<p>My child got 209 the PSAT during the Sophomore year practice test but he didn't recieve communication from the top colleges (HYPMS), CIT, U.Penn.</p>
<p>He did recieve invitation to check out the college and ask for more information from these top colleges.</p>
<p>Columbia, Brown, WU at St Louis, Duke, Rice, Emory etc.</p>
<p>Anyone knows what score is required to get invitation from the colleges listed.</p>
<p>Those letters don't matter at all so I wouldn't reccomend worrying about it. They just want more application fees. 209 is a good score, and since you're this ind of panicky parent I assume this kid is otherwise pretty awesome as well. Esp. since they are a sophomore, this is a meaningless exam. As a junior it will matter for National Merit purposes. Right now you don't need to worry about it.</p>
<p>But I know another child who did recieve the letters from MIT and CIT as his score was 228. So I thought the letters do come based on the PSAT score.
Since the letters come with a login and password to their web database then someone must be taking pain to create these and mail out the letters.
I heard from seniors colleges showing interests based on their PSAT score during the Junior year so it may be nice to be on the colleges radar if you want to apply to those colleges.</p>
<p>it depends on a lot of factors in the student interest survey in addition to SAT score, such as major interest, geographic diversity, etc. My son scored lower than a 209 and received brochures mail from schools ranging from Northern Arizona to babson, to Carnegie Mellon to Chicago to Harvard. But, don't read anthing into their marketing maerials.</p>
<p>thats not true.</p>
<p>i got a 194 on the PSAT and was contacted by the same schools, plus Stanford, Michigan and MIT. Then a bunch of Southeast schools did too. The letters actually have nothing to do with how strong the student is. They have more to do with how likely they think it is for the student to apply to the schools. They buy the names from a list and then send mail, hoping that the students will have the same attitude you have, say, "holy crap, these people want me!!" Then you'll apply there, possibly get rejected, but either way, it makes their stats look better because they have a lower acceptance rate and more applicants. In fact, they send you letter based more on the GPA you say you have, not the score.</p>
<p>Essentially, the letters mean nothing. A few will actually be real, (i got phone call from some admissions intern at Emory asking me if I would like to take a tour, but thats only because my schools feeds 25% of the graduates there) unless they are very personal, ignore them. Don't even use them for research. They are incredibly biased.</p>
<p>matt:</p>
<p>what is not true?</p>
<p>i guess that was vauge. the PSATs in general! But i guess i was trying to say the letters just don't mean anything</p>
<p>I think it also depends on the year your child's in. Colleges will probably want to send mail to people who are searching for colleges, not ones that will start in the far future.</p>
<p>College mailings are your child's introduction to junk mail. The colleges want to whip you into a frenzy thinking that "XXX wants me!" starting as early in this admissions process as possible. The colleges aren't saying "you're qualified" -- they're saying "we want you to apply." BIG difference.</p>
<p>There are also some colleges out there who want lots of applicants so they can reject them, and thereby raise their "selectivity index." The intended Pavlovian response is supposed to be "Oh, Prestige U is so selective -- it must be a REALLY GOOD SCHOOL!"</p>
<p>DS got tons of college solicitations as a sophomore. He's getting even more this year. He checked off different boxes for interests, major, etc. on the PSAT this time around.</p>
<p>Some college work-study student is creating the database that generates PIN numbers and mail merges for solicitation lettters (and is thankful to have the job!). Don't take these mailings (or the lack thereof) personally.</p>
<p>If your student wants to check out a college, visit the school's website. Virtually all have an easy way to get you on their mailing list. Trust me.</p>
<p>ParentofIvyHope:</p>
<p>I hope that you and your son are not getting caught up in the Ivy frenzy, especially this early in the ballgame (he's only a sophomore!). There are a number of schools out there that are as good, maybe even better, than the ones you have listed. Please keep an open mind. </p>
<p>Most importantly, be sure that your son enjoys his adolescence, and that he doesn't get too stressed out over the college selection process. Too many adolescents are falling victim to eating disorders, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, etc. because of being too focused on gaining admission to top colleges. Keep things into perspective and, as a parent, remember to "stand on the sidelines" as your son goes through the process of selecting a college.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I got like a 190 or something and got mail from Harvard.</p>
<p>It means nothing.</p>
<p>CountingDown said it perfectly</p>
<p>Remember, just because you pay $60 to apply to a college doesn't mean they spend $60 worth of effort looking at it. A college has only to gain from getting under-qualified applicants to apply; it makes them look selective, too.</p>
<p>I have a stack of 50 college letters, and I got a 186 on my PSAT as a sophomore (my PLAN ACT was in the 97 percentile, though, so maybe that's why they are mailing me). I haven't opened any of them, even those from schools I want to go to. Frankly, I wish they'd stop wasting the paper.</p>
<p>RedKnight: You are absolutely correct. The Ivies do indeed want and need the "underqualified" to apply to their institutions. The more students they can deny admission to, the better they look, and the higher they rank on those foolish and meaningless rankings everyone pays so much attention to.</p>
<p>old but wise; so you are trying to say that my child is "underqualified" and should not try to apply to Ivies.
