<p>New to posting and site but have read a number of posts. Our son's PSAT score as a 2007 sophmore was 201:
CR 63
Math 75
WR 63</p>
<p>He attends a very competitive specialized NYC public high school and took the SAT at 12 for CTY. His SAT score was 1180 (Math 650/Reading 530). He did no prep for SAT or PSAT and is not competitive gradewise at his school.</p>
<p>If we can get him to prep this summer with a course, what is a realistic improvement possibility (10-20-30 points)? </p>
<p>Assume he is close to Commended Level in NY now and if score reaches 220 he would be NY finalist? Thanks for your thoughts and input.</p>
<p>I think it's hit or miss ... I've heard of some folks with great improvement, others that went down. My D just got back her junior scores; her total score went up one point, and this time she actually prepped with a course. She'll be commended. One of the kids actually went down twenty points ... with the prep. And one kid went up twenty points; he'll make semi-finalist in our state. I don't think it hurts to prep, but I also know that it doesn't always mean great increases, too. </p>
<p>it is very possible to improve 20 points. some ppl may improve 30 points, depending on what the soph year score was.</p>
<p>i would say that he has a pretty good chance of making the cut off. i dont know that prep courses will help significantly. i dont believe in them so i study on my own.</p>
<p>my score this year was a 11 pt increase. it would have been more if it hadnt been for complete stupidity =</p>
<p>so basically, for your son, if he could improve CR and WR some, it would be a good jump. vocab and grammar. i think taking practice tests from prep books helped in my case.</p>
<p>It is very possible to improve 20 to 30 points in PSAT from sophomore to junior since the students will have done more maths by the time he/she is a junior and also, hopefully, read quite a bit more as well. Your son's score of 201 is an excellent score for sophomore and shall definitely shoot for NMSF next year.</p>
<p>(I'm a junior, went from 217 w/only psat prep to 220 w/sat prep in NY)</p>
<p>I've heard a lot of different things. It really depends on each kid. I would just warn against saying "scores will naturally go up"...while it might be the case for some, it's definitely a way to be overconfident...</p>
<p>My score went up from 198 sophomore year to 223 junior year. I did not take a prep class or study for either test. I didn't even realize that people studied for the PSAT until I read the posts on this site. A 20 point increase is definitely possible for your son.</p>
<p>I took the practice test that came with registration and got 203. I took a few pre-tests, studied writing section a bit and came up with a 16 point boost on the test 3 days after taking my first step in preparing (doing the diagnostic). I'm sure a prep course would help, more in some, less in others.</p>
<p>I improved from a 193 on my PSATs to a 2160 on my SATs, so theres always a chance that there will be a big difference if you give time to the process and i think the same should be true on the PSATs.</p>
<p>I've improved from 188 last year to 217 this year, enough to make the cutoff in Florida. In between that time I took a Kaplan SAT coures followed by a few months of brutal prepping.</p>
<p>The key is self-motivation. If you're doing all the forcing yourself, he will not improve much at all. You must help him be self-motivated. My parents wanted me to be the best and pushed me hard, but if I wasn't self-motivated, I wouldn't have made it no matter how hard I was forced.</p>
<p>Advancing to NMSF is very realistic for your son. If he takes a class over the summer, I'd say 30-point improvement is likely. Also, reviewing the PSAT booklet the counselors give you is very helpful. This comes from my own experience; I had roughly the same score as your son did when I was a sophomore, and after a summer class and light PSAT reviewing I improved 32 points.</p>
<p>I earned a 205 in my sophomore year and a 221 this junior year, which is likely a jump from Commended to Semifinalist status in my state. I can't credit the gratifying improvement to anything specific, but I can certainly say that taking a summer SAT-preparation course, self-preparation by Xiggi's</a> method, and simply continuing to learn and gain experience and knowledge throughout the year all contributed.</p>
<p>The summer course was not as valuable in what it meant to teach as it was in what was imparted through drilling and rather personal chats with the teachers regarding test-taking attitudes, especially for the critical reading section, which many complain to be boring or difficult to relate to. Self-preparation was accomplished by purchasing old PSAT tests from the College</a> Board store and using The Official SAT Study Guide. Finally, I just continued to work hard academically, read a lot (The Economist, classics from the Barnes & Noble Classics series, and some English-teacher recommendations), be my natural grammar-stringent self, and study vocabulary (fifteen words per week from Barron's 601 Words You Need to Know to Pass Your Exam).</p>
<p>I entirely agree with Liist that self-motivation is the key, and the summer course can be a good way to give your son momentum. It is key that he does not rely solely on the summer course, though. The ETS exams are all really just tests of testing skills, so it's necessary to practice continuously.</p>
<p>To predict the National Merit Semifinalist cutoffs, check the related thread that has the history for each state. I can't find it right now, but it's definitely in either this forum (SAT and ACT Tests & Test Preparation) or the<br>
SAT Preparation forum. How much improvement your son can squeeze in all depends on himself.</p>
<p>My friend got a 201 sophomore year and ended up getting 235 junior year. Most of my friends improved, and they improved by more than twenty points. A 201 for sophomore year isn't bad at all - in fact, it's surprising how much knowledge people accumulate throughout just one year. Your son will be fine.</p>
<p>alright ive been seeing all these great scores and am kinda scared....i got a 150 my freshman year and a 179 my sophomore year...is it pretty much impossible for me to make nmsf in florida(cutoff normally 212)....also i did no prep between freshman and sophomore but plan to prep a lot this year</p>
<p>Kevinscool, 166 is the exact score I got on the PSAT and 201 is exactly the score I want to get next year crazy coincidence, right?
What did you do to improve?</p>
<p>I got a 195 as a sophomore, 198 as a junior after prep, then with no prep got a 35 on the ACT (36 superscored). Random things happen. Don’t despair if he doesn’t get NMF, the PSAT might just not be his test.</p>
crazy coincidence, right?