I am a 10th grader and I took both, I got a 98th percentile(1350) on my PSAT, and a 95th percentile (2277) on my SSAT. My question is what would schools prefer, my SSAT or my PSAT.
Why not use your PSAT scores if the school accepts those. You did really well in both but even better in PSAT which is a higher grade level test, if I understand correctly…Goodluck!
I would submit both, because they are both very good.
That percentile looks too high on the PSAT for that scaled score. Are you using the “Nationally Representative Sample Percentile” that was reported? If so, that is based on an artificially constructed sample designed to represent all 11th graders nationally, not the subset that is looking at college (or even taking the PSAT).
There should be another percentile reported, one that is based on actual PSAT scores over the prior two years. That will be called “Your PSAT/NMSQT User Percentile.” In my opinion, that percentile is more comparable with SSAT percentiles, since the SSAT samples a much smaller universe of students who are likely looking at college (that’s why their parents are paying all that money for private school!).
If that second PSAT percentile is significantly lower than your SSAT percentile, I’d omit it. I could be wrong here on my analysis, of course. Let us know if there is a second, lower percentile reported, if you could, and best of luck!
There is a second PSAT percentile, but for overall it’s the same (98), the only one it’s different for is my evidence based reading analysis which went down from a 93 to a 92, and my math stayed the same (99 and 99).
@gonsalves16 - Awesome! Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it. In that case, I would go with the PSAT, which is a great score, as others have said. Congrats on it!
Thanks!
@SatchelSF and @gonsalves16 - I think his percentiles look high because he is a 10th grader. I think those percentiles are vs. other 10th graders that took the PSAT/NMSQT. I say that having a son who scored in same range as 10th / and much higher in 11th yet the percentile was higher in 11th.
Ah, that makes sense @sunnyschool. I’ve got a child in 9th who just took took it (day school makes all kids do it, for practice) and scored a good bit higher on the scaled score, but had basically the same percentile ranges (99/98). It wasn’t the PSAT 8/9, but the same one that 11th graders take. Perhaps they do not norm the 9th graders specifically, and so they are compared with 11th graders by default, while 10th graders get normed against other 10th graders? Who can really figure all this stuff out!
Also, having submitted PSAT with a very high percentile, I am not convinced it helped. I am not sure if AO’s know what to make of a 10th grade PSAT. They are used to seeing SSAT. Since OP’s SSAT is also very high, I would definitely submit both scores. Submit SSAT through the SAO, but then also email or fax them your score report from PSAT (you can’t send it directly from College Board anyway). It can only help with your high percentiles!