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Since the SAT is changing in spring 2016


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I feel like we are caught right in the middle of this change.  DS will be in 10th next year.  For those who are in 10th and 11th grades next year, what are your thoughts?  I was just reading an SAT prep course description, and it was talking about when to take their course based on when you are taking the SAT. But it wouldn't it still be helpful to begin preparing ahead of time?  If you take a prep course based on the old test, and then still take one based on the new test, that could only help you, right?  Or am I missing something here?  I guess what I mean is, it seems like it could only help you to begin preparing as early as possible, knowing that new information will come out at some point on how to better prepare for your newer test.

 

Would it be better to wait until 11th to take the SAT, and not be in the first round of people taking the new test?

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I refuse to worry about the test format until more detailed information and test prep books are available.

As far as early preparation goes: we have begun preparing for the SAT in elementary school by giving our children a strong education in math and English.

When this is in place, a targeted test prep with a prep book for a few weeks before the test will suffice.

When this is lacking, no intense test prep will help.

 

I have no preference about test timing, other than getting the first try in early enough so the student has a second shot. Winter of junior year is a good time, with the possibility of repeating in spring Jr year. I see no need to have a 10th grader take the test unless you need the score for dual enrollment; but I also don't see it causing any harm.

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I feel like we are caught right in the middle of this change.  DS will be in 10th next year.  For those who are in 10th and 11th grades next year, what are your thoughts?  I was just reading an SAT prep course description, and it was talking about when to take their course based on when you are taking the SAT. But it wouldn't it still be helpful to begin preparing ahead of time?  If you take a prep course based on the old test, and then still take one based on the new test, that could only help you, right?  Or am I missing something here?  I guess what I mean is, it seems like it could only help you to begin preparing as early as possible, knowing that new information will come out at some point on how to better prepare for your newer test.

 

Would it be better to wait until 11th to take the SAT, and not be in the first round of people taking the new test?

 

I was in the first round of big changes in 1994-5. I took it twice, once in my sophomore year (late) and once in my junior year (late). I am glad I took it twice. I felt more confident in my percentile score, which did not change, and if it had gone down, I could have submitted the previous score as a mitigating factor. I did not prep. I went to a small school and nobody but one person prepped. We thought that was just crazy--who preps for this stuff? Now I know better. :)

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The new changes are radical enough that my rising 10th grader will only study for the new test. There are sample questions released on the college board website now, and here's a nice summary of the changes:

 

http://www.bwseducationconsulting.com/docs/2016_New_SAT_Summary.pdf

 

The new essay is going to be like current AP History: Need to read a longer set of documents to use as evidence in your argument, and the essay is twice as long. (50 minutes instead of 25).

 

The vocabulary and math is also changing.

 

 

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I don't think anyone can tell if it would be better or not for you but I give advice based on what I/my family would do in that situation. If it were me/ my kidsI would wait until the new test is out. You have the time...it changes during your DS's 10th grade?

 

Do you think he is headed to a school that accepts the highest score or score choice ? If so,there really is no deteriment to taking the test multiple times. I would have my student take the new test in March, May and June of his 10th gradebeing sure to order the question/ answer sheet( I can't recall what is was called). You both can go over these tests as study material. I would be assigning test prep from the revised books and probably talking to testmasters about their revised course..although many companies would have something..after March . I would only have my kids doing this if I was shooting for national merit semi/ finalist staus.

 

I believe , but don't know ... That the new SAT would be better practice for the new PSAT that your Ds would be taking in the fall of 11th. We are in a worse pickle. I have a 10th grader now. Her class gets the new PSAT and SAT . Weeeee

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I'm doing a lot of research right now on the various tests for a presentation to our homeschool group. The recommendation I'm seeing is:

 

- if your student is graduating in 2016 or 2017, go with the current SAT

- if your student is graduating in 2018 or later, go with the revised SAT (coming in spring 2016)

 

As far as prep goes, from what I'm reading, it sounds like the SAT is moving a step closer to slightly more resemble the ACT. If you really want to already be prepping, then consider doing a mixed prep of both SAT & ACT material -- the SAT question of the day (for the current test), and some ACT prep material. Then when the new test comes out in spring 2016, there will be a big batch of new prep material hitting the market by summer of 2016, and you can switch over to just the SAT material.

