<p>I'm looking to see if anyone has any insight into National Merit for the Class of 2017 (i.e. current sophomores). A few weeks ago, my daughter's school had a representative from College Board come talk to the students and parents about the newly revised SAT, which will go into effect in spring of 2016. There are fairly significant changes to the SAT. Unfortunately, the very first time the new format will be used is on the PSAT to be administered in Fall 2015. There will be very little practice material available before the class of 2017 takes this test as College Board plans to release a single sample test March 2015. CB is teaming with a single review company, Khan Academy, to provide study materials (in and of itself, this "partnership" seems totally fishy to me, but that's another subject).</p>
<p>One of the new changes to the SAT is that the Critical Reading and Writing sections are now combined into a single section and the scoring is reverting back to the 1600 scale. New to the PSAT, the scoring will reflect the same scale as the SAT (i.e. 1600). However, the College Board rep had no idea how any of this affects National Merit as "that's a different organization." Obviously, the historical scores are thrown out the window. I remember that NM used to double the English section score and add the math score to get a final score that was used to determine the NM cutoffs, but who knows what they'll do now. And, of course, the CB rep had no clue as to what may happen with NM.</p>
<p>Personally, I think the PSAT in the junior year is a much, much, much more important test than the SAT. There is so much more at stake. It is one shot to score high enough to be eligible for automatic scholarships that, for many, could be the key to going to college. With the SAT, a kid can take it as many times as needed and if they do poorly on one part, no big deal, they can superscore with another sitting or take the ACT. Also, the old version of the SAT will still be given through March 2016, long after the class of 2017 sits for their "official" PSAT. I find it outrageous that CB has chosen next fall's PSAT to debut the new format and NM has not said how it will be scored. The idea that the PSAT is "practice" for the SAT is nonsense with so much to gain.</p>
<p>My daughter is a sophomore and is an excellent student. She was very near last year's state cutoff with this year's PSAT score. Her older brother (class of 2014) did not have anywhere near her grades but was an NMF. He is currently able to attend an excellent school due mainly to an automatic NMF scholarship. It will be such a shame if my daughter does not get the same opportunity because CB decided to turn the Class of 2017 into guinea pigs for their new SAT.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>Have you contacted NMSC to ask about the cutoff scores? I don’t know if they would tell you how it works, but they might give you some tips. </p>
<p>I don’t know what to think about the new test except that I’m glad I got through before it changed. I am a NMSF, and though I don’t like the PSAT/SAT tests, I am grateful for NMSC’s scholarship program because I, too, will be attending college on an automatic NMF or NMSF scholarship. </p>
<p>One thing you can hope is that since it is a new test, no one will be well prepared, so one might not have to do that well to make NMSF. With the current PSAT system, they do give each student a booklet that includes a practice test prior to the test day, so maybe they will. I honestly think that they are going to dumb down the test if the experimental section I got on the Nov. SAT was any indication of the new PSAT/SAT. Really, good reading ability and grammar skills will probably still go a long way on the writing/reading section. I don’t know what to say about the math - don’t know how they’re going to change that. </p>
<p>Best wishes for your daughter on fielding the new test and on making it to NMSF/NMF!</p>
<p>I’m sure it feels frustrating, but I think you have to view this as an “everyone’s in the same boat” situation. If your daughter is good enough to nearly qualify in your state for NMSF as a sophomore, she should be close with the new test too. I doubt that it will change so dramatically that it will qualify a different class of students. The math and critical reading sections will likely be similar to today. Remember too, The PSAT is really only a rough approximation. My kids had much different SAT scores than reflected by the PSAT, and the elite colleges really don’t care about NMSF. </p>
<p>Yes, @spayurpets, but many non-elite colleges care greatly about NMSF/NMF and give great merit aid, so it is a way for good students to get great scholarships. </p>
<p>@18yrcollegemin, My son is a sophomore and my daughter is a freshman. They both took the PSAT this year without any real study and made a 194 and 190. Since my state’s cutoff tends to run in the 203-207 range, I feel that with some study they both have a really good chance. And like you, I’m frustrated by the changes. I will say that almost certainly the PSAT will go back to counting the verbal section twice and the math section once to derive the selection score. This is to keep 80 percent of the NM Finalists from being male.</p>
<p>All I can say is be prepared. I recently purchased a book that I think I saw mentioned on this site called “The Insider’s Essential Guide to SAT Critical Reading and Vocabulary.” It’s a heck of a book; I hope I can get my kids to read it. Even though the PSAT vocabulary is supposedly reduced, I intend to try to get my kids to learn as much as possible. Based on what I have read, I think it would be wise to especially hone up on words relating to academics, i.e. metaphor vs. simile, anecdote vs. vignette. These types of words, and the subtlety of their usage, is what the new test is supposed to be made up of.</p>
<p>The new SAT is supposed to have lots of basic algebra and geometry. A lot of kids who are in advanced math will nevertheless have forgotten some of these skills, particularly geometry. So it’s important to go back and review this very carefully.</p>
<p>The College Board is supposed to release its practice test in March. Kahn Academy is supposed to have its study material available I think sometime in January. As soon as this material becomes available, other vendors will start creating additional material as well as strategies for mastering the test. So study material will be available.</p>
<p>Most kids will spend no time preparing for the PSAT. Even talented kids will spend only a few hours. If I can get my children to spend 80 hours preparing for the test, they will be far more prepared than most, even it they don’t know exactly what the test will be like.</p>
What I was trying to say is that the College Board is not going to issue such a radically different exam that students who would have been NMS one year suddenly won’t be the next year. Parents hate the uncertainty, but there is some science behind what the College Board does, so if your D did well enough on the test as a sophomore you have to be confident that she will be in the ball park on the new test. It’s certainly in the College Board’s interests to not have a wide divergence, and I’m sure they will back-test this six ways to Sunday to ensure a valid result.
