<p>So I'm a sophomore and I took the practice PSAT that my school gave me and I got 680-680-650, (201) this is....good? </p>
<p>I realized that you could omit questions about half way thru the test, but people on this site seem to have varying opinions on omitting vs. guessing. Also, my test is on wednesday, so I don't really have anytime to study, but I never really planned to study anyway :l </p>
<p>So any tips/advice/answer keys would be much appreciated</p>
<p>That is a great score for the PSAT. It means you should probably be able to break 700 on math and reading on the junior PSAT and hopefully on the real SAT.</p>
<p>I am also interested on which method is better (skipping or answering all questions). When I took the SAT for the first time, I skipped questions that I had no clue on. After I got my score back, I was happy with it, so when I retook the SAT this month, I didn’t try to skip any questions at all to see how my score would compare.</p>
<p>Thanks, what I did was I guessed if I could narrow it down to 2 choices and I ommitted it otherwise, a lot of what I got wrong were just stupid mistakes, hopefully I’ll have enough motivation on wednesday to not make any of those. I think that I will still be happy with anything over 200.</p>
<p>that’s a very good score for a sophomore. I would say you will get Commended for next year’s PSAT. What state do you live in? Semifinalist may be tough depending on the state, and if you can score a 225 or 230+ then you will have a shot at enrichment programs such as Telluride</p>
<p>Illinois, I think it is ~213 here</p>
<p>what exactly do you get for the national merit scholarship, and if I score above a 213 or whatever, do I automatically get it, or is there a more elaborate process?</p>
<p>National Merit: All the score gets you is semifinalist status. Once you’re a semifinalist, you have to fill out an application (it’s not that bad, just your standard list of extracurriculars and an essay). Out of the approximately 16,000 semifinalists, about 15,000 become finalists. Of those, something like half (or a little more?) get scholarships - some get $2,000 from NMSC, some get school-specific scholarships, and some get corporate scholarships.</p>
<p>Skipping versus guessing: The test is designed such that you can expect no net gain from pure guessing. Basically, based on the fraction you would be expected to get right of the ones you guessed on, the number of points you would gain from guessing correctly would be equal to the number of points you would lose from guessing incorrectly. But! If you can narrow it down to two or three possible answers, it tips the odds in your favor. At that point it’s worth guessing (but only if you have time, I would recommend leaving the ones you’re not sure about until the end).</p>
<p>If you make your state’s cutoff, then you’ll get a letter in September of your senior year. After that, you have to fill in an application with your extracurriculars and write an essay (about a significant experience or obstacle this year). Afterwards, they select winners of corporate, school, and NM scholarships in spring of your senior year.</p>
<p>Thanks, the national merit is still pretty far off, but it’s good to have something to aim for, i guess, and also Illinois is 216, for anyone reading this thread.</p>
<p>How do you prevent over analyzing Identifying Sentence Error problems?</p>
<p>I have the same problem, but just go with your gut. The ‘No Error’ choice isn’t as rare as you might think.</p>
<p>If you have no clue what the answer is, then there is no statistical advantage to either guessing or leaving the question blank (guessing = completely random guessing). If you can eliminate even only one of the answers, then you must guess. It’s probability. This is the only correct strategy.</p>
<p>Humans cannot guess randomly by themselves. They are liable to fall for distractor choices. There are ways to get around this (for example, you can use make up guessing strategies based on a clock inside the room, like if the second hand is between 0-12, pick A, 12-24, pick B, etc).</p>
<p>How do you check the score you should aim for? Just wondering, because if I can get close this year, then next year, I’ll probably hit that mark.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13225182-post768.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13225182-post768.html</a></p>
<p>That has the list of cutoffs by state for this year.</p>
<p>Mann wish I lived in Wyoming</p>