National Merit Finalist? May I pick your brain??

[5sweeties]

My oldest dd is starting high school next fall. I am struggling with putting together a cirriculum. Dd does excellent in school, and would love to have scholarship goals. I know that this is a tall order, but could you give me a run-down of programs that you used, any outside classes, or anything at all, that you think helped academically, to get your dc to where they are? I'm scared to death that I am going to mess this up and that she will suffer for having a mom that is too new to all of this. She has such high expectations and huge desires for her future.

 

Thanks so much!

Kelly

[Brilliant]

and turn off the TV.

 

I don't have experience with my kids yet, but I was a NMS. I'm convinced a lot of it had to do with the fact that we didn't have TV for 3 years - from when I had just turned 6 until I was 9. I read *all* the time. When I ran out of books and Archie comics, I turned to my mother's Good Housekeeping magazines ("My problem and how I solved it" column, ha ha). I know your dd is already past that "formative" stage, but it's never too late to start on the reading.

 

If you are looking for specific rigorous curriculum recommendations, you won't go wrong with TWTM's suggestions.

 

I wish we could throw out our TV. :(

[5sweeties]

We've got that one covered. She reads more than anyone I've ever known! Sometimes, we have to ask her to put her book down at the dinner table so that she can be more social! She started reading well at age 3, and has never stopped.

 

Kelly

[readwithem]

Have her take the exam next year as a practice, without any prep. (she'll be in 9th grade, right?) Then analyze her scores - she may do well without any prep - great!! If you see some holes in her scores, then you know how and where to focus your study time. Then have her study some and take it again for practice in 10th grade.

 

Then when she starts 11th grade incorporate a study time into her daily school routine - it doesn't have to be long or very much - maybe while she's eating b'fast or lunch - just to tweak her results a bit more.

 

I wish we had started in 9th grade, my dd took it this year as a 10th grader. She scored very well w/o any prep time, and we know the area (math) she will concentrate in during her study time.

 

But remember the PSAT is offered once a year, and things can happen on that particular day - they could get sick, you could have a family issue, traffic could be bad...

 

Your dd sounds like she has developed some skills and habits that will serve her well for life, not just for taking tests :)

[5sweeties]

I didn't know that they could take the PSAT multiple times! It must not hurt them later, to have taken it and not done as well, earlier in their high school career? How do I get her signed up to take the test?

[Brenda in MA]

at a local school. I phoned the local high school and was told when to come in with a check and sign my son up for the test. The test is given in October, so usually sign-up is in September, but you might want to give a call to the guidance dept at your local school and ask them how/when to sign up.

 

We had no trouble signing up at the local high school, but I've read here that some folks do have trouble at their local high school so they might need to have their dc take the test at a local private school or Christian school.

 

One other thing to consider is that your child might need a photo ID for the PSAT. I don't think the College Board strictly requires one for the PSAT, but since my son was not a student at the school where he took the test, they asked for one. When they take the SAT, they will definitely need a photo ID. My ds used his passport. Sign up for the SAT is done on-line through CollegeBoard.com.

 

HTH,

Brenda

[Jill- OK]

...that if you're interested in a National Merit scholarship, take it *only* once...in the fall of the 11th grade year.

 

(Page 690: "Going to College: Applications for Home Schoolers").

 

I just thought I'd throw that in there; I don't have personal experience, and the Well Trained Mind is the only source I've read that in, but...it's certainly worth investigating, so that you don't trip up scholarship opportunities.

 

I'd love to hear what math programs the parents of National Merit Finalists have used! Hope someone else can contribute to this thread, I'll be watching with interest.

[Barb_]

...that if you're interested in a National Merit scholarship, take it *only* once...in the fall of the 11th grade year.

 

(Page 690: "Going to College: Applications for Home Schoolers").

 

I just thought I'd throw that in there; I don't have personal experience, and the Well Trained Mind is the only source I've read that in, but...it's certainly worth investigating, so that you don't trip up scholarship opportunities.

 

I'd love to hear what math programs the parents of National Merit Finalists have used! Hope someone else can contribute to this thread, I'll be watching with interest.

