correct in the analysis, remember that the world of College Confidential and its focus of selective schools distorts the reality.”</p>
<p>Xiggi - nothing to do with CC’s selective schools. It is the other end of the spectrum for PSAT. Merit scholarships are pretty much only available in the schools fighting for talent and PSAT is the easiest way to get a nice scholarship when you can’t afford the top schools and don’t qualify for FA. One test and you can get almost a free ride somewhere in US with no other B*S% involved! </p>
<p>Most Texas school districts (I don’t know if it is state funded) require sophomores to take the test and pay for it. Houston ISD is also paying for freshmen as of last year. When it is being mandated by so many school districts as a way for kids to get practice and get interested in college, it is malpractice for a counselor to hold this view.</p>
<p>PSAT is not just for people aiming at getting national merit since less than 0.5% make it. It is however a good predictor of your SAT score (I have been tracking some friends’s and relatives’ kids over the last year) and it is unbelievable how close these two scores are usually if taken 3 months apart. </p>
<p>There are schools out there like UT Dallas giving an admission if one scores 1200 in reading and Math. So wouldn’t it be a good idea to know what your benchmark is and take the time over the next 12-18 months to improve it?</p>
<p>At my high school, it wasn’t only a good idea, but expected. Those who didn’t and were brave enough to admit it were considered oddballs. I speak from experience. :D</p>
<p>TPG, I think you missed the point of my comment, which was about the expected contributions and the duties of the GC in the average high school throughout our country. I believe that for most GC and students in the country the PSAT is merely an afterthought before the junior year - be it wrong or right.</p>
<p>D2016 signed up for the PSAT. GC’s comment: Uh, are you sure you want to take this test? It’s not for freshmen. D: My mom wants me to take it, so here’s my check.</p>
<p>S2005 and D2012 took the PSAT in their fr, soph, jr years. Mostly for the practice of standardized tests. S just missed NM cutoff, D1 way off. D2 is scattered and needs any practice she can get.</p>
<p>D2 will be the only freshman there on the 20th…</p>
<p>In our school most (many?) students take it sophomore year for practice. My older son made a big impression on the brand new to the school college counselor by getting the highest score in the class. I think he may actually have gotten a lower score junior year, but only slightly. It made her remember him, a good thing, and it made us be sure that testing was one thing that wasn’t going to be a worry.</p>
<p>S2 didn’t do as spectacularly, but still had respectable scores, which he realized were actually pretty good when he compared with friends instead of his brother. His scores went up 21 points between sophomore and junior year.</p>
<p>So I’d say it’s good for your son to get comfortable with the test, but realized those scores don’t have to be set in stone. If he ends up anywhere near the National Merit threshold for your state it may well be worth doing some concentrated studying junior year since there are some pretty spectacular merit scholarships based on NMS status.</p>
<p>xiggi - got your point about GCs. I do understand most seem not upto meeting their counseling responsibilities. I just wish they don’t push opinions about not taking a practice test, when it is a practice test.</p>
<p>mathmom - that is one thing I have been noticing generally. I have been tracking about half a dozen kids and none of them went up more than 20 points between sophomore and junior years even with a good bit of preparation. I wonder if the base knowledge level can only go up 20 points?</p>
<p>My D2 missed the national merit semifinalist cutoff for that year by one point as a sophomore. Of course it didn’t count anyway, but she was absolutely motivated to study for the PSAT for the next fall as a junior, and cleared the NMSF bar score by 20 points in our state that year. It sure was worthwhile for her…</p>
<p>OP, our schools paid for 9th & 10th graders to take the PSAT. We did not have our kids <em>prepare</em> for it in 9th and 10th, though. We wanted to see what the stone-cold baseline score was, and then they did review (old PSATs) about six weeks before the 11th grade PSAT. S1 did very little practice and did very well junior year; S2 worked on math with DH, but most of his score increase between 9th and 11th (37 points) was thanks to what he was getting out of the IB program. </p>
<p>While we’re talking about testing and GC advice concerning same, if your S is taking precalc this year, he should take the Math Level II SAT-II at the end of the year. Level II has a better curve than Level I, and covers math through pre-calc. If he is taking AP sciences, USH, World History or AP foreign language, those SAT-IIs are also best taken at the conclusion of the school year. Take them while the knowledge is fresh in his mind!</p>
