Hey all,
I looked at my PSAT score report, but I earned a 1440. So, it looks like I won’t be making National Merit Semifinalist or Finalist but I can still make Commended in Texas. Though, making Semifinalist and Finalist was my goal in this process. I feel so depressed that my hard work had gone to waste. How much does national merit actually matter for MIT and the Ivies?
MIT and Ivies? Little to none.
Main appeal for my kid is having some schools she could attend free as a backup plan if swim scholarships and merit scholarships don’t pan out. Will just take some pressure off the situation. But for MIT and Ivies it wouldn’t mean money anyway. So just try to improve for actual SAT.
Don’t get too hung up on the PSAT score. What really matters in admissions are your SAT/ACT scores, not the PSAT scores. Sure you can become a semifinalist or finalist, but that badge is used to get scholarships for other colleges that wouldn’t interest you anyway, if you’re aiming for ivies.
Agreed, the importance of the PSAT is 0. Work hard and try to maximize your actual SAT score.
Personally we aren’t concerned with admission, we need LARGE merit - we will not qualify for need based aid and don’t want debt. We were never planning on MIT or the like because they don’t give large merit. National Merit is the easiest route for us. DS is on the bubble in TX (221) so we still have hope but DS scored so much higher on last year’s PSAT tests (SI 224) and the new SAT in this OCT (1590), I truly understand the disappointment.
221 should be above the cut off. 220 last year.
I got a 160/240 on my PSAT four years ago…ended up getting a 2240/2400 on the real thing. Don’t take too much stock in it.