<p>Freshman year's almost over, BTW...
At the beginning of freshman year, my parents started me on PSAT prep classes at this really intense saturday school. The school had me take a diagnostics test when I first enrolled, and I scored 1658. After lots of classes, I took a mock SAT exam in December of last year and scored 1910. My mom now wants me to take the PSAT this year, and study like a maniac over the summer so I can take the real SAT during my sophmore year and get it over with. My counselor at the prep school thinks I can score at least a 2300, and my mom's eager to get it over with, but I'm not so sure.
What're my chances of not completely bombing this?</p>
<p>what is making you uncertain?</p>
<p>The whole ‘you have to jump 400 points in less than half a year’ deal. All my friends who are juniors and seniors say that after a certain point, their scores won’t go any higher. I’m afraid my mom’s got her head in the clouds and dreaming the impossible.</p>
<p>What’s the hurry? What can you gain by having SAT done one year early? You are going to have to take PSAT for real Junior year anyway, why not study next summer and aim for a peak performance for Junior year?</p>
<p>Azum, I completely agree with you. You should quit trying. After, while quitters never win, losers only sometimes quit. And not all quitters are losers, some tie.</p>
<p>Lol. Taking your SATs a year early is ridiculous. Honestly, there’s nothing to gain by it, and you lose the experience, as cliche as that is. Chances are you’ll end up re-taking junior year, the only difference is that you will have wasted a summer prepping. There are much better things you could be doing this summer. I would suggest learning to play the bagpipes.</p>
<p>you’re still a freshman, so even if you decide to go to college
a year early, you still have plenty of time to take it. </p>
<p>besides, you’ll probably want to retake it junior year as sirensong
suggested–unless, of course, you do ridiculously well (2300+)</p>
<p>anyhow, unless you expect to do worse as a junior than as a sophomore,
just slow the test-taking life down a step.</p>
<p>Let me just state this bluntly. Many people believe they can get above 2300, but from looking at the statistics, it looks very improbable.</p>
<p>But, the good news is this is possible with the right training. I am not talking about prep courses because they are just BSing you for money. Trust me, my parents spent nearly 1.2k on this SAT prep course which wasn’t any help at all. The best way to improve your scores is not through others regurgitating memorized things to you, but through self studying. Through studying by yourself, you will learn your own techniques which you can then utilize and refine. </p>
<p>Hope that helps</p>
<p>BTW, getting 1900 isn’t really following the path of people who end up getting 2300’s their junior year. It’s more common to have at least broken 2000-2100 by Frosh or Soph year, and then reaching 2200-2300 in your Junior year, than to skip up 400 points. So yes, I think your mom’s head is in the clouds.</p>
<p>nothing’s impossible, i know 2 people in my school with a 2400 and 2390, and both i must admit are smart, but not valedictorians. once ur in the 2200+ range, the SAT is sort of luck…(how fast u finish, the type of questions u get, if God is with u that day lol, the curve, etc.) </p>
<p>You’re so young!! do something else over the summer, volunteer, join a band, play some football, run xc, go to a camp, just chill, watever man. those things (maybe not chillin lol, but volunteering/getting a job) look better on a college app than doing nothing all summer and just studying, when chances are, you’ll probably end up getting the same grade your junior year.</p>
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<p>You mean your mom wants you to take the PSAT as a sophomore, yes? It’s not something you can take at any time – it’s given at school in October. There’s no downside to taking the PSAT as a sophomore; I think it’s smart to take it then (and of course again in your junior year).</p>
<p>So do. After you take it, you’ll have a better idea as to whether you need to prep for the SAT and whether you might want to take it as a sophomore. No need to decide now.</p>
<p>Look, you’re only a freshman. Back off on the SAT studying and focus on your studies at this point. They always will be more important, and especially now when you’re still so young.</p>
<p>Of course, the SATs are very important, but you’ll have plenty of time later to start an aggressive study plan :D</p>
<p>i have to agree that SAT is all about luck. i scored a 800 on CR and the SAT report card CollegeBoard sent me says that I will most likely lose 60 points the second time I take it.</p>
<p>Dude, no. This is ridiculous. You’re a freshman, enjoy it while you can.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that only the PSAT test scores as a Junior count toward National Merit standings. Your Sophomore scores will not count.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Unless you skip senior (or junior and senior) year. </p>
<p>If a kid accelerates – graduates or leaves high school early – a sophomore PSAT score can be used for the National Merit competition. Heck, if you know early enough, I think even a freshman score can be used.</p>
<p>S took the PSAT as a freshman and as a sophomore; he’s finishing his sophomore year now. He’s dropping out of high school after this year to go to college full-time in the fall. His sophomore score has been activated (as the NM folks say) for the NM competition, and unless the scores in our state jump up by four points, he should be named a NMSF in the fall. </p>
<p>I had to write to the NM folks to ask that his score be activated. Had I known last year that he’d be going to college next year, his freshman score (which was 8 points higher than his sophomore score!) could have been activated for this year’s competition (meaning he’d have been notified last August of his NMSF status). </p>
<p>Thank goodness for CC; it was a poster here (tokenadult, IIRC) who alerted me to this possibility, and I’m very grateful!</p>