Ok so Parent of a Elon here. D (junior daughter) is a Communication Fellow and it was NOT her first choice. By parents weekend she was SOLD and hasn’t looked back. I will say that ONE of the BEST things Elon has going for it it is its’ personal touch. They call it engaged learning. Every professor/ administrator wants to see these kids succeed and will assist them in any way they can. From transitions from H/S to college, to editing a cover letter for an internship and more. I have never seen a school so invested in their student body success as intimately as I have there. I could go on and on…
I agree @homerdog I hate them too. I think that most kids trend consistently, but on any given day, any given curve the final score can be up or down. It just makes kids want to take it over and over.
My D took a practice PSAT the other day. She has been studying for the ACT, so she just wanted to make sure she felt comfortable in advance of Saturday.
NMF was nowhere on her radar because her PSAT 10 score was a 1270 (hence the choice to focus on ACT).
This particular practice test - she scored a 217/1460. I guess the studying/practice transfers platforms well. On that particular test - 2 more questions right on reading would have gotten her a 221 - the cutoff for our state from last year.
Honestly, that’s not what she needed. Now she wants NMF - she wants to try to do a practice reading section every night this week and she works tonight and tomorrow night. Sigh. I told her it’s not that important - that any particular testing day can yield a different result and if it happens, it happens, but not to concern herself with it. But, the cat’s out of the bag now . . .
Last year I read here that the curve for the first sitting of the PSAT was more forgiving than for the second, particularly on the math section, as @evergreen5 mentioned.
My son thought PSAT was easy as well - especially the math section which he said he finished in 10 minutes (!) Guessing a very harsh curve - not good for him as he’s a kid that will absolutely make one or two silly mistakes. We’re not expecting NMSF - so doesn’t really matter. He has to take the school-wide SAT in April and perhaps this will make him realize that he doesn’t get any extra points for finishing fast.
HI all – don’t post here often but I have a S21 so I read on occasion. Regarding the PSAT, my D18 took what i think was the last ‘hard’ PSAT – she missed, if I recall correctly, five or six questions on the whole test but still managed selection index of 223 so she was NMF. Just thought I’d add that for reference – sounds like a lot has changed in just a few years.
My S21 was pretty noncommittal about the yesterday’s test. He doesn’t expect to be NMSF, however, since he’s done no test prep to date. He took the Oct SAT as a starting point – but walked in cold. He’s going to do a mock ACT this weekend. We’ll compare results and he says he’ll get going with a practice plan now (finally).
He’s leaning engineering or CS so looking at mostly big schools. We’re visiting Case Western in a few weeks. NC State (in-state), Virginia Tech, Wisconsin are the other schools on his list right now. We’re planning a Spring Break trip to visit Lehigh (their integrated business & engineering program). WPI is nominally on his list but he’s concerned about lack of non-STEM classes there.
He needs a few more colleges on his list but we’re struggling. Our top budget is $50k (don’t expect much aid as we’re almost full pay) so don’t want to add a lot of privates that don’t offer merit. Plus publics are typically where it’s at for engineering, of course. Could look at Purdue or OSU but not sure why he’d want them over closer options – esp. b/c they are really big.
His GPA is 4.0 right now with lots of rigor – but I’m not sure he’ll be able to hold that this year. Esp. his AP Lang is tough sledding right now.
Might add Clemson as a safety. I just don’t see a lot of other colleges being added at this point unless he changes his mind on engineering, but if anyone has suggestions I’m all ears. Applying to just 5 or 6 colleges seems so low these days!
Such a different process compared to my D a few years ago who was looking at small, medium and large schools from coast to coast!
@homerdog that doesn’t surprise me at all. Kids taking mv calc are way past the math they need on the SAT. If they don’t do focused math prep leading up the test, I wouldn’t be surprised at all that they are out of practice of the type of math being tested. My S17 was terrible at math, but was still in Alg2 when he took the SAT and did pretty darn close to what his friends in advanced math did, and I’m guessing that’s why.
@NJWrestlingmom right. So what’s the point of juniors being tested on algebra 2 and trig at all when they’ve been away from that math for two, three, or more years? Those kids have to go back and study it again. Not sure what that says about their college readiness.
The math is just too easy for kids that are actually gifted in math. My kid thinks it is ridiculously easy in fact. Hopefully she did not make any careless mistakes because of this.
