<p>My daughter scored a 191 on the PSAT and six months later took the SAT and scored a 2032. She really wants to qualify as a National Merit Finalist next year when she takes the PSAT again. For our state, that is around a 217.</p>
<p>Is that doable? If she studies for the SAT over the summer, will that help? </p>
<p>Has anyone had a similar score your sophomore year and reached 217 or better the next year on the PSAT? Please share any tips or advice.</p>
<p>Mae</p>
<p>Your daughter’s PSATs should naturally rise as she matures. Even though I didn’t study at all for the PSAT, sophomore year I got a 207, while junior year I got a 228. It never hurts to study, but don’t overstress about the PSAT. I definitely didn’t expect such a high score, and I didn’t perceive a difference in the difficulty either. The higher score was really just due to how much I learned over the course of a year and how my brain matured.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, and don’t make her study too much over the summer–your daughter sounds pretty ambitious so I’m sure her junior year summer will be packed with summer programs and college applications. Let her enjoy her last summer of freedom before junior year!</p>
<p>The NMF goal is her own and she will likely study on her own. I am encouraging her to do some fun things this summer but I suspect she will study the SAT regardless. I was just asking how realistic her goal was. </p>
<p>Mae</p>
<p>Minniemae, </p>
<p>I am in the same situation with my D. She scored a 192 freshman and sophomore year; although the same overall selection index both times, her CR greatly improved the second time with a little prep, but writing dropped. Our state’s cutoff was most recently 210, up from 207 the previous year.</p>
<p>My D wants to go to school OOS and I’ve told her that PSAT=NMSF/F is her golden ticket. She’s involved in her school’s dance team and theatre department and has commitments with them throughout most of the summer. So I’ve told her that instead of squeezing in a part-time job this summer, that her “job” will be serious SAT prep like daily practice tests from the Blue Book and checking her answers online. (I reason that she can potentially earn WAY more money through scholarship offers than with a $5/hour summer job…she can do that NEXT summer. PSAT junior year is a ONE TIME shot!)</p>
<p>Just read all thru the SAT prep threads – there are many – and check out the differences between PSAT/SAT.</p>
<p>And I’m telling my D: even if she misses the cutoff and doesn’t make NMSF for some reason, she will still be in a position to get a higher score on the SAT next time they take it! I’m even thinking of registering her for the SAT scheduled right after PSAT while she is most prepared…</p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>
<p>My DS2012 went from a tenth grade 177 to an eleventh grade 209 which may make the cut-off in our state. He put in a moderate amount of preparation. Had it been more intense I think he could have made in the 220’s, but, like your daughter, he had a lot else going on in the summer.</p>
<p>His starting place was Silverturtle’s Guide on <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-sat-admissions-success.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/955109-silverturtles-guide-sat-admissions-success.html</a> which I think is an excellent place to start. </p>
<p>The other three strategies that I think were quite effective were the SAT Question of the Day, the two “Direct Hits” books and taking practice tests. I ordered five old tests from the College Board. They were very helpful to him, not so much as predictors, but as a way to get very comfortable with the format, sequence and timing. </p>
<p>I think it is very doable! Good luck!</p>
<p>Definitely doable. I went from a 189 freshman year to a 218 sophomore year with minimal studying. Just taking high school classes and doing well in school does wonders for PSAT and SAT scores.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, how did your daughter score a 2032? Is that the essay score added onto the CR+M+W scores?</p>
<p>how the hell do you get 2032?</p>
<p>^lmao good question. also, how do you find out your state’s qualifications for the PSAt/NMF? D:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/986427-cut-off-scores-semi-finalist-announcements-44.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/986427-cut-off-scores-semi-finalist-announcements-44.html</a></p>
<p>There is a separate forum here in cc called ‘national merit scholarships’ where you will find a wealth of info, including a thread every year for that current year’s cut off scores for NM semi-finalists. The above is for the class of 2011; cutoff scores for class of 2012 will be revealed in the fall once semi-finalists are announced. CC usually has a thread with the cut off scores for each state that readers submit after getting info from their Guidance Counselor (GC).</p>
<p>You take the test in fall of junior year, and you would have a good idea if you made the SF cutoff for your state based on the previous class’ cutoff. But you are not officially notified that you made SF until early fall of senior year. Here is a timetable from NM:</p>
<p><a href=“http://nationalmerit.org/steps_nmsp.pdf[/url]”>http://nationalmerit.org/steps_nmsp.pdf</a></p>
<p>Each state has a different cutoff score. For the class of 2011 (test taken 10/09 and most recent cut off scores released) LA (my state) was 210, up from 206 in 2008, while NY was a 217 for 2011 and 219 for class of 2008! Most states cut off scores vary a few points up or down from year to year. I have compiled them all into a spreadsheet going back to 2008. What state are you interested in? You can google “national merit cutoff scores” and should be able to find the numbers in addition to last year’s from the cc link above…</p>
<p>Good luck everyone…CC has a lot of great info. Thanks to all who contribute!!</p>