<p>So I'm getting ready to start my junior year and I still haven't been able to bring my PSAT score up to the National Merit Qualifying Score which is 209 in Louisiana. The test is October 15th. Can I just take practice SAT tests everyday? I really don't know what I'm going to do. Last time I took the test I made a 169 which is the equivalent of a 24 on the ACT but last time I took the ACT I made a 28 which is the equivalent of 186. 209 is the equivalent of a 31 or 32. Please help!</p>
<p>I’m not sure what you want us to do. Not everyone has what it takes to get a NMSF qualifying score. The fact that you want to try is admirable, but if it is beyond your capabilities, then it is what it is. If everyone could just practice their way thru, then everyone would score much higher and make NMSF (of course, then the cutoffs would rise…lol)</p>
<p>99% of the kids in America don’t make NMSF and go on to have happy & productive lives.</p>
<p>You have to be quick and precise on the PSAT. I think that these tests require a lot of inherent ability, speed, accuracy and familiarity with the subject matter. My son was awarded as a NM Finalist and won a NM corporate award. </p>
<p>Every day he studied his vocab cards (~10K). I think it helped.</p>
<p>NMF money is not that much money-$2500 per year. But if you do qualify as a finalist, some schools offer significant money. The public universities typically can’t offer lots of money but the privates can. </p>
<p>What is your breakdown of your scores? It is considered easier to raise a math score than a CR scores (lots of high CR scorers are lifetime readers, can’t replicate that in a few months). You can learn some patterns for CR, and study vocab. But studying vocab is hard because there are so many possibilities to learn.</p>
<p>When you are studying, make sure if you miss a question you understand why. Get someone to help you if needed (parent, teacher, older student or friend who is a good test taker). Make a flash card for the ones you missed, and study them. A good book for math prep is the Gruber’s math book (don’t recall which one my kid used, I think there are a couple).</p>
<p>NMF is a LOT of money at a few schools (U of Alabama, U of Oklahoma). For kids with no money for college, it can be a great thing. But many other schools don’t give so much.</p>