The school notified us of PSAT sign ups on the last day of sign ups 
We decided not to do it this fall since S24 is taking Geometry now. He will take them next fall and the SAT spring of Junior year/ fall of Senior year.
I am having S24 look at the instructions since he has almost no experience with standardized testing but no other PSAT prep. I have no idea how much of a role there will be for standardized testing for their admission cycle but practice in taking a test is a good idea.
@helpingthekid73 UC and CSUs probably will still be test-blind for 2024 kids, although it would be interest to see any pivots will be made with how kids in 2021 and 2022 perform. I feel that private schools will still want testing. College Board does too good of a job lobbying with universities.
We will see! I certainly hope that a decrease in dependence on these tests is made after the schools see how this yearās class is compared to previous. It is so frustrating to spend so much time and money preparing for a test that was designed to be an equalizer, but clearly is not (since I will spend so much time and money to make sure my S is well prepared when others cannot!)
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@helpingthekid73 I 100% agree with your point. On the one hand, we are privileged and can afford the prep if we needed to. On the other hand, I grew up dirt poor and never could participate in sportsāno insurance to cover for injuries, let alone money for sports.
My SAT was the equalizer because I could study from the book I borrowed from the library and use my brain to offset the ECs. I know a kid Iāve mentored who was in the same boat. Iām not sure if thereās a solution other than you hope the AO can get the real picture thru essays and things students can control.
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My D will take the PSAT 10 this year and the PSAT NMSQT (for National Merit) her junior year. I donāt see any advantage in a great score on the PSAT 10, so she will go in cold.
I think the PSAT NMSQT is a great spot to prep and try to nail it because itās practice for the SAT/ACT and if their score is high enough for NMF there can be $. Some schools give full rides, some full tuition, and some just $3k. My wifeās employer has a scholarship for $2,500 that puts a lot of weight on NMF too. All of my college kids have received over $5k for their PSAT score.
fwiw, my kids take an SAT prep class late summer before junior year that finishes right before the PSAT, and then they take the SAT right after that. Hopefully theyāre done!
Updated last June, but this is the list of school that gives aid if youāre a National Merit or NMSF.
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D24 has suddenly picked up interest in the college search process. She transitioned from regular school to home school to on-line school over the past 4 years. Itās early but after learning a lot about how this process works with S20, earlier this summer I ran some NPCs for her at some schools, choosing āFall 2024ā as enrollment date. As a result, sheās now on a couple of mailing lists.
Sheās grown more and more interested in the brochures. Surprisingly, sheās asking about schools far as well as near. Yesterday, she asked āwhat are fly-ins?ā It turns out a couple of schools have already offered that for when her time comes - one offer arrived yesterday. Itās too early to do this year, but that is definitely something weāll take advantage of if the offers are still there in 2023.
This one is truly a daddyās girl and I had half assumed she might choose to start her first couple of years at the local community college before transferring to a nearby 4yr. Now sheās asking about schools in the upper midwest, northwest, northeast, and Florida. I didnāt think Iād see my very shy girl perk up about spending the night in a strangerās dorm for a fly-in, but here we are - at least āif you(dad) go with me and stay in town.ā Another unexpected benefit of starting this process early.
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Hi what are NPCs?
Net Price Calculator
Most colleges have a tool on their websites that will estimate the cost for a student to attend, based on the financial situation of the family. It takes about 2-5 minutes to fill out and you get an estimate.
Just do an internet search for ā(College Name) NPCā to see the one for any university. For instance, when I enter āManhattan College NPCā I get a link for this page:
https://manhattan.edu/admissions/undergraduate/pay-for-college/cost-calculator.php
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I see. Thank you
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@Curiousncuriouser Itās a great tool and something President Obamaās pushed for to try to help families get some transparency in college costs. I found it helpful, at least helped to accept our scenario. Just be mindful that sometimes schools define financial aid differently. It could come in a form of grants or loans. The loans tend to throw families for a loop since we think that aid is all grant and not comprised of multiple sources like loans, student work, etc.
