It is PSAT time again. Here are some highlights of past posts to help with your PSAT Review and National Merit Scholarship information:
1. PSAT and National Merit Scholarships
The only time the PSAT is more than a practice test is when students are attempting to qualify for National Merit scholarships. Junior year is the only time PSAT results can qualify a student for the National Merit program.
National Merit scholarships specifically refer to the awards from the National Merit Corporation and its sponsors. These scholarships tend to be small ($2500). However, the real money comes from the individual colleges and universities eager to attract top students with offers of full scholarships in many cases. One’s status as a National Merit finalist may be worth more than the actual scholarship from the National Merit program.
To find out more about more about what it takes to become a finalist and how to review, see the original post How To Earn National Merit Scholarships.
2. PSAT For Juniors
Junior year is the time the PSAT matters. First, it is a student’s only opportunity to qualify for National Merit Scholarships; PSAT results from 9th or 10th grade will not be used. Second, juniors should be preparing to take the SAT, so the PSAT junior year is a trial run or dress rehearsal for the actual SAT.
Here is a two and a half minute video discussing the PSAT for high school juniors.
3. PSAT for Sophomores & Freshmen
Most high schools encourage 9th and 10th grade students to take the PSAT. It is a good way to identify top scoring students prior to junior year and it helps students see the type of material they will encounter on the SAT.
Here is a short (1:45) discussion of how the PSAT should be used for sophomores and freshmen:
The PSAT is a useful tool for identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses prior to taking the SAT. It is a good introduction to test taking in an environment where students don’t need to worry about colleges seeing scores.
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