<p>My nephew just got a 35 on his ACT. He's scheduled to take the SAT this Saturday. Do you think he should take it?</p>
<p>I'm thinking if he doesn't do as well on the SAT and then takes SAT subject tests, schools that don't except score choice will see that.</p>
<p>Do you think there are any schools that would still think the SAT is a better indicator? He got a 220 on the PSAT which will probably be merit finalist in NY State.</p>
<p>Going to have to take the SAT for NMS anyhow. FWIW, I didn’t do as well on the SAT, and didn’t notice any ill effects to reporting both scores.</p>
<p>He won’t be a merit finalist if he doesn’t take the sat.</p>
<p>If he qualifies as a National Merit Semifinalist, he will be required to take the SAT if he wants to become a Finalist. But if he prefers, he can wait until the Semifinalists are announced. There will still be time to take the test.</p>
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<p>Schools that do not permit Score Choice vary in whether or not both ACT and SAT/Subject tests must be sent. For instance, both Penn and Y accept either the ACT or SAT+Subject tests. However, while Penn requires all testing, Y requires all ACT OR all SAT/Subject tests (Y requires all testing only if an applicant wants to submit some scores from both types of test). And then you have S which requires all testing except Subject tests.</p>
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<p>No.</p>
<p>Realistically, unless your S is interested in attending one of the few schools that has a big automatic award for an NMF, the most he’s likely to get is $2K. ANd at many, if not most, schools, that will be subtracted from his need-based aid.</p>
<p>So with a 35 ACT, I’d be tempted to skip the SAT.</p>
<p>No, he shouldn’t, unless he makes NMSF. </p>
<p>What COnsolation says isn’t exactly true. There a thread here (<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/136920-full-rides-national-merit-finalists-scholars-24.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/136920-full-rides-national-merit-finalists-scholars-24.html</a>) a few years back, which although coming before schools had to cut down on scholarship money, still should provide some ballpark estimates about merit aid for NMF. There are prestigious enough schools that give Full tuition+ all the way up to a full ride for the NMF title. </p>
<p>For example, my state flagship (Arizona State) has an honors college. On their website, they act kind of tough about their standards, “rigorous high school education”, “exemplary test scores”, “examples of dedication to community” , but as soon as you scroll down to the “National Merit” heading, they start begging you to come, throw automatic admission at you, free overnight stay with an honors student, the whole nine yards. </p>
<p>State schools who need a prestige boost, like 'Bama or ASU will give a lot of merit aid, including NMF funds, to pull themselves up a tier. DO take the test if he qualifies for NMSF, unless you’re perfectly comfortable paying full-fee in exchange for less paperwork on your son’s part.</p>
<p>Normally I’d say skip it but since he has a chance to list NMF on his resume that is pretty sweet.</p>
<p>And USC is giving 1/2 scholarships IF they “name USC as their first-choice college with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation”</p>
<p>Yea, he sounds like a good test taker. It seems like not much risk to take it, with some chance of gain. </p>
<p>FYI - sometimes this ACT/SAT concordance (approx equivalent) chart is handy. The PSAT 220 would be around 2000 SAT… plus maybe higher if he has read a lot since then. <a href=“http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/pdf/reference.pdf[/url]”>http://www.act.org/aap/concordance/pdf/reference.pdf</a></p>
<p>OP said he was supposed to take it Saturday which would mean it’s already paid for. Take it.</p>
<p>colorado_mom - the rough conversion, or projected score, from PSAT to SAT is to simply add a zero. The 220 estimates he would score a 2200, significantaly higher then 2000. This would fall much closer to the ACT score of 35 (SAT equivalent being 2330).</p>
<p>He should take the test, get it over with, and send a free score report to the NM program. Do not close the door on NM scholarship opportunities, or have to think about taking the test later.</p>
<p>See the National Merit threads in the Financial Aid Forum. There are still a lot of automatic, non-competitive, full-tuition, full-ride/near-full-ride scholarships at good schools that finalists can just sign up for. He only needs about a 2000 on the SAT to qualify for Finalist. With a 220 PSAT, he should easily make it. (FWIW, my 4 kids with comparable scores, who took the SAT in Jan-May of junior year, all scored higher on the SAT than they did on the PSAT. I do test prep and student SAT scores are generally around the same level as PSAT.)</p>
<p>My kids all scored higher on the SAT eventually then the PSAT as well, and I think the OPs son will too. My point was simply the basic conversion was add the zero and without study that’s what you could roughly expect at that time. The kids have another year of school, and self study for one test format or a another. They simply test better then they did when they took the PSAT. I agree the test is paid for and he should take it and get it off his radar.</p>
<p>Well, I agree that it is worth taking, especially if it is paid for, but I wouldn’t expect a financial bonanza unless he is interested in the ASU/UAB type of school that is engaged in “buying” high-scoring students. On the other hand, even a couple of thousand dollars is a couple of thousand dollars the family doesn’t have to come up with, so I’d say one Saturday morning is well worth it.</p>
<p>Regarding admissions: at the most selective schools good scores are taken for granted, so they are unlikely to care whether a student is an NMSF/NMF. At the same time, they really do want to look at the highest scores, so they are highly unlikely to ding him if his SAT results are a little lower than his 35. (And I would be surprised if there was a big difference, unless he prepped extensively for the ACT and is flummoxed by the SAT.)</p>
<p>Given that it’s paid for and he’s in contention for NMS why not take it? Even the measely $2000 is nothing to sneeze at in our house. It’s pretty clear he’s a good test taker, I don’t think he’s likely to bomb the SAT. The most unpredictable part is the essay. My kids never mastered that section, despite doing very well in college writing assignments, but still did fine in admissions. I don’t think he’ll be “flummoxed” by the SAT given that he’s taken the PSAT. :)</p>
<p>My D also got a 35 on the ACT and decided not to take the SAT. She took the PSAT and was a semi-finalist, but not a finalist so no scholarship money was involved. She ended up at an Ivy league school and got accepted at most of the highly regarded UC’s, so not taking the SAT did not hurt her.</p>
<p>But if he’s already signed up to take the SAT and paid for it, he might as well take it.</p>
<p>I’m wondering, dkata1, if you are confusing semifinalist with commended scholar? </p>
<p>If not, I’m wondering why your D did not make finalist. Other than not taking the SAT (which would automatically disqualify her), was there some other reason (low GPA, too many C’s on transcript, etc.) that she knew in advance that she would not qualify, and chose not to take the SAT?</p>
<p>I just want to make it clear to those who may be unfamiliar with the NM program that while 90% of semi-finalists do advance to finalist, any student who doesn’t take the SAT CANNOT advance to finalist.</p>
<p>(btw, now starting to enjoy the “financial bonanza” after “selling” two of my kids to one of those colleges that buys NMFs. . .)</p>