<p>As a Sophomore in the last month of school, I took the practice PSAT with a few other students that were deemed capable of scoring on a National Merit Scholar level. It wasn't the official thing, mind you, and I didn't take it as seriously. Obviously, I still tried; I was a relatively new student, and had a lot to prove to my peers (as many of them are overachievers, since we are in the IB Program). My school is a lower-end public school with an IB Program to its name but not much else. Basically, there are a few very, very bright kids, and many, many kids who aren't taking the right direction in their lives. So when I scored a 216 on the PSAT, I was pleasantly surprised. I had taken the SAT in May (and had actually just recently gotten my results) and found out I received a 2050 (660 M, 700 CR, 690 W) as a Sophomore, which I figure is very respectable at my age. However, over the summer, I did virtually no studying. I did, however, read a lot. I finished fairly complicated material (many of Dawkins' books, for example). I say this not to brag but rather to say that it might end up benefitting me on the SAT/PSAT. </p>
<p>Seeing as I am going to take prep courses weekly that are provided by my school but probably won't do too much studying outside of that, do you think I could maintain my 216 (or increase it) come October? Do you have any experience with it? Is it normal for my SAT to be that much lower than the PSAT?</p>