Taking October SAT a week before PSAT to improve NMSF chances?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>I saw the great thread by mom2collegekids on the NMSF process and am wondering about the advice in this post:</p>

<p>15) What can I do to improve my chances of making NMSF?
Use a College Board SAT practice book and practice during the summer.
Sign up for the October SAT. It's given about a week before the PSAT.
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1365011-faq-psat-sat-nmsf-nmf-process.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/1365011-faq-psat-sat-nmsf-nmf-process.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Any comments on this advice?
Pros: I can see that the early SAT would work as a warm-up or practice test for the PSAT and it might take some of the pressure off since the score wouldn't really count that much--I assume that the SAT would be taken again in Spring of Jr year or Fall of Senior year.
But are there disadvantages, like maybe a student could feel burnt out when the time came for the PSAT, or discouraged if they felt they didn't do too well on the SAT? Would it be a good investment of $51 or would the student do just as well with a full-length SAT practice test at home?</p>