S/O of a zombie thread - SAT vs. PSAT

[skimomma]

I didn't realize that finding a PSAT site can be as difficult as finding an AP site.  Having just been through the AP site process, I now know that I will have to travel a greta distance to find a school that will help us with anything they are not legally required to do.  

 

Given that, I'm wondering if taking the PSAT is worth it.  Someone in the zombie thread mentioned just taking the SAT early if practice is the goal.  I know there are scholarships attached to the PSAT, but aside from that is there any reason to take that rather than just practice with the real thing?

[wapiti]

- National Merit has levels, though I can't recall which is which (finalist, semifinalist, commended), and it's a national award as well as leading to possible scholarships

 

- National Hispanic Recognition Program (top 2.5% of hispanic students in region, which varies but from my estimation is probably down around 95th User percentile) can lead to scholarships at a few schools, but as far as I can tell, is mostly a national award

 

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't bother with the PSAT unless the student has a chance to get one or both of those - perhaps do some practice SATs and see where the score comes out, keeping in mind that some kids will be able to increase significantly after prep and some not, and I think there it helps to know your child.  (FWIW, I'm not particularly a fan of taking official tests for practice, especially when real, previously-administered practice tests are available.)

Edited November 21, 2017 by wapiti

[SebastianCat]

The PSAT only cost us $15 at our local public high school, but it takes 2 months to receive scores. The SAT costs more but results come out after 2-3 weeks. Colleges will accept SAT but not PSAT for admission.

 

If your student has potential to score high enough for National Merit recognition, then the PSAT is definitely worth taking. But otherwise, especially if you are challenged to find a test location, I see no reason why you shouldn’t just stick to taking the SAT.

[Lori D.]

Agreeing with previous posters.

The only reason I can think of to  make the effort to find a site to do the PSAT is if your student either hasn't tested before, or doesn't tend to test well. Taking the PSAT is great practice for getting comfortable with a testing type of environment, learning to manage a long morning, having to follow directions, correctly filling in bubbles, etc. And, it's with a test that "won't count" -- colleges don't see the PSAT unless you want them to, whereas the SAT/ACT can be seen by colleges that require all scores to be sent.

Edited September 14, 2018 by Lori D.

[wapiti]

whereas the SAT/ACT can be seen by colleges even if you do not have the scores sent to the schools.

 

I don't understand?

[skimomma]

It seems like practice at home with SAT practice tests might be the easiest and least-impactful choice?  I don't think dd will be a NM contender so if that is the only reason aside from practice to take the PSAT, I'd rather skip the hassle.

[Arcadia]

I don't understand?

I don’t understand either. My kids think the student search service is fun so they checked it. Actual test scores aren’t supposed to go to the colleges who use the student search service data. My kids won’t have opt in otherwise.

 

“By opting in to Student Search Service®, you’re allowing the College Board to share information with colleges and universities that you provide on the student data questionnaire and on our website, BigFuture™. These institutions use this data to send you information about their institution. Please note that we never share the following:

 

Disability status

Self-reported parental income

Social security number

Phone numbers

Actual test scoresâ€

https://cbsearch.collegeboard.org/student-search-service/about-your-data

[Lori D.]

Hmmm... either I have info about older versions of the tests, or I am mistaking this for something else ;), but I could swear that several years back there were a number of threads about whether or not to do multiple tests of the ACT or SAT, and one argument was to be careful to not over-do (i.e. take more than about 3 tests), as the college could see all of your past ACT/SAT scores, not just the current one, and as a result, could see that the student's highest score was possibly a result of repeated-testing.

From an Aug. 2017 Prep Scholar website article about "All SAT Scores Colleges vs. Score Choice Colleges":
"Don't take the SAT the first time 'for practice,' or to get used to the test. Colleges will see your "practice score." (Not to mention it's a waste of the money to take the test for this reason only.)"

Perhaps the ability of the college to see scores is just limited to if you actively send a score to a college, they can also see your past scores on that test as well...?

From College Board:

"Can colleges opt out of Score Choice?
Colleges cannot opt out or or reject Score Choice. Score Choice is a feature available to students. However, some colleges require students to submit all SAT scores."

Edited September 14, 2018 by Lori D.

