To Current Sophomores: How to Become and National Merit Semifinalist

Test Preparation
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<p>NOTE: I am not the inventor of this method, I’ve seen many other people in this forum reference doing it. This is just meant to be a consolidated guide to the concept.</p>

<p>If there are any parents out there (there are, I just know it!) and any enterprising young sophomores out there (there are probably just a few), this thread is for YOU! I speak as a National Merit Semifinalist (I fully expect to advance to Finalist, but you never can be too sure!) who used a really easy, completely legit way of making NMS status a lot easier to acquire.</p>

<li><p>Sophomore year, take the actual, real SAT. Don’t do it until the Spring, you’ll need as much of the high school level Algebra and writing and etc. as you can get. But, take the SAT in the Spring. Study for it, the book colleboard has is very sufficient. There are some GREAT study methods listed in this forum
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html</a>
to help study. Do your best! It’s ok if it’s not as high as you like, you’ve still got Junior and Senior year if you need to re-take it (I certainly did!)</p></li>
<li><p>Junior year, fall, take the PSAT.</p></li>
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<p>At this point, you cry “But wait! You did PSAT and SAT in the wrong order!”</p>

<p>Exactly.</p>

<p>By studying your heart out for the real SAT in the Spring of Sophomore year, you’ve really been preparing for your Junior PSAT in the fall. Study the PSAT stuff now, but it should be REAL easy compared to the SAT stuff you’ve prepared for in the Spring. Take the PSAT, notice that it’s easier, do amazing on it!</p>

<p>Remember, National Merit is a PSAT thing.</p>

<li>Continue with Junior and Senior year, maybe re-taking that SAT once or twice. Don’t re-take it five or five million times, that would be a red flag. Also, keep those grades up! When it comes time to review Semifinalists to advance to Finalist status, grades and actual SAT scores come into play.</li>
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<p>Does this help at all? It depends on the student. I just know that it certainly made MY life a whole lot easier! Good luck!</p>

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<p>Excellent advice. I followed this approach and have discovered that this is a very effective way to perform well on the PSAT!</p>

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<p>Can the SAT sophomore year be replaced with the ACT for those in ACT land?</p>

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<p>not exactly. the ACT is very different from the SAT, (ACT is more time managment whereas SAT is more material).</p>

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<p>Ha! That’s what I did. I got a 2020 on the SAT, but a 232 on the PSAT! After the SAT, I really thought the PSAT was easier.</p>

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<p>I took the SAT 2 weeks after my junior PSAT…>_<</p>

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<p>Wish I would’ve done this. I’m most definetely making my 12-year-old sister do it in a few years. Great advice.</p>

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<p>this is stupid</p>

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<p>ya i disagree as well take as many practice as possible thats it…review whatever section ur weakest at</p>

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<p>hey i have a question. I took the SAT this october… Got a 1460 out of 2400 because i took it as a diagnostic test for myself. Should i retake it in the spring?? What should i do?</p>

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<p>I took the SAT 2 weeks after my junior PSAT…>_<</p>

<p>rofl thats exactly what I did this year.</p>

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<p>You don’t need to take a real SAT for practice in order to do well on the PSAT … that sounds like overkill to me.</p>

<p>Personally, the Xiggi method doesn’t work for me. Just go through the booklet your counselor gives you, and if you’ve done SAT prep already (i.e. during the summer), that’s a definite plus.</p>

<p>What seems to be the case with everyone I know: if you got 200+ as a sophomore, you’re essentially guaranteed NMSF, as long as you don’t sit on your score doing nothing with it.</p>

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<p>oriya, the idea is that the real SAT is more difficult than the PSAT, so if you take the SAT and are prepared for it, then the PSAT will be a breeze when it comes along. I’ve had the same experience with math competitions–after preparing for the big ones at the end of the season in the spring, the easier ones at the beginning of the next year seem a lot easier.</p>

<p>Of course, being “prepared” for the SAT means different things to different people–it may mean reviewing until you vomit at the sight of a prep book, it may mean taking one practice test and then looking over a few things you missed, or it may mean just getting some sleep the night before.</p>

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<p>I took the PSAT after the SAT, and I’d say it helped a lot.</p>

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<p>I’m glad that this method worked for you, and that you are willing to share it with others. And I second your input on the xiggi method. </p>

<p>However, for some, taking the SAT before the PSAT may be overkill. My D took the PSAT sohomore year w/o study, this gave her an idea of how close she was to NMSF and which areas she had to study the most. Junior year she studied specifically for the PSAT for about a month (had planned to start earlier but things came up). Then, after taking the PSAt she worked on the essay and studied harder math in preparation to take the SAT in Jan. </p>

<p>Probably the part that I like the least about your plan is that it seems more likely that one would end up taking the SAT twice, once as a sophomore and again as a junior sometime after taking the PSAT.</p>

<p>Different strokes.</p>

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<p>Oh yeah, I studied my butt off for the real SAT and I got a 217, which is more than enough to make the cutoff in Florida.</p>

<p>The thing is, I just registered for the January test and forgot to take the SAT, oops.</p>

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<p>I agree with entomom. Sly Si, I don’t see the purpose of taking the SAT before the PSAT. It’s a bit over-the-top, and a bit unnecessary. There are plenty of SAT practice tests you can take in preparation without risking a bad score. Colleges will see/care about your SAT scores. PSAT is only for NM. I don’t see why you would take a more important test as practice for one of lesser value.</p>