I’m a rising junior who really wants to advance to being a National Merit Semi-Finalist. My sophomore PSAT score is 1270 (640 for EBRW & 630 for math). My sophomore attempt would get me 191 on the NMSC Selection Index. I’d need an additional 100 points on each category for me to be safe as a Semi-Finalist. Does anyone have great tips or information that would help me succeed?
I’m not sure how realistic it is to hope for that large an increase, unless you were under the weather on the test date your sophomore year.
Rather than laser-focusing on the PSAT prep, why not use the tool on the PSAT website that shows what aspects of the test were your weaknesses, and work on them in a more general, rather than test-oriented, way?
Thanks for your advice! I’ll definitely start working on that. Also, I know it’s not totally realistic for one to work towards a 200 point boost, but I’m going to try hard for the prestige!
You cuold use Khan Academy to help you study
Yes, Khan can upload your PSAT results and provide focused study materials to work on your weaker areas. 200 isn’t unheard of but it is a quite aggressive goal.
I think it’s easier to get a bigger boost in math, assuming you have another year of high school math under your belt, especially if you have reviewed other weak spots.
So I’ll definitely find my weak spots and use Khan Academy to help. I also have taken Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, and Pre-Calc, so I believe I should have a small, natural boost in math (because I wasn’t finished with Pre-Calc when I took PSAT 10.