<p>I hope this hasn't already been covered in detail, but ... DS will be taking PSAT's in October as a Junior. (His school didn't offer it to Sophs.) Standarized tests have never been his thing. We know he's a slow reader, which doesn't help. Although I bought a review book, I believe he'd do better with the discipline of a class. (I'm saving one-on-one review for the SAT's.) Any consensus out there on who offers the best classes, or are they all pretty much the same? Thanks in advance for the advice!</p>
<p>This isn't an answer to your question, but if your son is a slow reader, tell him to skip all the reading comprehension sections, answer all the other questions, and then go back to the reading comprehension sections and do as much as he can before time is called. That way, it's probable that he will get through more of the test and get a better score. </p>
<p>I would also urge you to enroll your son in a good reading skills class. Reading slowly is the kiss of death in college, especially if he's majoring in humanities or social sciences or any other reading intensive major. Deal with this issue NOW.</p>
<p>My daughter is also a slow reader in general, but she managed to do well on the PSAT. We enrolled her in a short class, the Princeton Review PSAT Clinic. I'm not sure it's still offered, but check the website. It's only four three-hour classes, and one of the sessions was a practice test. My daughter thought it was really valuable in that the PSAT, like the SAT, is a tricky test, and it helps to know how to approach it. The class was not expensive, and my daughter's school gave out coupons for 10 percent off. She boosted her score by 24 points over the practice test. But more than that, she faced the PSAT much more confidently.</p>
<p>Thanks Jonri -- I didn't mean to give the impression that my H & I aren't dealing w/ the issue of his slow reading. We've had a tutor for him, which has clearly helped. He's holding his own at a very academically rigorous school, but the standarized tests are still tough for him. (As an aside, he most likely won't be majoring in humanities/social sciences.)</p>
<p>As far as time-management goes, also keep in mind that the questions in each section get increasingly harder. We found that most reviews are the same, some better at diagnostics than others. It is too bad that your S did not get a chance to take it as a soph, since they are very detailed in communicating problems and mistake trends in the results report, they even give you a link to a web site where you can work on more problems of the type that you missed most often.</p>
<p>Why burden DS with the time and pressure of special preparation for the PSAT? their only practical significance is for NMF scholarships, and it sounds as if that is not a realistic possibility for him in any event. Life is too short; I'm sure he has lots of other more productive things that he could do with his time.</p>
<p>I've been working on PSAT prep. I find that careful and deliberate reading of the passages is a detriment. I do not think that a slow reader will be too disadvantaged if he adopts good strategies. He should definitely do some practice even if he is not National Merit Scholar material. He will have more confidence if he knows what is coming. </p>
<p>I know I have made more progress getting ready for the PSATs on my own than my friends who took/are taking PSAT classes this summer. They've shared their materials with me, and I have been under-whelmed with what they have done. I really do not need to have someone proctor me to do a timed practice test. I have a timer of my own and better ways to spend my dollars.</p>
<p>We opted for indiv tutor instead of a class and the PSAT prep (D's sch also tests only jrs) and the PSAT prep was a good/easy segue to SAT prep. D is also a slow reader and the indiv prep tailored to her needs resulted in hish scores on both exams (NMS commendation - - which put her on the radar of many top LACs and unis).</p>
<p>And precisely what does getting "on the radar" accomplish (other than generating a lot of mail). Ultimately, at highly-selective schools, the PSAT score simply does not figure into the admissions process. if the goal is to gain entrance to one of those schools, a potential applicant's time (and in nyc's case, money) can be spent a lot more productively.</p>
<p>we have no decent PSAT or SAT classes in our area and the tutoring businesses are dismal. everyone just takes the PSAT cold around here. I did purchase the released 2006 test at collegeboard.com's store for three dollars for my rising junior to review...
