To all current juniors who are getting ready to take the PSAT/NMSQT Test this October 11!
Didn’t find a thread like this so I thought I’d start my own.
How is prep for everyone going? The state I live in the national merit cutoff for the class of 2018 was 217, and on my most recent PSAT I scored a 1460. 760 Math and 700 EBRW which results in a selection index of 216
To be safe I want to improve my EBRW to a 730 which would make my selection index a 222. I got a 35 on writing and I definitely think I can improve that to a 38!
What scores do you all need? Make sure to sure what you get when results come out in December! And report back next year too for your official standing!
Prepped this weekend a little…scored a 226 but made a stupid mistake on math and reading is always iffy since there is no definitive answer and many times it can go either way. Cutoff last year was 219 but that could go up a point or 2. At this point I might as well go ahead and take the November SAT. I think if you raise your EBRW just slightly you’ll be in good shape as you said. Good luck to all this week!
Dang man a selection index of 226! You’ve got nothing to worry about, you’re well above the cut off for even the most competitive states nevertheless a 219.
You’ve got any last minute reading/english tips that I could employ before test day?
Just focus on the broad strokes/theme of each paragraph instead of getting bogged down with particular details. Yes I got a 226 PRACTICE but won’t take anything for granted. The real test could be much different. Try to relax and don’t 2nd guess yourself too much. For me personally it helps to cover the answers and answer it without seeing the options first. Best of luck!
I am actually taking it on the Saturday October 14th date (sucks that I won’t understand any of the memes from the primary date). Need a 221 SI for my state and I have been getting right around a 222-224 on most practice tests so it’s gonna be close
How do you think it went guys?
For me reading seemed pretty good and I’m hoping I only missed like 2-3 questions. Writing was difficult for me though… I hope I didn’t bomb… Math was great; I’m almost positive that I got a 760. It was a bit harder then the practice tests but it’s my strong point.
I think I probably did alright–I was in a bit of a time crunch for the last couple questions on Writing. I did get 1490 and 1500 on the two practice tests, so my real score should only be somewhat lower, but given my track record with tests, I’m not expecting to make National Merit.
Also, I feel like there wasn’t a lot of meme-able content this year.
did writing feel difficult for many? my son took it and although he did reasonable on prep tests, he said he bombed writing, did very well in math and well in reading- he got no more than 4-5 wrong in reading/ writing practices and now he said he got 10?
S19 (who just got an 800 on the SAT math in Aug) thought the math was weird today. He said there were questions on this test that he never saw in his hours prepping this summer for the SAT. He thought reading and writing pretty comparable in difficulty to Aug SAT.
@LvMyKids2 no there are three dates for the PSAT every fall and all three have entirely different questions (for test security reasons). All three also have different curves to account for differences in difficulty.
Yes, there are different versions for each testing date.
My junior is taking it Saturday. He scored like in the 97/98th percentile range last year, so hoping for the best. He was too busy to do much prep and accuracy isn’t his strong suit but we’ll see.
I feel you, I was in a time crunch in reading! Writing went quite smoothly for me but I barely finished reading in time… At least that means I was taking my time on the questions.
Haha that’s pretty weird the PSAT math is more difficult… I didn’t really find it to be too much of a challenge but certain questions were very different and posed a bit of difficulty.
I haven’t prepped much and I really want National Merit. I’m also taking it Saturday because I couldn’t skip my college classes today. Unfortunately I have to drive over an hour to take it, as there are no Saturday offerings available for homeschoolers in my city (which is the largest in the state). My SAT from March 2016 (also with scant prep) converts to a 214 SI (my state’s SI for semifinalist was 215). I’m taking 2 practice PSATs on Friday (which is my one day of fall break).
