I feel like I got short changed on the October 2015 PSAT. I got 38 writing, 37.5 math, and 33 reading. I don’t think that score is because of personal ineptness, as I got an 800 CR on my most recent SAT. Rather, it’s because of my proctor, who waited 5 minutes until after the rest of the school had started the reading section before allowing her class to start. I asked her to allow us an extra 5 minutes after the test ended since we get a 10 minute break after each section, so she wouldn’t fall behind the school’s schedule further. She responded, “Why does it even matter? It’s just a practice test!” and promptly walked off. This is a public school where the officials aren’t really in the game; before the PSAT, an official was sent to all the classes to inform them that the PSAT was based on the old SAT and still included vocab sections.
Anyways, I started rushing towards the end of the reading to finish everything on time. I got 30 of my first 33 questions correct, but missed half of the remaining 14 questions. A lot of the class continued finishing questions after the time limit had ended and break had officially started, but I didn’t want to cheat my way to a high score. If I’d gotten one more question, I would have a 219 index, but instead, I only have a 217. It’s really painful to realize that NMS isn’t likely (California cutoff is brutal) and I won’t be able to afford USC without yearly $23,000 grants. I realize life isn’t fair, and sometimes you just have to suck it up, but it’s hard for me to shake this one off. I’d really appreciate any perspective on how to treat this situation mentally. Thanks.
I don’t have too much sympathy. You sound pretty pretentious, and if everyone else was answering after your break started, you could’ve done the same. And I’m not sure that qualifying for NMS isn’t going to be the sole reason you get your yearly $23,000 scholarships. Besides, New Jersey’s is an even worse cutoff
@cbow17 I’m generally not a pretentious guy, and I apologize if I came off that way. I’m just bummed I couldn’t pull through for my parents and save them some money. This score is more than an ego boost to me.
There’s nothing you can do about at this point. Take pride in the fact that you behaved honorably and properly. You will encounter other people like this proctor in life. Was this the “real” PSAT or a practice PSAT? I find her comment very strange, unless she was insinuating that only the SAT matters. You just have to let it go. Water off a duck’s back.
Sorry I didn’t mean to come off that way. It just kind of seemed unnecessary because your score is still very good. I don’t know too much about the National Merit Scholarship but I’m fairly sure that it won’t be the end of the world. I wouldn’t worry about it.
When stuff like this happens and money is potentially involved (as you are saying) and really, just to keep the test accurate for the next time, you need to notify the officials as soon as it occurs. Putting the head proctor or whoever on notice during the break or right afterward if notification wouldn’t be possible beforehand, following up with them and with College Board, filing the appropriate report, etc. is the right thing to do. It’s not sour grapes, it’s just showing responsibility. After all, this is a national competition, even if your school is ignorant of that - and they are on the hook for proctoring responsibly. You might still say something just for the sake of educating that dumb teacher/counselor.
My daughter’s proctor was surprised to learn - during the exam, no less! - that the test was 1/2 hour longer than in previous years. She had told everyone when they’d be through (based on the old test) and when that time passed students started to complain to her and she was very confused about the whole thing, apparently. For the kids who were properly prepared this just drove them nuts. Fortunately my D3 didn’t think it affected her at all - but I did have a word with that teacher because seriously, do your job please!!!
In your case, please don’t stress about this too much. Sounds like your SAT score might be high enough to get you some good moola for college. Keep up the good work!
@cbow17 It is a relatively good score and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. However, when it comes to national merit scholarships, if someone doesn’t meet a certain threshold, the entire score is absolutely meaningless.
Research the National Merit Scholarships. They are not a big deal relative to the cost of college. $2,500 one time. School based scholarships are not much at the top schools. Doing well is a good thing but the SAT/ACT and GPA are far more important to scholarships and admissions.
@Sportsman88 I had heard that sat is more important for admissions but PSAT score is worth more in scholarships. My sat score is solid, so that’s great news that there are sat-based scholarships out there.
@ambitionsquared How’d you do on the SAT? I still have to retake in January :/.
And were you consistently getting 800’s in CR in practice tests? How did you improve/get that score? I missed 4 on the December test, and usually my scores range from -1 to -4, but all I want is -2 for the 800 :p.
@JuicyMango I got an 800 on about half of my CR practice tests. In November, I got a 2240 single sitting (730 math/800 CR/710 Writing) and reached 2330 superscore (730 math). Honestly, a perfect CR score takes some luck. Since you’ve been so close, you’ve obviously got the skills to reach 800, and I’m certain you can do so in January. There were a few things I did differently between my october test (730) and november test (800).
Read The New York Times or The Economist. They have a lot of SAT vocab words, prepare you for dissecting an author’s argument, and speed up reading comprehension.
Come up with your answer before looking at the answer choices, and stick with it. On the October test, I reversed a lot of correct answers because of nerves.
I was very relaxed (maybe too much lol) and confident in November. In October, I was wracked by nerves about messing up, but in November, I knew what I had to do and fully believed I could pull it off.
Good luck man!
@JuicyMango You’ve already got a higher score than me lol (2250). Btw, how important is NMSQT for top 30 schools?
@Mamelot Thanks for the encouraging words and I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s experience. The reason my proctor was late in starting was that she was pitching her sewing class to us and trying to find new recruits lol. I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble (or get on my school’s blacklist), so I decided not to file a report. I also wanted to move on from the fiasco, and pursuing the problem would’ve kept it in my mind longer.
I don’t think you came off as pretentious. I definitely think that it is not your fault. I think you would have been justified in filing a complaint with college board soon afterward though, but it is probably too late now. It’s really funny how your proctor couldn’t fathom why students would take a test seriously.
@Studious99 I don’t think I would file a complaint even if I had the opportunity now. Just doesn’t seem worth pursuing. I do find the proctor’s attitude funny, but probably not in that moment lol. How much is PSAT worth to top 30 colleges?