My daughter is a junior, and her total score from the August 2017 SAT was a 1510. But her total essay score was 11. She’ll be taking the PSAT soon to see if she might qualify as a National Merit finalist. I know that it’s the PSAT score that is used to show if she’s a semi-finalist. Does anyone know if the low essay score could impact the ability to make finalist? Also if she’s planning to go to a non-competitive college could a poor essay score impact her scholarships options? This is my oldest child so this college thing is all new to us. Thanks for your help!
No, the essay score has no bearing on becoming a national merit finalist. The SAT score has to meet a certain index score, which is close to the commended index score for that year. The 1510 should easily qualify.