My D made 95th percentile on PSAT-from what I understand, not quite good enough for National Merit, but is it good for anything else? Is there anyone who even asks for the score, or is its main value now just to indicate that with a little work (on math) she ought to be able to get a decent SAT score?
<p>Is she a junior or a soph? There isn't much value to a PSAT score if you don't make Semifinalist (which neither of my kids did). It is somewhat of an indicator of what you can expect for SAT, although plenty of kids improve significantly on SAT. It gives you some idea of what you might be able to improve with some prep or test-taking tips.</p>
<p>a 200 usually gets a Jr "Commended," which only means something if you are somehow related (employee, retiree, etc) to of one of the sponsoring companies. (Some corporate sponsors dole out restricted scholarships to kids of their employees thru the NMS program.) Check the program bulletin to see which companies are sponsors.</p>
<p>In answer to your q: no one asks for PSAT, unless you might be looking at a summer program, in which case they might accept it in lieu of SAT. Also, if math was her low score, she's in great shape since its the easiest to practice for. Get the new SAT books from collegeboard for self-study.</p>
<p>will 98% do me any good?</p>
<p>It really depends on which state you live in...</p>
<p>correct, for example, in Calif, the NMSF cutoff has been 216-217 the past couple of years. I think Mass-NJ-DC is 220</p>
<p>okay, I see. I live in NY, and mine was just a 212. Thanks.</p>
<p>PA was 215</p>
<p>If your D is Hispanic or African American, the 95th percentile would get her National Hispanic Scholar or National Achievement Scholar, assuming she also has strong grades and in the case of National Achievement Scholar, gets an SAT score of about 1200 or higher. That would mean that your D would qualify for some nice scholarships, including some full tuition ones.</p>
<p>Your D did not score high enough for National Merit Commended, which usually requires a score of 200-201. If she had, she would have been in the running for rmore than 1,000 or so National Merit scholarships for National Merit Commended students, plus a few from individual colleges such as St. Olaf.</p>
<p>However, if she scores at the 95th percentile or higher on the SAT, there are some colleges that give merit aid for such SAT scores. There also are some colleges and states (FL is one) that give merit aid to in-state students for even lower SAT scores .</p>
<p>i am a 93 percentile is that enough for National Hispanic Scholar?</p>
<p>depends on state</p>
<p>My S was at 97% PSAT so he did not qualify for anything but he did get some letters from schools which would not have been on his radar otherwise. In his case it worked out well because of this.</p>
<p>psat scores can also help with certain scholarships, besides national merit. i can't think of which ones right now, but i do remember two or three of them asking for my psat scores.</p>