<p>D is a HS junior. She took the PSAT Freshman and Sophomore years and a practice SAT this summer. Pigs, cows and horses will fly before this child becomes a NMSF or is even Commended. The school requires the PSAT for Sophomores but not for juniors. I am thinking of letting her skip it and take an aptitude test that the school gives on the same day (typically for Seniors.)</p>
<p>Is there any way for a college to which she has applied to know that she didn't take the PSAT junior year?</p>
<p>I think the only way they see it is if it shows up on the hs transcript. Ime, very few hs include it there. You can ask. I don’t think most colleges care so much about that score, even if it does appear. And, I think you know, there’s a sweet bunch of colleges that don’t need the SAT/ACT scores for admissions. Good luck.</p>
<p>No - they will not know. The SAT score report you send to colleges only shows the SAT scores from the sittings you choose to send if she takes it more than once - not the PSAT. I agree with your thinking - I did not have my son take the PSAT junior year either - he was better suited to the ACT and there was no way he would reach the commended student cutoff - so it would have been pointless. He slept in that morning! Have her try the ACT also.</p>
<p>She is definitely taking the ACT instead of the SAT. And I’m not saying she scores so low that she will need to find a test optional college. It’s just that if you are positive that you won’t even be Commended, and don’t need to take the PSAT as “practice”, why do it?</p>
<p>[Note: she’s the third of three kids…I certainly followed the herd with the first kid, less so with kid #2, even less so now.]</p>
<p>Happykid never took the PSAT - even as a “practice”. When she took her first standardized exam in elementary school it was obvious that she’d never be NMSQT material. She slept late, and then we went out to brunch.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about it at all. Wildchild didn’t take PSAT as a junior and it was never noticed anywhere. Soph year he entered the room, signed his name and walked out. I didn’t know this until I was yelling at the College Board or whatever it is that runs the test when we didn’t get the score! I was very pleased, as you can imagine.</p>
<p>Nowhere has it said that students are required to have PSAT scores, so I don’t think it really matters if you are not hoping for NMF or wanting her to have a practice run.</p>
<p>All the PSAT does it put some kids on some schools radar and possible scholarship opportunities. Otherwise schools don’t care.</p>
<p>Missy – My DS was sick the day of the PSAT. And I don’t mean “Mom, I have a headache,” I mean throwing up all night sick. No way was he going to school. So I emailed his counselor and the principal for his grade and his teachers and explained that he would be absent, and we’d arrange for him to make it up. That’s when I found out you can’t make up the PSAT. At least not at his same school. If there was some other area high school that had it scheduled after your date, you could arrange to go to that school and take it . . . which is a giant pain. And no, he wasn’t going to be a National Merit anything either! And none of the colleges that he applied to ever said anything about it. I think you are safe.</p>
<p>Our school system has the kids take the PSAT 9th,10th and 11th grade. S2 (not a scholarly boy) took it in 9th and 10th grades. In the 11th grade, he and some of his close associates decided taking PSAT three times was overkill. They spent the morning at Waffle House instead. </p>
<p>S2 graduated from college this year…no PSAT junior year didn’t hurt him.</p>
<p>It sounds as if D will be in very good company of non-PSAT takers! It took me quite a while to realize that the PSAT is basically a scholarship contest…and what a fabulous prize…if a student can manage a great score on one test taken on one morning, he can earn a free ride to lots of schools! Certainly worth the effort if you’re in the ballpark for NMSF and you would be willing to attend one of the schools that give out the big money. But as for everyone else…</p>
<p>Back in the day, when we took the PSAT, it really was our only practice for the SAT since none of us took review courses, practice tests, etc.</p>
<p>The PSAT makes you get college junk mail! I think another upside is you will avoid a lot of junk mail if she doesn’t take it! :-)</p>
<p>100 years ago when I was applying to colleges, some schools would base admissions on the PSAT score (and GPA, etc.) and you didn’t need to take the ACT or SAT. Now, the only reason to take the PSAT is for national merit money. Colleges don’t look at that otherwise. I wouldn’t worry about it.</p>
<p>Absolutely no need to take PSAT</p>
<p>Re: the post about a child sick on PSAT day. The GC is then supposed to contact NMCorp, and then NMCorp will allow a SAT score to be used instead. I’m not sure if the SAT test is one that is taken in Dec or what, but a SAT score is used instead.</p>
<p>It’s a very inexpensive diagnostic tool for the high school and for the student, more so if you took it in 9th and 10th grades (you can see progress or lack of). It helps put grades in context too. If that doesn’t matter, colleges don’t really care whether you took it or not.</p>