PSAT scores up but not breakdown by section to figure out index in CA. Pretty bummed to be living in CA with the stupid high selection index!
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@KBTDPT - Take the overall verbal x2 and add the Math. Weâre in NJ and have the same issue with high cutoffs.
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I responded to a post in the testing section, but thought Iâd ask here too where there are more 2023 parents. Anyone noticing anything strange with their childâs PSAT scores vs. percentiles (vs. NMSC index)? My son scored a 1390, which is normally about a 96%, but his report says itâs a 99%.
Thatâs also causing confusion for him regarding his hopes for NMSC Commended Student. His index selection score is only 206âwhich seems low for a 1390 and too low for the cut offâbut if heâs really 99% percentile than it would certainly seem like he would be in the running? Very confusing? Perhaps COVID learning is depressing the average scores?
@MBWhitney - we saw our Dâs scores today too and iâve been looking at all this. her index is in the low 200s - so no go for her on anything. Hereâs what @RichInPitt wrote about the process of NMSFâs scores - i thought it was interesting!
"Fwiw, semi-finalists are based on a fixed allocation of the ~16,000 slots, prorated by the number of students in the graduating class for the year, by state.
Students with an SI of 228 in the state are counted, then the number with a 227 are added, then 226, etc. until the total most closely matches the allocation.
You may see âtop x%â, but thatâs an estimated equivalent, not the basis for actually determining the cutoff."
Maybe @RichInPitt knows how commended status works ???
@bgbg4us Thanks. Yes, the NMSF scores are confusing because they donât directly translate to the other scores. I believe the class of 2022 cut-off for Commended student was 207, which was low, probably due to the fewer students who were able to take the PSATs. This year it appears that more students were able to take it (although not 2019 level), however, the overall scores may be lower than normal? I know that some people have access to the overall data and may have a good idea of if the cut-off scores will be low this year too. My understanding is that while the semi-finalist scores are done state-by-state, commended student status is done nationwide of the top 50K scorers with one cut-off score.
I hope that everyoneâs whoâs child received their PSAT score yesterday and today is feeling good (okay at least?) about them.
Nope, nope, definitely not OK - selection index is 190 and Iâm totally bummed, but holding out hope that my kid is following in his sisterâs footsteps - she also got a mediocre SAT score, then focused on the ACT and got a much more respectable score.
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I think we also concluded after the SAT exam that my kid will do better on the ACt than SAT. She made a 33 on the ACT with low score on the math so I think working more on the math will yield results as it will be nice to have merit aid which typically comes in at 34 for the schools she is looking at.
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Sorry about the less than ideal SAT scores, but I agree that itâs definitely about figuring about which test is best for each kid. Weâre guessing that the SAT might be best for my son, and are waiting until March for him to attempt the ACT. For the class of 2023, we have so much time left to get all this worked out, which is greatâeven though I know that some kids have already tested a bunch.
Well, selection index here is well below any possible threshold for NMSF, and probably below commended. The intriguing thing is that she did significantly worse on the fall junior year PSAT than on her spring sophomore year SAT (and slightly worse on that than her spring sophomore year ACT), which is the same pattern as both of her older siblings, and the whole idea that the PSAT is supposed to predict SAT scores? Yeah, I donât buy it.
It doesnât really affect anywhere on her list, thoughâyeah, NMSF might have gotten a $1k or $2k award, but that doesnât really move the needle in the search for Big Merit Moneyâ˘. Itâs kind of amazing that tuition and fees have skyrocketed since I was applying to colleges since the 1980s, but NMSF awards have remained static since thenâŚ
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My kiddo is a repeat Jr. Last year her score qualified for commended scholar. Because she is on a 5 year path she had to score the same or higher this year. Her score was 10 points lower than last year 
Yes, the next move in our house is going to be to have D23 try a sample math section for the ACT to see if sheâs better suited to the more straightforward questions. She did ok on the PSAT, which in fairness to her was her first test of any kind (they only let juniors take PSAT last year and she was in no way ready to deal with either SAT or ACT last year either with her mental health struggles) but the math section definitely lagged. D17 didnât have a great PSAT outing either, actually, and wound up with a 35 ACT superscore, so given her sisterâs experience, checking out the other format seems like the next logical step.
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well, no nmsf here, but D23 is close to commended and her main objective was to beat her siblings. I think the PSAT curves are harsh as it seems to be an easier test than act/sat.
AnonMomof2 & dfbdfb -my kids have also dipped junior year from sophomore year. So your daughters arenât alone, hope they arenât too disappointed.
For ACT, we found that timing was super important. two of our kids practiced with a special ACT watch over and over to get down the timing and pace. It wasnât the content, but the timing.