 

Better yet, skip the SAT entirely and just focus on prepping for the ACT, and take that twice. The ACT is equally accepted by all colleges, and that way you don't get swept up in the fire storm of change with the SAT. ;)

 

BEST of luck, whatever you decide. Warmest regards, Lori D.

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How do people decide about taking the ACT or SAT?  And do some people take both?  If you take both, can you decide which you want to submit?  Most everyone here takes the SAT, so would that be a bad move to take the ACT instead?  Like, will that make it seem like we're trying to dodge something?

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What I am thinking is that the test prep part seems important to me, mainly because of my own experience taking the SAT with zero prep and then later taking the GRE with very targeted prep.  Night and day.  I am a firm believer that is a huge part of it.   So, does it make sense to wait and not start doing the targeted prep part until the new stuff is out?  I was just thinking, it would be good to get a jumpstart on it.  But will using the prep material for the current SAT, if you plan to take the new one, be counter-productive?

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In my research over the years, a lot of people seem to think that studying old College Board materials was still valuable when the test changed. Something about the tone of the question and some of the questions became more intuitive? I don't know if that ever happend with my DS. I' m also a big believer in test prep, it can make a huge difference. If he started heavy prep late next spring after the first new test he would have over a year including 1-2 summers. That time IMHO is probably more than he will want or need.

 

More people took the ACT last year than the SAT. I'm guessing even more will take the ACT with the new test.

 

Edited to add: Here is a free online test to help determine which test a student might take.

http://www.kaptest.com/pdf_files/college/sat-act-practice-test.pdf

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How do people decide about taking the ACT or SAT?  And do some people take both?  If you take both, can you decide which you want to submit?  Most everyone here takes the SAT, so would that be a bad move to take the ACT instead?  Like, will that make it seem like we're trying to dodge something?

 

ACT or SAT seem to be favored by high schools in different areas. In contrast, colleges are receiving applications from students all over the country, so they are seeing both kinds of scores. JMO: but I don't think colleges bat an eye at getting one or the other -- but, if worried, call the college(s) that will be applied to and ask if they have a preference. 

 

comparison chart of SAT/ACT scores

SAT vs ACT -- comparison of the focus of the two tests

How to Choose Between Taking the ACT or SAT -- and -- How to Decide

 

Some families pick one test, say the SAT, and test several times, and some colleges will "super score" the results -- the college takes the highest score for each section, even if from different times of testing. I would advise caution about this with the revised SAT -- colleges will likely NOT combine scores from old and new tests.

 

Both DSs did one of each here, as some people do better on one vs. the other. One DS scored equivalently on both, the other scored better on the SAT (the ACT was 2 points lower in the equivalency chart), so a wash for one student, a slight help for the other. We submitted scores for both tests.

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ACT or SAT seem to be favored by high schools in different areas. In contrast, colleges are receiving applications from students all over the country, so they are seeing both kinds of scores. JMO: but I don't think colleges bat an eye at getting one or the other -- but, if worried, call the college(s) that will be applied to and ask if they have a preference. 

 

 

This was our experience as well - even colleges deep in "ACT country" accepted the SAT.

 

 

Given all the unknowns about the new SAT, I would plan on taking both.

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How do people decide about taking the ACT or SAT?  And do some people take both?  If you take both, can you decide which you want to submit?  Most everyone here takes the SAT, so would that be a bad move to take the ACT instead?  Like, will that make it seem like we're trying to dodge something?

 

All colleges take either. There is no stigma to the ACT.

DD took both because she qualified for National Merit and had to have the SAT.

Some colleges require you to send all test scores, so you may not have the choice to withhold scores.

 

Most students do better on one of the tests than the other (you can find that out by practice test), so I would choose accordingly.

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Our experience may be a little different, as she will have taken both tests early and often. We are required to test every year for the state and the ACT qualifies, but the PSAT/SAT don't, so my daughter does the ACT every year to fulfill that requirement. She is also in the Duke talent identification program, so was able to start with the SAT and ACT in 7th grade. She tests very well, has no test anxiety (actually rather enjoys the process, as I did at her age), and the ACT is cheaper than my preferred other option, the WJIII, so she might as well do the one that works toward college admissions.