That is what I asked to begin with that what PSAT score do you need to make sure that you are qualified for Ivies.</p>
<p>ParentofIvyHope - There is no PSAT score that qualifies you for Ivies. Colleges will never see your child's PSAT score. Students who get a score of around 200 are in the top 5% of the students who take the test and are Commended for National Merit. Students whose scores fall in the top 1/2 of 1% for whatever state they live in will be named as National Merit Semi-finalists and get the opportunity to apply for National Merit. (These scores usually range from 203-222, depending on what state you live in.)</p>
<p>However, being a NM finalist doesn't qualify you for the Ivies. They turn down NM finalists all the time. For any college entrance, the colleges are going to see your SAT or ACT scores. The PSAT is supposed to be a pre-test for the SAT. You can take the score on the PSAT and multiply it by 10 to get an equivalent SAT score. In that vein, your child's equivalent SAT score would be 2090. To be a strong candidate for an Ivy League school or other top school, students should be looking at scores above 700 in each of the subsections of the SAT. The higher the scores the better. But after you reach a certain level, test scores are less important than other factors. Students with perfect scores get turned down every year. </p>
<p>Given your screen name, it is apparent that your goal for your child is to get into an Ivy. I would strongly encourage you and your child to widen your search. Look at what other schools have to offer. Your child will need to apply to other schools. There is no formula that will magically grant admission to the Ivy League and students need to have other options in case they don't get accepted. Focusing too much on one type of school is going to greatly increase the chances for big time disappointment in spring of senior year.</p>
<p>POIH~I'm sure no one is insinuating that your child is "underqualified" or discouraging him from applying to any Ivies. You definitely need to lighten up a little bit! I've been through this twice, and now am steeling myself for our last child, who is a junior. </p>
<p>You do not need a particular PSAT score to be qualified for the Ivies. Depending on what state you live in your child may be a National Merit Semi-Finalist. S2 (our junior) scored higher in the 99th Percentile on the PSAT, but we live in an area where the National Merit cutoff score is one of the highest in the country, so he will not be a semi-finalist. That doesn't mean he's not qualified for one of the Ivies (although he actually isn't interested in any of them anyway!) Being a National Merit Semi-Finalist does look good to any college, but it is not going to make or break a student's chances of getting in.</p>
<p>Also--remember--the colleges do not see what the PSAT score is. They ask the College Board to give them the student information for anyone who checked off the box that allows for that. The College Board does let them know who scored in what ranges (ie: 99th %ile, over 200, over 175, etc. They can break it down in whatever way they like) but they do not release the actual scores to the colleges. The colleges use that information to market themselves to the students. Their goal is to encourage as many applications as possible for several reasons. The application money helps them pay for all the marketing and they want a large pool from which they make their admissions decisions. They know that the more applicants, the more selective they can be. If they are more selective it is likely that their admissions numbers will get a boost, making them appear harder to get into the next time around. Harvard loves to boast about how many valedictorians they turn away! </p>
<p>Getting into the Ivies requires excellent grades, scores, superior talent in a particular area or serious connections. You could have everything, and still not get in. There are countless stories out there (and on this discussion board) of students who had x, y and z and didn't get into any of their top choices--for no reason that anyone can figure. It is a crapshoot. If your child is a junior then you need to look at his numbers, encourage him to continue to get the best grades possible, in the hardest courses he can handle, and prep for the real SAT or ACT if he hasn't taken it already. He can take those tests again if he doesn't do as well as he'd like the first time. The colleges will take the highest combined score, even if it wasn't at the same sitting.</p>
<p>Most importantly you need to listen to your child. What does he want out of college? Does he have a field of interest, a particular passion he wants to pursue? Is he interested in the Ivies, or is that what you want for him? There are some big difference in some of those schools--find out what they are! Meet with his college counselor to see whether his aspirations (and yours) are realistic. You can request information from any college in the country and they will be happy to send it to you, and give you passwords, etc. You can visit any school in the country, too. It's good for your son to see what the schools/students are like in person, if that's something you are able to do. Try to do that when they are in session. </p>
<p>You are right to be interested, but this will ultimately be your son's decision (unless there are financial restrictions you need to set, of course.), so let him take a lot of the initiative. From experience I can say that boys don't seem to be as interested in the process as girls, but they still don't want you to choose their college.</p>
<p>Good luck--it is challenging and a hassle, but it can be fun, too!</p>
<p>IrishRover: Absolutely beautiful response.</p>
<p>Irishforever: Sorry I called you IrishRover. My mistake.</p>
<p>agreed with the others that psat scores are not relevant to admissions to the Ancient Eight. But, a better question is what SAT score (or ACT equivalent) is necessary to be competitive without a hook. Ans: 700+ on all tests.</p>