Daughter was ill, didn’t take the PSAT. Will she not be eligible for some scholarships? Is it too late for her to take it? She’s a HS junior.
Thanks.
you need to contact National Merit.
It is too late for her to take it now as it is a once a year test, but they do make rare exceptions.
There are merit scholarships for those with hi ACT scores as well.
11th grade PSAT is the first qualifier for National Merit for these scholarships:
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/
There are other scholarships that do not depend on National Merit:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
OK, thank you.
I called National Merit, it’s too late to do anything about this.
Her college counselor told me at the time that the PSAT was only useful as a practice for the SAT, and it was fine that she missed it. I didn’t go to college, so didn’t know any better.
you should go to that counselor and set him/ her straight. And then make sure the Head of counseling KNOWS what their GC 's are saying. They ALL need to be educated asap.
She is doing a HUGE disservice to parents and students by offering extremely BAD advise and misinformation.
Well, for >90% of students, National Merit isn’t a consideration. Maybe your daughter is an unusually high achiever for her school?
Definitely check out that non-National-Merit merit list linked above. Most people aren’t NMFs.
Considering that only the top 1% or so are NMSF/NMF, yes, for most people, the PSAT is not a huge consideration.
But considering that being NMSF/NMF/NMS means full-tuition/full-ride scholarships at some schools, for folks who qualify, it certainly could be a big deal.
Many schools offer merit scholarships that have nothing to do with NMF . My son was not a NMSF or NMF and received more merit than his friend who was a NMF at his school. You need to investigate merit opportunities on the scholarship pages at schools that your child is interested in attending .
Thanks everyone. I will definitely be using the list linked above, as well as the school websites.
I discovered totally on my own that PSAT is a qualifier for NMSQT. Our school simply said “it is only to give you an idea of your performance. It isn’t important.” Our kid’s HS is very good in most respects, but I suspect they DONT want kids prepping for the PSAT. None of us ever wondered what the NMSQT part was all about, lol! I found out a month before and my D did prep for it a little. I am glad she did, becasue she made the cut off for a commendation and was able to put that on her applications.
I simply dont understand ANY HS that would NOT want its smart kids to prep for or take the PSAT, especially THESE days when the costs to go to college have gone through the roof!
They want to make college even less affordable to their smartest students?
http://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=398
^You might have been able to do something if you had known about thid and contacted NMSC before the deadline.
Have your DD take both the SAT and ACT…some do better on one over the other.
When she has scores, come back and we can help you find the merit you want
Our school doesn’t tell us anything either. I mean the title is PSAT/NMSQT but most people at our school have no idea what the NMSQT part means.
In our school district, all 10th graders are mandated to take the PSAT. 9th and 11th-graders can sign up on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is probably room for 25 of those. I doubt that the administration of our school is even aware of the scholarship opportunities that might come with National Merit. They would simply not have the room to accommodate and proctor 500 juniors on top of the 500 sophomores who have to take the test.
If your kid has been consistently in the top 10% in your state on whatever standardized tests your state makes the kids take, well then it may be worth it to take the PSAT. But for everyone else it really is pointless. Truly. The cut offs for NMF, National Achievement, and National Hispanic honors are designed to be extremely high.
why on earth would they require Sophomores to take the test INSTEAD of Jrs?
There is no benefit to taking it as a Soph, and multiple benefits to taking it as a JR- both for the smartest students AND for any student who will be taking the SAT soon after.
Tallymom- you should point this out.
@TallyMom 2017 - I expect that the district knows full well about the scholarship potential. They probably hand-pick the likely NMS candidates from the top scorers of the 10th grade PSAT.
Some states use the SAT or ACT as the test for NCLB compliance for high school juniors, and that’s why those are required and not the PSAT.