<p>I think my scores are a bit odd as they are "flat", as in all the sections were basically the same level of proficiency, I guess. Should I just prep for all of them?</p>
<p>I've been hearing about the national merit semifinalist program since middle school and I desperately want to be in it! I know I can make commended pretty easily (it's just 200, correct?), but in order to get semifinalist in TX I need to make a 215-218, I think?...</p>
<p>I took this year's PSAT with pretty much no preparation and omitted atleast 1-2 on each section (except writing skills) and I didn't read the passages for the critical reading section at all. Unfortunately, I missed some VERY easy questions as the stress is too much to handle at points, even though I'm a pretty good test taker. I'm a non-native english speaker, but still more than proficient and I'm pretty good at math. (like basic geometry and algebra tested on PSAT and SAT)</p>
<p>I guess my questions to all you CC posters are these: Is it even possible to boost my score that much in order to get semifinalist next year? What exactly should I do to prep for next year (please in detail if possible) ? Were the strategies I used this time completely wrong? As in, should I have read all the passages extremely quickly and then not omitted any questions at all? Any other tips?</p>
<p>My S went from 191 Sophmore year to 210 Junior year with out doing any prep (other than the practice exam that came with the registration materials the night before he took the test). It is good to see that you are equally strong in all areas of the exam. There are PSAT review books available. Or you could just do SAT review ~ that way you can kill 2 birds with one stone. A 24 point jump from Sophmore to Junior year is definitely within reach with a little bit of studying. Good luck!</p>
<p>I agree; you naturally perform better with a year’s gain of experience. One of my friend increased her score by 11 points with no studying. Another went from somewhere in the 170s to a 202 with no preparation (she did pick up debate, though). </p>
<p>I went from a 200 to a 231. In hindsight, I don’t really know what I did that helped me drastically. I took several practice tests, actually they are real tests from past years that I found online. So it’s definitely doable. </p>
<p>I know all of the techniques on scoring high are vague (" oh you just practice from the blue book", “memorize vocab!”, “read ny times” etc.); I was in the same boat last year- browsing cc in hope of finding some hidden formula to at least a 220. So i don’t really know; it just happens.</p>
<p>You’ll find your own strategy after doing some practice.</p>
<p>My son went from 187 to 206. He did do some practice tests. He had more lopsided scores - over 700 in CR both times. It was the math that went up the most - he just hadn’t had everything on the test as a sophomore. For CR you might want to work on reading faster and developing your vocabulary, not by doing practice tests, but by reading more. Sci fi and fantasy are what my kids mostly read (older son had 800s in CR twice, even though he’s really a math guy). They also read magazine - things like The New Yorker, Scientific American or The Atlantic are all good depending on what your interests are. Check out xiggis test practicing tips as well. It’s one of the sticky threads at the top of the main SAT page here.</p>
<p>If you plan on taking the SAT later, you might as well prep for the SAT and get both of them over with. You might get a good enough score to qualify for NMSF and never have to take the SAT again! </p>
<p>Practice tests. Practice tests. and even mooore practice tests. ANd if you have one weak area (doesnt really look like you do ) then review some basic concepts/rules/skills in that section. But otherwise, practice tests are the key to getting the score you want.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great tips! I’m getting that dang Blue Book ASAP. Quick question, though: Should I be reading all of the passages on the reading comprehension section? I didn’t read them this time. What are your tips on omitting questions? Should I omit or is omitting always a bad idea?</p>
<p>depends on your target score. You should try to keep omits to a minimum, especially when trying to get above a 750. Its okay to omit around 2 for a whole test, but try not to do so unless you have no idea what the answer is. Even if you have a vague idea as to what the answer could be, guess smartly. Chances are, your losses will be canceled out by your gains.</p>
<p>I also got a 194 when I was a somphmore. What sucks is that I was really sick during my junior PSATs, got like only 2 hours of sleep and got a 188. But that only happened to me. Everyone else I know goes up.</p>
<p>unfortunately, I think its going to be extremely difficult going up from my soph year to my junior year. I only got a 58 CR, meaning I would have to improve tremendously in order to get National Merit, or at least a perfect Writing score. Seeing as how I got 3 wrong (all obvious errors in med level questions), that isn’t too improbable, but counting on 2 80s while scoring about a 62 in CR is not a wise idea. As I am right now, I need to improve only Reading, by far the hardest to improve.</p>
<p>You guys can totally improve your score with practice. I sucked at the CR/W portion until this summer when i did all of the practice tests out of the BB and some review.</p>
<p>and println–you should definitely read the passages if you want that 215+. The practice tests will help you manage your time so you can get through all of the passages.</p>
<p>I got a 65 CR PSAT and 590 SAT soph year…brought it up to a 710 CR just doing practice tests (I plan on learning more vocab this summer to hopefully get it up to 750!)
And for W…went from 53 PSAT 580 SAT soph year to 790 junior yr SAT (havent gotten junior PSAT scores back)</p>
<p>So doing practice tests under TIMED conditions like once a week or something during the summer? like on a Saturday? really really helps.</p>
<p>You should also be able to get your math score up by reviewing Algebra II/Geometry skills and being REALLY careful…and check over your work like a bazillion times. Your scores are quite good already.</p>
) then review some basic concepts/rules/skills in that section. But otherwise, practice tests are the key to getting the score you want.</p>