<p>hey guys so i got my psat score back today.... and it was awful. 196. now im just wondering if the psat is really that important--will it hurt my chances of getting into a good school? and what if i do really well on my sat will that make up for it?</p>
<p>If you want the NMSQT scholarship, PSAT matters. If not, then it doesn’t.</p>
<p>Only here on CC is 196 an awful score. It will not hurt your college chances, I don’t think colleges will even know your PSAT score.</p>
<p>I hate the PSAT</p>
<p>haha it won’t hurt your chances. i don’t even want to tell you what i got on the psats and i endedup getting an okay score on the real SAT so yeah. you’ll do fine.</p>
<p>PSAT won’t hurt your chance. Many people just take it seriously so that they can get the scholarship.</p>
<p>No need to fret. I did worse than you: 191 (god, i suck at my English skills)</p>
<p>Absolutely useless. My real SAT score was like 300 points higher than my PSAT.</p>
<p>Colleges do not see PSAT scores. They only know if you are commended/semi-finalist/finalist. 196 is also not a terrible score. It suggests you could well break 2000 on the SAT which is a very competitive score. Use the information in your PSAT to figure out what to focus on for the SAT.</p>
<p>mamabear speaks the truth. A 196 is the equivalent of a 1960 on the SAT, which is a great score. If you’re aiming for the Ivies, then you will need to bump it up, but as it is, you’re set for several great schools. The PSAT reflects roughly what you would get on the SAT and what you need to work on to raise your score. Purchase College Board, Kaplan, and Barron’s prep books if you do not want to be tutored and go for it. (:</p>