 

Our schedule was/is:

7th: ACT with no writing for Duke, then last minute decision to add SAT to try to qualify for the SET program at Johns Hopkins (must hit a certain score before age 13--she didn't quite make it)

8th: ACT and she did a light test prep class with our co-op

9th: ACT and PSAT, ACT for yearly, PSAT to have a score prior to the change and as extra credit for the college and career planning class she was taking with the school system (also able to take it for free through the local school with which we work)

 

Planned:

10th:  new PSAT for practice (hopefully again free), old SAT in fall to have a comparison score, ACT in spring for yearly,

11th: PSAT to try to qualify for National Merit program (hopefully again free), ACT for yearly because it is given for free to all high school juniors in our state public schools now and we can access that, new SAT in spring to see how it goes

12th: ACT for yearly, another SAT if needed

 

We will definitely be buying the test prep books for the new PSAT and SAT when they come out, to have practice in the changes. Before investing in a test prep program, especially an expensive class, make sure they are planning to update their materials. Last summer, I spoke with a rep from College Prep Genius and asked if there were plans to update their materials to reflect the changes in the PSAT and SAT. She said there were not, so I would check again with them to see if that had changed. As I understand it, only a very few colleges will superscore the ACT--superscoring the SAT is much more common, but I share concerns that there won't be any superscoring across the old and new tests.

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I'm still figuring this out, but my now 10th grader took the PSAT both as a 9th grader and a 10th grader. He hasn't been exposed to much standardized testing so it was helpful to take them, and then see afterwards what were the sections he struggled with.

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Do the colleges see the PSAT scores also, when you send the SAT scores?

 

No. From the College Board's PSAT website:

 

"Who receives PSAT/NMSQT scores? The College Board is committed to protecting student privacy. The College Board sends studentsĂ¢â‚¬â„¢ PSAT/NMSQT scores to their:

 

Ă¢â‚¬Â¢ Schools [or directly to homeschool families]

Ă¢â‚¬Â¢ Districts (in some cases)

Ă¢â‚¬Â¢ States (in some cases)

Ă¢â‚¬Â¢ National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), the testĂ¢â‚¬â„¢s cosponsor

 

Ă¢â‚¬Â¦ The College Board does not send PSAT/NMSQT scores to colleges. Scores are not intended for use by colleges in their admission decisions. For this reason, scores should not be included on student transcripts that will be reproduced and sent to colleges unless the student (if 18 or older) or parent/guardian has granted permission. Students have the right to withhold scores from college admission and athletic offices, even when colleges request them."

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Do all the PSAT scores count towards the National Merit?  What I'm asking is, if you get a bad PSAT score early on, like in 9th or 10th, can you still go on and try it again and get a better score and qualify for National Merit?

 

Only the 11th grade score counts for NM, no matter how many (or few) times a student has taken the PSAT before.  Sometimes people change their minds about grade level; I've heard of parents calling the CB and getting it changed if a student scores in NM range in 10th and the parent wants to graduate him/her early.

 

 

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Do all the PSAT scores count towards the National Merit? What I'm asking is, if you get a bad PSAT score early on, like in 9th or 10th, can you still go on and try it again and get a better score and qualify for National Merit?

The PSAT score that "counts" is the one taken in 11th grade.

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My "guinea pig year" child is advanced, and has actually already taken the ACT once in a talent search.    I am planning to have her go ahead and take the older SAT the previous year, as well as the PSAT, which will presumably be like the new SAT.    If she does significantly better on  one than on the other, I will choose which one is sent to the colleges.    If it's not possible for me to choose one, I will expect that the colleges will be able to interpret the discrepancy reasonably on their own.    Since you can take the SAT in either the 11th or 12th grade year, but most kids do it in 12th grade, I think this is a reasonable course of action.   We might still get burned on the National Merit stuff (her big sister is a National Merit Scholar, so this is not out of reach for us), but I think it will help with the "first year of new SAT" problem.

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Ă¢â‚¬Â¦  I will choose which one is sent to the colleges. 

 

Here's the SAT info on Score Choice, on how to choose the scores you want to send to colleges. For free, up to four reports (one each to four different schools) may be selected at registration, and another up to four schools may be selected to receive a report for up to 9 days after taking the SAT. After that, it is $11.25 per report.

