PSAT score correlation to SAT score

Test Preparation
1

<p>Okay, i just got my PSAT score back and it I was very happy with the results:
220 Total
67 CR
76 M
77 W</p>

<p>First of all, what do you think I will get on the SAT later this spring? Also, what kind of scholarships can i expect this to pull for me?</p>

2

<p>Was that PSAT taken when you were a Junior? If so you might make National Merit Semifinalist. Many colleges have some great National Merit scholarships available. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html&lt;/a&gt; If you do similarly well in the spring just add a 0 to your PSAT score.</p>

3

<p>Congratulations on a fairly good PSAT score. 220 makes the NMS Semifinalist cut-off in many states. I hope that you don’t live in one of the states with a higher cut-off.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, the only thing I can tell you is that you’ll perform “pretty well” on the real SAT next spring. I’ve worked with lots of kids who have scored approx. 220 on the PSAT. The strong writers perform very well on the SAT Essay (10-12), earn a top score (800) on the Writing section, and end up with composite scores in the 2200-2400 range. If a student can’t write, often times this places a ceiling on how high he/she can score on the Writing section.</p>

<p>If you stay motivated and prepare properly, there’s no reason why you couldn’t score in the 2300-2400 range. Anecdotally speaking, for kids with your junior year PSAT score and provided that they take the test at least twice, I have yet to have a student end up with an SAT superscore less than 2300. :-)</p>

<p>Get the right study materials. Work hard on a consistent basis. Emphasize the “quality” over the “quantity” of prep. You’ll do great on the real SAT!</p>

<p>With regard to scholarship money…
If you make the NMS Semifinalist cut-off for your state, continue to do well in school, and turn in your paperwork next fall, chances are very good that you’ll advance to the Finalist round (roughly 15,000 out of 16,000 semifinalists advance). More than half of the Finalist pool receives a NMS scholarship worth $2500 per year. FYI, some colleges (separate from the NMS competition) offer much larger merit awards based on PSAT or other standardized test scores. See the link Erin’s Dad posted above.</p>

<p>Scholarships such as NMS tend to not be that helpful to strong students who qualify for a significant amount of financial aid. Top-tier colleges that offer need-based financial aid will typically decrease the “grant” portion of the package to make room for the NMS scholarship. For this reason, a low-income student matriculating at a top-tier school offering generous financial aid won’t see much of an economic benefit from the NMS scholarship.</p>