<p>I am so mad at myself right now. I just looked over my PSAT answers and made SO many stupid mistakes, especially in the math part. I could have got an 800 if I wasn't so stupid on that day. As for the crit. reading, I realize my stupid ways of thinking. anyone else feels this way? Oh well, I'll make sure it doesn't happen on the real SAT. but still, who wouldn't want to be a semi-finalist?? :(</p>
<p>it's okay...</p>
<p>I know someone who didn't get semi and just got into Stanford EA.</p>
<p>fruita, semifinalist isn't a big deal at all. Just do well on the real SATs, that's where it counts.</p>
<p>anyways, I notice you're in chicago too, are you in the city or suburbs?</p>
<p>I live in the south suburbs.</p>
<p>athlonmj: I just read your profile and stuff... you live north of Chicago. Do you mind me asking where you go (high school). I like to compare the academic atmosphere between the north and south. It seems like you guys are more academically oriented. But that's just one person's opinion. I go to a public school with about 350 kids in the junior class. I am ranked number one. It's not the best high school, but I try to take classes and do stuff that might allow me to stand out. I am hoping to go to Northwestern.</p>
<p>By the way , you have some really impressing scores and recs. congrats and good luck.</p>
<p>i go to libertyville. I'd say my school is semi-competitive but there are definately schools up here that are better, like Stevenson, New Trier, Naperville North, etc. Colleges don't discriminate against you because you don't go to one of the top high schools... actually going to a bad school and doing well can help because it shows that you took the initiative to overcome adversity.</p>
<p>fruita - the exact same thing happened to me last year on the PSAT. I got a 67 math because I made 3 stupid mistakes (on easy questions!). I ended up getting a 217 and I missed the NY cutoff for semifinalist by 1 point. I was really upset, especially since I really need scholarship money and I felt like I missed out on a big opportunity. However, just recognize that not being a semifinalist isn't going to keep you out of any colleges. I got over it after a while. On the actual SAT I, I scored 150 points higher without any extra preparation because I had studied really hard for the PSAT already (which is another thing that annoyed me--that I studied for the PSAT, usually pulled off consistent 230+'s and screwed up on the real thing). So if you know you had a bad day that day, don't worry about your score too much. If critical reading is your weakness, just make sure to study for the SAT I. You should do fine.</p>
<p>Kids, you have to realize that PSATs matter jack in the college app process. You do realize that the selective colleges accept only around 20% of your Finalists/Commended/Semi PSAT scholars. Just don't screw up on the New SATs...</p>