 

 

Ă¢â‚¬Â¦ Since you can take the SAT in either the 11th or 12th grade year, but most kids do it in 12th gradeĂ¢â‚¬Â¦Â 

 

Nit picking here ;), but a student can take the SAT or ACT at any time in high school, and even as young as in middle school.

 

I agree that this used to be the case that the majority of students took the SAT/ACT in 12th grade. But in the last 10 years, I've been seeing more and more students taking the ACT/SAT in 10th and 11th grades, in order to have the time to test multiple times. A few students are even taking it in 8th or 9th grade.

 

I think part of this lowering of grade in taking the SAT/ACT is because more students are taking the high school maths at younger ages; Algebra I in grade 8, or grade 7 -- a few even in grade 6 -- means the student is taking Algebra 2 in grade 10 or grade 9, which means the student has learned the math that will be on the SAT/ACT and can test earlier. I also think the reason so many more students are testing earlier and repeatedly is because a lot of the scholarship money has dried up at the same time the costs of college have skyrocketed. And when what little merit aid is still available is all riding on a high ACT/SAT test score, families respond by repeated testing to maximize scores.

 

 

BEST of luck in your testing prep and adventures! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

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   Since you can take the SAT in either the 11th or 12th grade year, but most kids do it in 12th grade, I think this is a reasonable course of action.  

 

My daughter took the PSAT once in 11th grade.  She also took the SAT once in March of 11th grade.  Taking the SAT in spring of her junior year was helpful in that she already knew her score when it came time to apply to college in fall of her senior year.  (When I was in high school, many applied to college in January or later of senior year; now there are many colleges with application deadlines in the fall of senior year.)

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I'm an SAT tutor and have been talking to a lot of families about this issue - especially those with rising juniors. 

 

My advice to rising juniors (graduating in 2017) - Skip the SAT entirely next year and just focus on the ACT. All colleges accept either SAT or ACT score with no bias.

 

If your kid is in the top 5% of students and you think he or she has a shot at National Merit status, study for the new PSAT this summer and take the new PSAT in the fall. Wait until the scores back over Christmas. If they qualify, they'll need to take an SAT to confirm those high scores - so study for the new SAT and take it in March and (possibly) again in May or June.

 

If they don't qualify for NM status, take the ACT in the spring.

 

If you want to/need to study for the new PSAT or SAT, the College Board will be publishing a new Official SAT Study Guide at the end of June this year. I believe it will have 4 new tests in it. Kahn Academy will have 4 additional tests available as well. A practice new PSAT should be available some time this month (March 2015). (Needless to say, do NOT fall for fake "we have the goods on the new SAT" books - they don't. Wait for official materials to come out in the summer.)

 

For kids graduating in 2018 or later - you'll have all the new materials to study with. The old test is being phased out in Jan of 2016. My recommendation is to NOT take the old test next year - because you'll have to take the new one anyway. Just wait until the new materials come out and then take the new test in the spring or fall of 2016 if you want extra practice. Or you can just wait and take it during your junior year of 2017.

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The new changes are radical enough that my rising 10th grader will only study for the new test. There are sample questions released on the college board website now, and here's a nice summary of the changes:

 

http://www.bwseducationconsulting.com/docs/2016_New_SAT_Summary.pdf

 

The new essay is going to be like current AP History: Need to read a longer set of documents to use as evidence in your argument, and the essay is twice as long. (50 minutes instead of 25).

 

The vocabulary and math is also changing.

 

 

Wow. After reading your link, it looks like the test has been changed to equalize scores.  Seems like many questions have been changed so that the answer could be kind of ambiguous, and a student might have to guess anyhow, giving an advantage of sorts to kids who don't really have the knowledge.   I guess what I'm trying to say is that maybe the calibre of student doesn't matter so much. 

 

Ugh.  I hate that I have a 10th grader, too.  This group is going to be hardest hit.  Unfortunately, I don't think mine will be ready to take the test before the change.  Maybe I should rethink that.  Generally, he does pretty well with the question of the day.

 

Maybe more schools will follow the lead of a few I've read about and stop requiring the SAT.  Seems like there is not really a purpose for it anymore.