Personal experience in our family says you can help yourself by taking practice tests in test circumstances..timers and snacks and breaks just like test day.. and then taking some leisurely strolls through your errors later. I also like the Up Your Score SAT review book which is cheesy but somehow woke up our son to better pacing and decisions in the exam..it is NOT somber..and he didn't read it like bad medicine..it gets the messages across in an accessible way.</p>
<p>I agree with EMM1 - there's no benefit I see in "getting on the radar screen" at top colleges. My son, who graduated last year, also got commended status on the PSAT. We didn't see any benefit from that at all, except for being on the receiving end of a lot of mail! He missed semi-finalist cutoff by 2 points. He took the PSAT cold, and in retrospect it could have helped him to be prepared. That's really the only time I see value in prepping for the PSAT - if you think your child could hit the semi-finalist cutoff. Otherwise, there's enough things to stress over in junior year -- prepping for the PSAT shouldn't be one of them.</p>
<p>Alternatively, if your child begins studying for the SAT before October (which they WILL need to prep for), the SAT prep will benefit the PSAT-taking as well. Then you get a double bang for your buck.</p>
<p>I agree with BES...what a bunch of junk mail...it's three feet high (literally), with fancy viewbooks, glossy pictures, etc., all from schools that are wasting their money trying to solicit an application out of my S.</p>
<p>I would agree that studying makes sense if you know your kid could make semi-finalist, especially, since the cut-offs from different states are maddeningly different. It is easy to be only commended when you live in a high cut-off state, while thousands of other kids get semi-finalist or finalist with much lower scores because they live in low cut-off states...</p>
<p>For D, getting on the radar meant she was invited to and attended an number of fly-in prgms at the host college's expense (important for us since D was finaid app and $ was ltd). The host colleges also arranged for her transp, including escort form airport, bus or train. This, was enorm helpful b/c D attended BS, making college visits during the sch yr rather difficult, and b/c her BS viewed missed classes for college hosted prgm diff than other college-related absences. </p>
<p>Also, when college reps visited her school, D always rec'd was already on the rep's list. If a rep had time for only 4-5 students, D was always made the cut. And b/c the reps always sent D advance notice of the visit, on several occasions she was able to arrange alt meeting times (beyond those posted at the college counseling office) so that she wouldn't have to miss class.</p>
<p>We did, of course, receive solicitaitons from many colleges in which D had no interest - - but we just tossed their lit in the recycling bin. And the junk mail was a small price to pay for extra attention from schs in which D was interested. Also, D really enjoyed feeling "courted." There's nothing like being 17 and feeling like the world is your oyster.</p>
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<p>D's prep for the PSAT transitioned into SAT prep. D took the SAT only once and improved her score in each sub-test by 20-30pts. Very Happy w/ the outcome - - wouldn't have changed a thing in terms of D's test prep.</p>
<p>My son did the PSAT in 9th grade--he prepped w/both PSAT review books & SAT review books on his own. Just did the questions again & again. We never did a class or anything like that. Just used the kitchen timer & he reviewed his results on his own.</p>
<p>It would be worth it for you to look through a couple of SAT/PSAT review books at the local book store and see what they advise, strategy-wise for the critical reading sections (if that's your son's weakness). There are a variety of tricks (read the question first, review the answers--before you even read the passage) that could help. Then you can get the best book & have him read that for tips/tricks. The more he does the reviews, the less he'll lose time in the test from the stress of the unfamiliarity of it all.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
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We know he's a slow reader, which doesn't help.
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<p>I see from a subsequent reply that you are working on that issue with a tutor. A FEW simple practice test sessions with actual old PSAT tests should be enough test-prep-as-such. But improving in reading ability will do more for your son than any amount of test prep, and has to be done to make best use of any test prep you do. (Of course, the better at reading, the more enjoyable and beneficial college is.) Once your son likes to pick up lots of varied books and magazines and read them for fun, you will have laid most of the foundation needed for higher scores on all three sections of the PSAT or the SAT, and all four sections of the ACT.</p>