 

Yeah, I remember reading that years ago and taking it as gospel, but in this case, they were mistaken. A student can take the PSAT as many times as she wishes, but the 11th grade test is the only one that counts for NM. My daughter took it twice, once as a sophomore and once as a junior and it didn't hurt her.

 

For all sections, to score in national merit range, the secret is to be overprepared. By that, I don't mean use 18 prep books, but to be working at a higher level than the test. The test is designed so that an average 11th grader can obtain an average score. To score in NM range, reading and writing should be on the college level. How to get there is the trick and is up to the individual student. Ideally, the student should be beyond the math tested, so that it isn't a struggle to finish the entire test. Material that is overlearned is easier to spit back on a timed test. Aleks helped us a lot in this regard. We used Singapore for the earlier years and then the Dolciani books through Trig.

 

Oh, and the official SAT study guide is invaluable for practice. Have your student take the test, then parse the answers missed to see which types of questions are likely to trip her up. Go through those questions step by step until they are understood.

 

I hope this makes sense. I'm having a bout of insomnia, but my brain seems to have gone on to sleep without me tonight.

 

Barb

[angela in ohio]

I was one, many years ago, does that count? The biggest things I credit for my PSAT (and then SAT and ACT) scores were: Latin, reading continuously, Latin, honors track in math, Latin (did I mention Latin already?), and a really good English teacher who drilled grammar into us. I never took a practice test (we just were told to show up one Saturday, I had no idea for what,) but we had taken standardized tests every few years in school, so I think some practice in tests in general is helpful.

 

A lot of my scholarship opportunities had to do with things outside of my school work or test scores (though those are the minimum you need to have in place.) I ended up with better than a National Merit scholarship because I had: 5 years of weekly volunteer hours (candy striper,) 4-H involvement for 10 years, and a wide variety of interests.

[Gwen in VA]

I would like to second the recommendation to pursue extracurricular interests. My older two kids' scores were top-notch, but the scores only open doors. When my dd went for scholarship inerviews, no one ever asked her about her scores -- they talked about academic passions and extracurricular interests.

 

Depending on which school you go to, being a NM Finalist can be worth a LOT of money -- or just a little. My dd was a NM Scholar, but that is "only" $2500 -- which is nothing to be sneezed at but also not worth torturing your kid for. If she had gone to Arizona State U (or some others), being a NMF would have been worth full tuition + room + board, but she didn't go that route, so for her being a NMF was basically worth a "little" money and is a nice thing to put on her resume.

 

My ds is also a NMF. If he goes to his first-choice school (he's been accepted there, but the finances make it all but prohibitive), being a NMF is worth $2000. He may end up not at his first-choice school. That means that, unless he is a NM Scholar, he will not get any money for being a NMF!

 

BTW, I HIGHLY recommend Dolciani for math.....

And read and discuss and read and discuss and repeat.......

[Jill- OK]

...this is really good to hear. :)

 

Thanks for the specifics; it makes good sense to simply be ahead when test time comes. I don't know how we're going to do that in *math*, (sigh), but it's a goal.

[greenwillow]

My son (now a senior) took the NMSQT/PSAT and scored just a couple of points below the cutoff, so he was not a semifinalist but earned commended student instead.

 

Here is where I think I messed up: I had planned an SAT Prep course (we used the 10 Real SATs) for him but we did not do it before the PSAT, choosing instead to save it until just before the SAT. Since he only missed being a semifinalist by 5 points or less, I believe if we had done some prep beforehand he would have made it. He went on to do very well on his SAT but is not eligible for any NM scholarship. Now that we're looking at colleges, we realize what a help that would have been financially! LOL

 

I will say, however, that at the colleges he is considering the NM scholarship is only $1,000-2,000 so it is not as much as I would have thought. Of course, this may vary by school.

 

I have decided that with my youngest (who will be a freshman next year) we will probably do a bit of SAT prep each week starting next year.

[Beth in SW WA]

Let me just say that I am so blessed that you ladies share the juicy details -- which I love! Thank you so much for sharing the insider tips & tricks (when you could be correcting papers, folding laundry, dishes, etc) :) Those of us who are a few steps behind you (or a lot of steps) REALLY appreciate it!