<p>I have read here over the years about GCs and teachers who do not tell students how to strategically plan their testing in relation to the courses the kids are taking. It can make a difference – not only in scores, but it is REALLY nice to have SAT and SAT-II testing done by the end of junior year. It will give you a more realistic assessment of what schools would be a good match for your son’s stats, and the fall of senior year is crazy enough with applications, APs, etc. without adding major testing.</p>
<p>Beware the dreaded GC who wants to protect your kid from taking tests. They mean well but aren’t always right. I think that may be one of the self-selection criteria for kids who get accepted at reach schools. They listen politely to the GC then chart their own course.</p>
<p>At our kids’ private HS, PSAT is routinely given to all sophomores & then they review it & take it again as juniors. That school gets more NMFs than all the other schools in the state combined! If the child is willing, we felt there was no downside to the kid taking the PSAT in sophomore year as well as JR year.</p>
<p>Agree 100% with Himom! Learned some schools make it mandantory 9th, 10th and official PSAT 11th. Practice makes them better. When I looked at this last year The common thought on CC was not to prep for the PSAT. IMHO prep a little for the Junior year one.Threads on books and prep materials on CC. My D used some of the free online stuff. Free Rice ect. She felt any SAT prep ,OTHER THAN ESSAY, materials applied to PSAT. Got NMSF so it worked out ok.</p>
<p>This will sound as a broken record to members who have read my comments on this for a good number of years. As we know, the term “prep” is loosely defined, but no matter how deep the prep is, there is NO value whatsoever to wait for the Junior PSAT to establish a benchmark for the future SAT or CAT testing or for the college application process itself.</p>
<p>Waiting is not only a lost opportunity to possibly do very well of the PSAT and is most certainly a poor use of the college application calendar. It is really extremely important to plan the end of the sophomore year and the start of the junior very well. The summer between those year is ideal for filling all the blanks and start a PSAT/SAT preparation in … earnest, especially if one did not do much after taking or reviewing the sophomore PSAT.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, as many of us have heard or know, the refrain to take the PSAT in Junior year without “prep” to see where one is slotted remains heard too many times in GC offices. There is NO need to take an official test in vivo to figure out where one stands, as that can be done easily through a recently released test. Remember all PSAT are released every year. If you happen to miss the test in a year, just ask one junior for a copy of the test.</p>
<p>The pre junior year test(s) should be used to tailor prep. By the way Momcino one of my favorite things about CC when I first joined was xiggi. Smart, committed and suscint. In my opinion his advice on SAT, PSAT and strategy is UNEQUALLED.</p>
<p>At the local HS, the PSAT was optional for sophomores. The head GC remarked that practically all of the students who became NMSFs had taken the test as sophomores, before it really “counted.” I don’t think this was a result of the extra practice, so much as the type of students who wanted to sign up for it as sophomores. </p>
<p>I recommend that your son take it. As others have mentioned, it will give you and him a kind of general ballpark idea of what his scores will be like. They will most likely go up automatically, even without any preparation, in junior year. </p>
<p>Some students do not actually need test prep. Taking the PSAT without prep will indicate whether your son is in that category, and if so, he can save a lot of time, and you can save at least a moderate amount of money.</p>
<p>It’s not just that the sophomore PSAT helps prepare the kid for the junior PSAT which helps prepare the kid for the SAT. The sophomore PSAT scores – if extremely high – can result in nominations to top summer academic programs that are strong feeders to top colleges. Many of these summer programs are free, btw. So the sophomore PSAT in and of itself can lead to outstanding opportunities.</p>
<p>A very strong student and tester should take the sophomore PSAT seriously, imo. That is, if they plan to apply to highly selective colleges.</p>
<p>All of the college bound kids at our school take the PSAT sophomore year. It’s a great pre-read on test scores so kids can start narrowing down the type of college they want and are likely to get into. I know it was a real eye opener for some parents (good and bad).</p>