I still find it kind of frustrating that I have to study for an SAT, and then study for a different PSAT
I’m honestly not preparing for the 2015 PSAT that will be my junior year… I’m not going to be a merit scholar, and the PSAT doesn’t really matter so im just prepping for the new SAT of March 2016.
- sorry for not mentioning this in my previous post but can't you only get around $2,500 in scholarships from being a scholar? Does that really make that make much of a difference? So you really study your butt off to get a small amount in scholarship money then you would have a limited time (well 6 months isnt really limited i suppose) to study for the new SAT?
Doesen’t sound very appealing to me.
@schmonstar Depends on the school you are looking at. There are many good but less-selective schools that offer far more than $2500 in scholarship packages for National Merit Finalists. These packages range from a full-ride to full tuition to a significant portion of tuition. It is not necessarily a small amount in scholarship money.
Any recipient of a college-sponsored, corporate-sponsored, or NMSC $2500 scholarship is a National Merit Scholar.
@STEMFamily Oh I wasn’t aware of that. That’s interesting
@schmonstar Just to give you an idea of how large these scholarships can be, both Alabama and Oklahoma offer National Merit Finalists almost-free rides for 10 semesters. The typical NMF is going to come to college with anywhere from 45-60 hours. So the full-ride will allow them to finish out their undergraduate work and then have six semesters of post-graduate work, such as law school or med school, for almost free.
Under the right circumstances these packages can be worth almost a quarter of a million dollars.
@schmonstar The Alabama and Oklahoma scholarships are probably the most well known, and they pay for a great deal (except for housing the last 4 years, and only half of housing the first year.) Northeastern pops up on here as giving a decent scholarship, though not full-ride and more competitive. Wichita State University gives a 4-year full ride for NMF. There are many state universities that give money for NMF.
@albert69 @EarlVanDorn Wow i didn’t know that. I saw posts on here that they were just bragging rights on your application, but obviously not… What about competitive schools i’m guessing they don’t give you much and it just helps you get in?
Oh, is the 2015 PSAT vocab the same for the new SAT? Is the vocab the old, hard vocab or is it the new “in context”? And is it out of 240 or 180?
I would try to be a merit scholar, but i don’t know if the PSAT is different then I take time for that and don’t even do that good, then haven’t i wasted time that I could’ve been using for the real SAT?
@schmonstar At top schools, like Ivies or top 20, NMF status doesn’t help you much because almost all the students getting in have amazing scores anyway, and there isn’t any specific scholarship money. However, NMF schools, which are usually state unis, can make great safety schools, as many of their scholarships are automatic with admission to the school and NMF status.
Oh. okay thanks @albert69
WAIT…Can someone tell me if I am wrong…
My Kaplan 2015 PSAT book i think is wrong. It has all of the old PSAT specifics like penalty for wrong answers while the new PSAT doesn’t have a penalty for wrong answers (as stated here on the CB website http://i.imgur.com/Ou5FoN9.png)
So I think my Kaplan book is wrong, I think it was made before the new changes from the CB were released. which I am very upset about because i spent a decent amount of time practicing from it for nothing now???
@Schmonstar I am a NMSF for the HS class of 2015. Alabama and Oklahoma have really great deals, and I’m touring them both. They both provide room and board for only freshman year, but they also have some miscellaneous $2000 allowances that you can apply to housing/travel/textbooks. And University of Central Florida has an even better deal for NMF that is very close to a full ride for all four years. But if you’re looking for a more competitive school, Fordham University is one of the more expensive schools in NY and they’ll give NMSF full tuition. Plus they have a really great honors program within the college. They only take like 40 kids into the program a year, but NMFs have good chances.
@EarlVanDorn OU’s National Merit waives tuition for summers too so it’s actually more than 10 semesters.