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good luck to your daughter. My D23 just finished up what is likely her last ID camp (unless some are needed next summer) last Sunday in DC at George Washington, got some solid feedback from the coach, enjoyed the campus and staff. Also looked at American while there and liked it as well. Now we are firmly into league play so games every weekend and showcases every month. We also head to FL in a month, then IN, VA, and IL for showcases in addition to league travel. Many of her schools have told her they will be in FL and VA so hopefully she plays well.
She got her PSAT results yesterday, good growth from last year, so happy and will take ACT in a few months. Grades are solid, should be applying for NHS after Christmas, and still working at Starbucks in addition to school and soccer.
Have had some nervous tears the last few days as more and more 23s verbally commit (so far only 2 from her club and one from another local club but more are coming), but she is still putting in the work and hopeful she will get her chance. Meetings with her club coaches and private trainers seem to also indicate that she has the skill to play in college. She is still in the mindset that if offered by one of her D1 options she would commit and if asked to apply ED1 to any of her D3 schools, she would say yes if the D1s donât pan out by this summer.
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Can you explain what you mean by a special ACT watch? Iâm intrigued!
My daughter scored amazingly on the ACT with no prep⌠maybe sheâs just better at that one.
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smiling here thinking about my spacey S20. he had a hard time reading the analog clocks in the classroom quickly and figuring out how much time he had left. Couldnt get any watch that had a timer with a sound on it - so found a silent ACT watch with a countdown setting on it. It was helpful! 
(the things we do! envious of the one-and-dones like anonMomof2âs daughter and others!) (again, merit seeking family here).
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D23âs Oct PSAT was 20 points lower than her Jan PSAT (her school had an alternate Jan PSAT date last year due to being unable to hold the test last Oct). Weâd thought that given her previous PSAT and her SAT scores this fall that sheâd have a shot at commended. But the PSAT actually went down rather than up, so, moving onâŚ
She isnât unhappy about it because she took an SAT 10 days later and did significantly better on that (+110 points in comparison). Sheâs taking her first ACT this weekend. She practiced most days over Thanksgiving break and, predictably, English and Reading were strong, Science a little lower, and MathâŚugh, Math.
I think thereâs a chance sheâs done after this Saturday just because it would take a lot more prep (and sheâs already done some) to do better, and she gets really stressed by the timed math tests. I donât know that itâs going to be worth it to have her do it again, so Iâm just hoping the ACT this weekend is a touch higher than her Nov SAT. If so, she can probably submit the score to all but her two highest reaches (which I donât think are probably the best fits for her anyway).
@GKmom23 Iâm sorry for your Dâs angst in the athletic recruiting process. I have a good friend whose son had quite a difficult time with the stress and pressure of it all. He had many friends getting offers for months, and it was weighing on him to the point of physical illness due to the anxiety. He got the offer he really wanted and just committed a few days ago, but it was a bit of a torturous path.
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Hoping for this same scenario! Going down on PSAT a year later was unexpected.
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Hey there, newer member here. I have a D in 2023 class.
In different threads, I have read terms or concepts like grade deflation, grade curves, some universities have preassigned certain percentages for grade A,B etcâŚAre they all the same? Can someone give some insights on these? Much appreciated
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Welcome!
The data is pretty clear that the trope of collegiate grade inflation isnât real, at least recentlyâgrades have remained stable after two bursts of grade inflation back in the 1960s (a large decrease in the proportion of Cs awarded) and turn of the millennium (a large increase in the number of As awarded)âbut itâs leveled out now, with certain sectors (particular hyperselective colleges) appearing to mostly continue to exhibit an upward trend in grades assigned.
Some colleges have explicitly worked to counter grade inflation. In perhaps the most famous one, a couple decades ago Harvard realized that about 90%(!) of its student body was graduating with Latin honors, and so the faculty voted to limit Latin honors to no more than 60%(!, still) of graduates. Because grades have continued to slowly climb at Harvard since then, this means that the GPA required to earn those honors has continued to climb.
Also, Wellesley discovered around the same time that final grade averages in classes were a 3.55 (i.e., an A minus), and set a policy that disincentivized class grade averages in lower-division courses above a 3.33 (i.e., a B plus). Faculty largely moved to the new standard, though there has been some controversy over it because the effects have disproportionately hit some marginalized sectors of the collegeâs population.
There appearsâthough this is contentious, and there are of course numerous individual counterexamples at all points in the dataâto be a correlation between selectivity and overall grade assignment, where less selective colleges have lower grades assigned while more selective colleges have higher grades assigned. There is a lot of debate back and forth, however, on whether this is more an outputs issue (i.e., the correlation is along the lines of more-selective colleges having a campus culture that results in faculty giving higher grades for no academic reason) or an inputs issue (i.e., the higher grades are a result of the higher level of secondary school preparation and lower level of barriers that most students at more-selective institutions have had), and itâs a really hard question to answer, statistical analysis being an inherently imprecise tool and all.
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