D24 is taking PSAT/NMSQT this year any suggestions on test prep besides Khan Academy?
Hello! Well, school has started, and it definitely seems harder than last year online. Iām really hoping my son keeps his grades up. This is when it counts. Iām also pushing him to try different clubs because there wasnāt much opportunity for that last year. I think I got my introverted science-y/tech kid on the literary magazine because I just suggested he go to the meeting, and now I think he just thinks heās on it! Great! Iāll just keep doing that until he realizes he has a choice. Does anyone use outside college counselors? Our school is huge, and I havenāt been very impressed with his guidance counselor. I know there was the pandemic, but she was not well-informed. If so, how do you choose?
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There are a couple of practice PSATs on the College Board site PSAT/NMSQT Full-Length Practice Tests - SAT Suite. I donāt know whether Khan has the exact same tests - they might, as that is where the practice SAT tests on the Khan site came from.
Keep in mind that a sophomore score does not count for anything whatsoever - only junior year matters for NMSQT. (My kid will take it cold, though he took PSAT 8/9 last year. Edit, looks like heāll take the PSAT10 in the spring, which is the same length, rather than in Oct).
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We are exploring a private college counselor. Our school is tiny, and we didnāt get any help from them on S21. For S24, we need some help narrowing potential field of study and the list of possible schools will be large. That, along with someone besides mom and dad to do the mild pestering and scheduling is what we would pay for. Our quote was in the 2-3 K range for everything from today through Senior year. I would be interested to hear what you may be hearing.
My D24 had a hard in person reentry. Iām so glad she is only a sophomore during this transition and doesnāt have to worry about PSAT too much or certainly college apps. Things are smoothing out now but emotionally she had a hard time going from easy street last year to full on this year. Loathes her UC credit honors chemistry class but has started to step up. She has block schedule too so the classes are nearly twice as long as last year. Lots of quizzes and tests. Iām posting just to share in case someone else experienced this. Sheās so capable but misses her digital and free choices. First time ever she struggled to make herself do the work or got less than an A. Whew that was rough. 
I think if you can afford it, private counseling can help you. I feel that unless your school counselor is in a school that is a feeder into elite colleges and has the pressure of keeping up on stats, etc., I donāt have confidence that they know more beyond the process of making sure students get what they need submitted. Even savvy high school counselors got all the stats and assumptions wrong last year.
My family is lucky that we get free counseling help. I spend a lot of time doing recruiting for my company and manage a ton of new hires so Iām lucky to be savvy from a college and career standpoint. On top of that, we have a family member who has read (and trained) for a major UC and is on a committee to screen and interview undergrad apps for an Ivy (as well as having gone to med school at another Ivy). She charges people as a side hobby for undergrad and med school. What S21 needed from her was how to frame his essay and she helped to pull out of him important insights. He wouldāve just sat there and twiddle his thumb. I think my D24 is much more put together so help she needs may just be essay feedback. Weāve been pretty happy with S21 results, as well as some friends who got help from her.
There are a lot of free resources and I learned a lot helping S21, who was very cooperative. We know people who spent $5-10k. A private counselor can be good if you want to have someone else keep your kid on track throughout the process. Perfect for a difficult or unmotivated kid to keep the family peace. For essays S21 did the College Essay Guy workshop and we bought his book. Researching colleges was easy online and with the Fiske Guide.
I wasnāt impressed with his small private school counselor or D24ās public school counselor so far. The private school counselor did have a somewhat helpful workbook. The best thing she did for S was to have him start essays in June summer after junior year. She hosted the Essay Guy webinar and had a UC AO give a presentation.
Iāve been advised if my D24 applies to a theatre program to use a professional advisor for auditions.
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@NateandAllisMom AP Chem is the bane of my daughterās existence. Weekly I grab my college chem book and have to teach her. The teacher is super helpful when she teaches them but most of the time, she doesnāt. They do lab but then thereās no instructions. She has her sh1t together, unlike S21 so I know she is paying attention to everything that is taught.
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