@AlmostThere2018 Although it looks like your son has great grades I am not so sure I would consider Clemson a safety these days. Last year acceptance rate of 47% and average SAT 1310 and ACT 29. However if your son graduates in the top 10% and has high test scores he can get out of state merit money of up to 20K per year which makes clemson as affordable as your instate option.
I would also have him consider Pitt and Delaware that both are about 17-18K students and have good engineering programs. I know that Delaware gives good merit money to high stat out of state students.
Wow - what an endorsement! Thanks so much! There was a smallish college fair near us on Tuesday and Elon was there. It was the same person that talked to my daughter’s high school. I asked him several questions about their Biology program and he was really helpful. He gave my daughter his information, asked her to email him and he would put her in touch with the pre-med advisor who could answer more of her questions regarding medical school prep at Elon. I left with a very good feeling.
@AlmostThere2018 $50k is a healthy budget and I’m sure there are great schools that would offer merit to your son and bring it in to range for your budget. What about RPI or RIT?
@Acersaccharum – Tks for your input! I think RIT and RPI are similar to WPI in terms of not having enough non-STEM classes to scratch that itch. Between those three, WPI appeals to him the most b/c of the project-based learning and the Global projects they do. Plus pretty close to Boston which he likes. But it seems like a lot of their merit is going to attract more women these days. And I feel like in the end he’ll want more of a ‘360’ college that offers everything.
But I’ll take a look again to see if he should reconsider.
@burghdad - Agree – he’ll have to have the test scores for Clemson. I guess I figure he might have a leg up for admissions b/c of the OOS tuition he’d be bringing? But you’re right it’s not a true safety.
Of course, the best bet for our pocketbook is if he gets into and falls in love with NC State! Right now he feels like its too close to home and where too many people he knows go. 
Congrats to all who have the PSAT past them! We have two weeks to wait. D21 is in NMF contention, based on last years score. We’re hoping she can repeat, she’s interested in Fordham and they award full tuition to some NMF.
@AlmostThere2018 Maybe take a look at Trinity College. I know a student there in engineering who went due to excellent merit offer. As an LAC it is definitely not overly STEM focused, and unique in that it offers merit at all. Most NESCAC schools don’t offer merit.
@JanieWalker - I love your description of the vibe at Clark. I can definitely see it being a fit for S21. My cousin went there back in the late 80s/early 90s and is very enthusiastic about her experience there…and it’s about an hour from where I grew up. We’re looking forward to our visit!
SAT scores from Oct 5 came in for S21 this morning. This was the first time any of my kids have taken an official SAT, so I definitely had a bit of anxiety around it - tried not to let that rub off on the kid! 
My expectations weren’t super high just given what kinds of things S21 excels at vs. struggles with and the fact that this was his first time sitting for the real test (never even sat for an official PSAT of any kind). We were pretty much viewing this as a throw-away test and more of a practice experience and are thrilled that his scores beat those expectations by a bit. This kid has had his share of academic challenges over the years (and has a younger sister to whom this stuff comes much more easily, and all of that can affect the self-esteem). He worked really hard prepping with me and with his math teacher over the summer, and it paid off, so I’m proud of him.
We’re still hopeful for improvement when he takes it again in the Spring, as an extra 30-60 points on the math could make a big difference (I think his verbal score is likely fine just where it is), but he now has a decent set of scores (for the types of schools he is applying to) in his back pocket, so it does relieve the pressure some. As a homeschooler, he has to submit scores to most of the test optional schools, so I am definitely breathing a little easier today and feeling as if his college list has been crafted appropriately (it’s helpful to have some validation). I hope others whose kids tested on Oct 5 get the news they were hoping for today.
My DD 21 got her Sat results today from the October test. She got a 1570 (790 math and 780 reading/writing). She is kinda bumming about the math score as she was hoping for an 800 (she missed one question).
@RockyPA, wow, congrats to your daughter - incredibly high scores so hopefully her disappointment about the missed math question won’t bother her too much (though I do get the frustration)!
@RockyPA that is very impressive.
My D took them also, but purposely didn’t study, wanted a base line. I haven’t heard from her though yet today so I don’t know how she did.
Her first thought was “I need to retake it”! LOL
@RockyPA – wow, congrats to your D!