<p>So daughter took the PSAT as a HS sophomore this year. She wanted a baseline as to what she might need to prep for when it counts next year. She took it cold, with no preparation. Got her scores today, and her counsellor told her that if she were a junior, she would have qualified for the first round of the National Merit Scholarship Program. (We're all new to this...so apologies if I don't make a lot of sense!) Anyway...with a high score in 10th grade, should she still do some sort of prep book or program before she takes it again next year? How well does PSAT correlate with SAT? Also, can there be any future scholarship/recognition that comes out of doing very well on this test in the 10th grade??</p>
<p>You get no scholarships or recognition for doing well as a 10th grader. What was her score exactly? Depending on her score, she may or may not need a prep program to qualify for the National Merit scholarships. But if she did well as a sophomore, then chances are she will do well as a junior. Just make sure she does at least some prep and you should be fine.</p>
<p>Here are some helpful links:</p>
<p>National</a> Merit Scholarship Corporation - NMSP</p>
<p>IMO your daughter should consider prep because she is probably at Commended level now (which gets her nothing sophomore, and in junior year, Commended is a nice honor, but really gets you nothing), thus in spitting distance of attaining semi-finalist status. And then, provided she has the corroborating SAT score, grades, etc., she can earn finalist. Although the amount of scholarship money awarded by the National Merit group is relatively small, finalists can get full ride merit scholarships to many state schools and substantial merit scholarships to other colleges.</p>
<p>It is important to remember that PSAT scores have nothing to do with college admission. Students are admitted on the basis of SAT (or ACT or no standardized test for a few schools), grades, class rank, SAT II subject tests (when required), extracurriculars, etc. Well, of course, colleges love to add semifinalists to their stats, so they will be very interested in students with those scores. But to be competitive at selective colleges, that score/status alone won't cut it.</p>
<p>Add a zero to the end of the PSAT for a rough correlation to the SAT, e.g., 200=2000, a perfect score is 240=2400.</p>
<p>Her good PSAT score can help her in applying for some good summer programs. Many summer programs for high school students will accept PSAT scores. She shall continue to study hard in her regular classes and then do some preparation, either on her own or with some prep classes, during the summer before her junior year.</p>