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What do y'all plan on doing about the essay, since it's now optional? The reasoning I'd heard colleges was that they wanted the ACT with essay to compare apples to apples to the SAT, since it was mandatory. Wonder whether colleges will still want the essays? All new research. :( 

 

Lisa

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Outside the box thought, perhaps, but some of the professional test prep folks are switching students to the ACT for a couple of years until everyone can get a handle on what the revised SAT will be like. Most colleges accept either test. So, unless there's a specific reason you want your student to take the SAT, it's a viable option.

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I don't think anyone can tell if it would be better or not for you. If it were me/ my kidsI would wait until the new test is out. You have the time...it changes during your DS's 10th grade?

 

Do you think he is headed to a school that accepts the highest score or score choice ? If so,there really is no deteriment to taking the test multiple times. I would have my student take the new test in March, May and June of his 10th gradebeing sure to order the question/ answer sheet( I can't recall what is was called). You both can go over these tests as study material. I would be assigning test prep from the revised books and probably talking to testmasters about their revised course..although many companies would have something..after March . I would only have my kids doing this if I was shooting for national merit semi/ finalist staus.

 

I believe , but don't know ... That the new SAT would be better practice for the new PSAT that your Ds would be taking in the fall of 11th. We are in a worse pickle. I have a 10th grader now. Her class gets the new PSAT and SAT . Weeeee

We were in the same boat. This particular daughter is a June birthday, so younger for her grade. She is diagnosed adhd and in family of three adhd kids, is the only one so far with symptoms bad enough to medicate. She has consistently been a late bloomer...about two years behind her peers in maturity. In fact we all refer to her and her 13yo sister as the twins because they are right together in interests and all the developmental markers. This SAT thing was the final straw. I finally gave her the go ahead to add a year to the end of high school and call her a freshman again. I'm not recommending you do the same, just commiserating. So glad we have the flexibility to do it without repercussions. It gave us both a little breathing room.

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Barb_

 

I tried to talk my DD1 into an extra year..oh how I tried. She has missed a lot of school this year for health reasons anyway. Her friends are mostly from church and are all brick and motar kids. They seem to think that homeschoolers aren't at their academic level to start with, so even if she was doing dual credit, the stigma would be there. She is pretty driven at this point to get the SAT score she needs in order to get enough dual credit to apply as a transfer student in the fall of 2017. Socially there won't be much going on for her here, and she wants to go to school with her brother. It probably would help the transition of leaving home to have someone there with her. Academically it would be better to wait another year, I agree.

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I'm an SAT tutor and have been talking to a lot of families about this issue - especially those with rising juniors. 

 

My advice to rising juniors (graduating in 2017) - Skip the SAT entirely next year and just focus on the ACT. All colleges accept either SAT or ACT score with no bias.

 

If your kid is in the top 5% of students and you think he or she has a shot at National Merit status, study for the new PSAT this summer and take the new PSAT in the fall. Wait until the scores back over Christmas. If they qualify, they'll need to take an SAT to confirm those high scores - so study for the new SAT and take it in March and (possibly) again in May or June.

 

If they are going for National Merit, they can only take the PSAT the fall of their junior year.    I've read that that PSAT will change the year before the SAT changes.   Then they have to take the SAT in the fall of their senior year--spring ones don't count, or at least, they didn't count last year when my 18yo did it.  It could only be Oct, Nov, or Dec of their senior year, to count for NM purposes.  That puts my current 14yo directly into the mess, no matter how we cut it.  The only way I could see her getting out of it would be to bump her up a year and graduate her early.  I don't mind doing that, but it puts her at a disadvantage compared to the other also-advanced kids who are competing for NM but aren't moving up.    I think we'll just have to take our chances.  

 

Tbh, I think the main effect of the new SAT is going to be shortening the ruler that they measure by.    It has always been a pretty decent way to separate the very top students from the also-good students.  If they make it easier, then all the upper students will wind up in the same group.  

 

What do y'all plan on doing about the essay, since it's now optional? The reasoning I'd heard colleges was that they wanted the ACT with essay to compare apples to apples to the SAT, since it was mandatory. Wonder whether colleges will still want the essays? All new research. :(

 

None of my kids' colleges cared about the essays.  They took off the essay scores and judged based on the other ones.

