Hi-
I’m currently a sophomore and I am working towards a National Merit Scholarship since it seems to have great benefits in the college application process. I’ve recently beens scoring around 210. I have a difficulty in reading and it is definitely my weakest subject. Any tips on how to better my score to qualify for a scholarship? (I’ve been working outside of school and using SAT practice books)
Thank you!
What state do you live in? 210 is pretty good and makes the cut for some states- you may be very close. In others, you have some work to do. To improve your score you might try looking at the SAT prep part of the forum. To boost reading scores, it is generally recommended that you read and up the challenge level of what you do read. PSAT format will be different this year. College Board is partnering with another big website to put out prep materials to help those without the means to pay for SAT prep courses.
Sign up for some SATs for this spring…good practice.
Thanks for your feedback! I live in WA so the cut off is usually around 220…my brother missed it by one point, so I am aiming for above a 220 if I can get there. Yes I know it’s changing which is a little worrisome since I have been doing a lot of practice PSAT tests on the current form.
Listen to @Mom2collegekids and prep for the SATs. I actually did not take the PSAT very seriously when I took it because I wasn’t aware of the scholarships, but I luckily ended up scoring well enough to qualify - mostly because I had already practiced so much for the SAT by that time. Take a bunch of practice SAT tests… the PSAT will seem like a breeze, especially since your scores are already extremely high. Good luck! 
Thanks, I will. The fact that I know so much is riding on doing well puts a lot of pressure on me, and I have really bad test anxiety, so I’m hoping practice tests in a testing environment help. Has anyone else had this problem?
My son scored 205 as a sophomore and got a 224 as a junior without a lot of preparation. Do some practice tests and I’d say you have a good shot at pulling it up far enough.
You are motivated and practice does relieve test anxiety. As the PSAT will be different in the fall, make sure you prep this summer with the new format SAT tests from the Bluebook.
Move to Wyoming! 
Or South Dakota. Or Arkansas.
Do your best, but be informed about the actual costs involved for your schools, where you would like to attend and how they apply the NMF award.
My son won a National Merit Corporate award. He was heavily recruited by schools in the midwest and south for full rides. If that’s where you would like to go, then by all means go for it for a free ride.
Now, the ds did well in his acceptances in-state, but the NMF award only took off a small fraction of his tuition at those UC’s. He was awarded a full ride at a lower tier UC, but he didn’t want to attend that school. USC offered ½ tuition off. That means we were still on the hook for ~$40K.
The NM award is $2500 per YEAR. It’s a nice recognition award for him and since he likes taking tests, he did well. But you really need to look at what the offer will be for the schools you wish to attend, if you are a NM winner. If you are stressing and killing yourself over this award, and it’s not going to help in the long run, don’t stress about it.
Thank you, this helps a lot. I am looking at schools that offer full rides for national merits, so that is why I am striving for the recognition. I am aware of the changing PSAT, which is frustrating since I finally got used to the original formatting like from the Bluebook. From the looks of it, the new PSAT/SAT seems a bit harder and a lot wordier…so I will have to see how much my score differs for that than the old PSAT.