<p>I'm a junior and registered to take the ACT on October 16. However I also want to take the PSAT, which is being offered through my district only on the same day, October 16. Am I missing out on the PSAT, should I even be taking the ACT in October as a junior?</p>
<p>Unless you expect or really, really want to get National Merit commended/semi-finalist/finalist, you’re better off taking the ACT. You’ve already registered and paid anyway!</p>
<p>My view is exactly the opposite. There is only one time when you can take the PSAT as the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship, and that is the offering in your JR year. There are lots of other times to take the ACT.</p>
<p>Now if the recognition, admissions bump, and potentially HUGE money that a National Merit designation brings with it are meaningless to you, skip it. Otherwise, get your game face on and go make that test your biotch.</p>
<p>Im guessing you’d have to score pretty high to get the merit award? probably not something Im capable of, I’m predicting around 26-30 on the ACT this october…</p>
<p>26-30 is a pretty big range. Have you taken any practice tests? And yeah, you’d have to score pretty high to get National Merit scholar.</p>
<p>If you aren’t getting near or above 2100 on the PSAT then its really not worth it at all.</p>
<p>These were the cut off scores for semi-finalist for last year (Class of 2010):</p>
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<p>[National</a> Merit Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html]National”>http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html)</p>
<p>Unless you’re scoring around or higher than your state’s cut off score, there’s no point in taking the PSAT.</p>