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If they are going for National Merit, they can only take the PSAT the fall of their junior year...

Ă¢â‚¬Â¦ I've read that that PSAT will change the year before the SAT changes.   Then they have to take the SAT in the fall of their senior year--spring ones don't count, or at least, they didn't count last year when my 18yo did it.  It could only be Oct, Nov, or Dec of their senior year, to count for NM purposes. 

 

Yes, the only year the score *counts* towards possible NMS scholarship money is 11th grade. However, a student can take the PSAT in 11th, 10th, 9th, and even in 8th grade, if a school has room for them to test, and the family wants to repeatedly test.

 

The process for NMS scholarship money:

 

Oct. 2015 (new PSAT test)

1.5 million students take the test; scores of the top 11th graders matched up to state minimums to see who advances

 

Mar. 2016 of the 11th grade year

50,000 Recognized NMS students (top 1% from each state)

 

Sept. 2016 of the 12th grade year

34,000 of those named Commended Students and do not continue farther; some may be eligible for "special scholarships" from businesses

 

Sept. 2016 of the 12th grade year

16,000 named semi-finalists (highest scoring entrants in each state); to continue to Finalist round must:

- plan to enroll in college full time in fall of 2017

- maintain a high GPA on transcript

- complete the NMS scholarship application

- take the Oct, Nov, or Dec 2016 SAT to verify PSAT score, and have scores sent to NMSC

 

Feb. 2017 of the 12th grade year

15,000 named as finalists

 

June after graduation

- 7600 Finalists =  $2500 one time National Merit award

- other Finalists may receive College sponsored Merit Scholarships (frequently renewable), from the first choice college they selected back in Sept. 2016 in the application process

- other Finalists may receive corporated sponsored merit scholarships, if they are the children of employees of a company/corporation that sponsors these scholarships (which may be one-time or renewable)

 

 

 

Ă¢â‚¬Â¦ That puts my current 14yo directly into the mess, no matter how we cut it.  The only way I could see her getting out of it would be to bump her up a year and graduate her early.  I don't mind doing that, but it puts her at a disadvantage compared to the other also-advanced kids who are competing for NM but aren't moving up.    I think we'll just have to take our chances...

 

Honestly, I would not fret too much about it. Yes, it's great to earn scholarship money from PSAT/NMSQT, but the reality is only about 9,000 of the 1.5 million 11th graders taking the test earn scholarship money from the process. The odds are not in a student's favor to begin with, so I'd focus on prepping for the test of choice, ACT or SAT, score high, and work to be a varied and interesting student with well-developed interests through volunteering and extracurriculars. Those are the things that will land merit aid from the university.

 

Most students taking the PSAT won't score high enough to advance in the NMS scholarship process, so you can switch your efforts to the ACT if you want to avoid the new SAT.

 

And in the grand scheme, NMS merit aid is just a small amount of merit aid awarded overall each year. If your student scores high enough to be in the running for money, great! It's worth the hoop-jumping of the new SAT test to go for it. Being able to put NMS Commended Student, Semi-Finalist or Finalist on scholarship applications will be a boost along with high ACT or SAT scores.

 

 

Ă¢â‚¬Â¦ the SATĂ¢â‚¬Â¦ has always been a pretty decent way to separate the very top students from the also-good students.  If they make it easier, then all the upper students will wind up in the same group.  

 

Time will tell with the new SAT. But for students taking the ACT, it seems unlikely students will wind up in the same group; the ACT tests more rigorously for Math than the current SAT, and the ACT is not currently considering revising their test. What may change is the match up of SAT and ACT scores -- it may take a higher SAT score on the new test to match the ACT score.

 

BEST of luck in the testing and college applications/merit aid process! Warmest regards, Lori D.

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My daughter is in 9th grade. She will be taking the ACT rather than the SAT for the following reasons:

 

1) I gave her a practice SAT test and a practice ACT test. She did much better on the ACT. 

 

2) The upcoming revisions in the SAT make it harder to practice for it.

 

3) Almost every single university accepts both the ACT and the SAT.

 

My daughter feels that the ACT math and English tests are more straightforward than the SAT. The one exception is the ACT science section. It is extremely challenging. 

 

 

 

 

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June after graduation

- 7600 Finalists =  $2500 one time National Merit award

- other Finalists may receive College sponsored Merit Scholarships (frequently renewable), from the first choice college they selected back in Sept. 2016 in the application process

- other Finalists may receive corporated sponsored merit scholarships, if they are the children of employees of a company/corporation that sponsors these scholarships (which may be one-time or renewable)

 

Honestly, I would not fret too much about it. Yes, it's great to earn scholarship money from PSAT/NMSQT, but the reality is only about 9,000 of the 1.5 million 11th graders taking the test earn scholarship money from the process. The odds are not in a student's favor to begin with, so I'd focus on prepping for the test of choice, ACT or SAT, score high, and work to be a varied and interesting student with well-developed interests through volunteering and extracurriculars. Those are the things that will land merit aid from the university.

 

Most students taking the PSAT won't score high enough to advance in the NMS scholarship process, so you can switch your efforts to the ACT if you want to avoid the new SAT.

 

And in the grand scheme, NMS merit aid is just a small amount of merit aid awarded overall each year. If your student scores high enough to be in the running for money, great! It's worth the hoop-jumping of the new SAT test to go for it. Being able to put NMS Commended Student, Semi-Finalist or Finalist on scholarship applications will be a boost along with high ACT or SAT scores.

 

 

At my daughter's high school, all students are strongly encouraged to take the PSAT both their sophomore and junior years. If the data presented by Lori D are correct, I see no reason for her to take it at all. I don't think she would win a National Merit scholarship, and even if she did so the amount of money she would receive appears to be small compared to the overall cost of a four-year college. The standard argument for the PSAT -- it is good practice for the SAT -- doesn't apply to my daughter because she will be taking the ACT.

 

Update: Maybe not a waste of time!

 

According to This site, http://student-tutor.com/blog/crazy-scholarship-money-from-the-psat/, the real money for NMS winners is provided by individual colleges and universities. The site lists dozens of colleges that provide full FOUR-YEAR SCHOLARSHIPS to NMS winners. Granted, the majority of these are not top-tier colleges, but still.

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If they are going for National Merit, they can only take the PSAT the fall of their junior year.    I've read that that PSAT will change the year before the SAT changes.   Then they have to take the SAT in the fall of their senior year--spring ones don't count, or at least, they didn't count last year when my 18yo did it.  It could only be Oct, Nov, or Dec of their senior year, to count for NM purposes. 

 

For NM purposes, you are not limited to testing in Oct., Nov, or Dec of senior year.  You must have a qualifying SAT score to submit, and Dec. of senior year is the latest a student can take the SAT in order to meet the submission deadline.  My son submitted his SAT score taken in the fall of his junior year and never took the SAT in the fall of senior year.

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According to This site, http://student-tutor.com/blog/crazy-scholarship-money-from-the-psat/, the real money for NMS winners is provided by individual colleges and universities. The site lists dozens of colleges that provide full FOUR-YEAR SCHOLARSHIPS to NMS winners. Granted, the majority of these are not top-tier colleges, but still.

 

Yes, this is the big reason to take the PSAT.  That is what I was referencing in my previous post: "other Finalists may receive College sponsored Merit Scholarships (frequently renewable), from the first choice college they selected back in Sept. 2016 in the application process". The student needs to list one of these schools as their top choice when filling out the application. You can see the list of schools on the very last 2 pages of the PSAT Student Guide.

 

 

Even if your student does not earn one of these 4-year scholarships from , being able to put NMS Commended Student, or NNS Semi-Finalist or Finalist on a college's scholarship application will definitely improve the student's chances at being awarded a scholarship from that school. :)

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Yes, this is the big reason to take the PSAT.  That is what I was referencing in my previous post: "other Finalists may receive College sponsored Merit Scholarships (frequently renewable), from the first choice college they selected back in Sept. 2016 in the application process". The student needs to list one of these schools as their top choice when filling out the application. You can see the list of schools on the very last 2 pages of the PSAT Student Guide.

 

 

Even if your student does not earn one of these 4-year scholarships from , being able to put NMS Commended Student, or NNS Semi-Finalist or Finalist on a college's scholarship application will definitely improve the student's chances at being awarded a scholarship from that school. :)

 

Thank you Lori D. You are a font of great information.

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@Grantmom - No you do not need to know which colleges your are applying to when your child takes the PSAT in 11th grade.

 

However, as Lori D. said, if your child gets national merit status on the PSAT, AND then gets a similar high score on the SAT, AND chooses a school that offers merit aid, AND they list that school as their first choice when they take the PSAT, they could get a full 4-year scholarship.

 

But, if your child isn't in that top 2-ish percent of students on the PSAT - then PSAT scores really don't mean anything - other than to give you a snapshot of their performance on a standardized test at that moment.

 

Celest Horton, who blogs at How to Pay for College HQ, talked about PSAT scholarships over on one of her podcasts. She's got a lot of good info on college and scholarships.

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Yes, this is the big reason to take the PSAT.  That is what I was referencing in my previous post: "other Finalists may receive College sponsored Merit Scholarships (frequently renewable), from the first choice college they selected back in Sept. 2016 in the application process". The student needs to list one of these schools as their top choice when filling out the application.

The bolded is not correct.  The student does not have to select a school when he fills out the application in September.  The student can choose 'undecided" when prompted to select a school and then revise his application at a later date once the admission results are known in the spring of senior year.

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My daughter is thinking about applying to BS/MD programs.

 

1. Several of these programs are at universities that participate in the College Merit Scholarship program. If my daughter listed one of these universities as her first choice and then went on to win a National Merit Scholarship, to what extent do you think would that help her get admitted to that program? I'm just wondering if it might help her stand out a little from other equally qualified BS/MD applicants if she had listed a particular university as her first choice and other applicants had not.

 

2. Is there any reason to think that the four-year scholarships given to National Merit Scholars wouldn't be given to a student in a BS/MD program? That is, are BS/MD students somehow ineligible for this money?

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The bolded is not correct.  The student does not have to select a school when he fills out the application in September.  The student can choose 'undecided" when prompted to select a school and then revise his application at a later date once the admission results are known in the spring of senior year.

 

Thanks for the correction on the timing of naming a college. :)

 

My main point was that a student must select one of the NMs scholarship sponsor schools as their first choice school in order to receive the scholarship. I recall a past thread on NMS scholarships in which someone mentioned they had a non-awarding school as the #1 choice and a NMS scholarship awarding school as #2, and as a result, received no NMS scholarship. :(

 

From p.  9 of the second half of the student guide I linked above (for 2014 -- 2015 is not online yet that I can find):

 

"In the 2016 competition, it is expected that about 4100 National Merit Scholarships will be offered to Finalists who plan to attend a sponsor college or university. (See the list of some 200 colleges that currently are Merit Scholarship sponsorsĂ¢â‚¬Â¦)

 

A College-sponsored scholarship is renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study  at the sponsor institution. It cannot be transferred; therefore, it is canceled if a winner does not attend the college financing the award. Officials of each sponsor institution choose award recipients from among Finalists who have been accepted for admission and have informed NMSC that the sponsor college or university is their first choice. College officials also determine each winner's stipend within a range of $500 to $2000 per year. The college may meet some of a winner's financial neeed with an aid package that includes loans, employment, and grants; however, the Merit Scholarship stipend must represent at least half the winner's need, up to the annual stipend maimum of $2000, unless the student's total need (as calculated by the college) is met with gift aid."

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We looked at the requirements for the schools dd was interested in.  Of her 2 top choices, one said we had to have their school listed first, the other didn't.  So we put that school first.  :)     

 

Wrt to timing of choosing a school--you only have to choose them early if you want the report to be free.    The free reports have to be done before you get the results (maybe by the end of the day you take the test, I can't remember for sure).   Other reports are not extremely expensive, though, so if you might take it again later, you might want to not send the results until you see if you like them.

 

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Okay, so you have until spring of the senior year to name the first choice college? And it needs to be a college you have already been accepted to?

 

Yes, you have until spring of senior year to name the first choice college.  Not only does the student have to have been accepted to the school, but the school needs to participate in the National Merit program in order for the student to name the school his first choice for National Merit on his application.

 

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