[Arcadia]

Hmmm... either I have info about older versions of the tests, or I am mistaking this for something else, but I could swear that several years back there were a number of threads about whether or not to do multiple tests of the ACT or SAT, and one thought was to be careful to not over-do, as the college could see all of your past ACT/SAT scores, not just the current one.

ACT sends all scores by default to the colleges you ask them to send the free score reports to in the ACT registration form.

 

For score choice, order the score report separately.

“We report ONLY the scores from the test date you designate, not any other test scores. This ensures that you direct the reporting of your scores.â€

http://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/scores/sending-your-scores.html

 

SAT has score choice too so not all scores will be sent unless the college ask for all scores to be sent.

https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/scores/sending-scores/score-choice

 

I don’t know if CollegeBoard send all the SAT scores of a candidate when using the free score reports in the SAT registration form. My kids SAT score reports did contain previous SAT and SAT subject tests scores.

[snowbeltmom]

Hmmm... either I have info about older versions of the tests, or I am mistaking this for something else ;), but I could swear that several years back there were a number of threads about whether or not to do multiple tests of the ACT or SAT, and one argument was to be careful to not over-do (i.e. take more than about 3 tests), as the college could see all of your past ACT/SAT scores, not just the current one, and as a result, could see that the student's highest score was possibly a result of repeated-testing.

 

From an Aug. 2017 Prep Scholar website article about "All SAT Scores Colleges vs. Score Choice Colleges":

 

"Don't take the SAT the first time 'for practice,' or to get used to the test. Colleges will see your "practice score." (Not to mention it's a waste of the money to take the test for this reason only.)"

 

 

Perhaps the ability of the college to see scores is just limited to if you actively send a score to a college, they can also see your past scores on that test as well...?

 

From College Board:

 

"Can colleges opt out of Score Choice?

Colleges cannot opt out or or reject Score Choice. Score Choice is a feature available to students. However, some colleges require students to submit all SAT scores."

 

The verbiage in red is key, imo.  Colleges only see the SAT and ACT scores that a student sends - the colleges don't have access to any other scores that a student doesn't want to share.  However, a small minority of colleges require that a student send all of his test scores.  If a student thinks there is a possibility that he may end up applying to one of these colleges, he should not take the SAT/ACT until he is ready for that score to be seen by the colleges.

 

My kids take the PSAT in the early years of high school because it is cheaper, much closer to home (the public high school is 5 minutes away), and takes less time than the SAT.  It is also given during the week, which is an added bonus for us. 

 

Luckily, our high school is very homeschool friendly - I get along way better with the administration as a homeschooling parent than I ever did when my kids were enrolled in the school. :D   If it was difficult to schedule the PSAT, I would simply have them take a practice test at home.

 

 

[wapiti]

"Can colleges opt out of Score Choice?

Colleges cannot opt out or or reject Score Choice. Score Choice is a feature available to students. However, some colleges require students to submit all SAT scores."

 

I wondered if this was what you meant.  The onus is on the student to report; the college cannot see them until the student sends.

 

And, there's a separate question of whether sending all scores includes sending ACT if the student is using their SAT and vice versa and then what about subject tests - I don't know the ins and outs but these details might vary by school.  FWIW, prepscholar has a list though that website tends to be out of date sometimes and, as with everything else, it's best to check the website of each college carefully.  In particular, UC schools are on that list.  I'm relieved that probably only one of my kid's reaches is on that list.

 

This is one reason I am not a fan of taking an official test cold for a pre-prep baseline.

 

One caveat to keep in mind about taking the official practice SAT tests, like the ones that were actually administered (#5-8), is that I'm hearing this fall's reading sections have been harder than last year's, so the reading scores might not be a great estimate.

[skimomma]

OP, I learned after my first go-round that the PSAT was a waste of time and energy (and money) for our family.  My first two kids (twins) took the PSAT (twice, if memory serves me, once as sophomores, once as juniors).  They did fine on the test, but there was really nothing gained from it.  For my next two kids, we skipped it altogether.  No regrets.  If your kids don't need the practice and don't need to overcome testing anxiety, and your kids aren't superstars who will score in the tippy-tippy top of all test takers (hence qualify for national merit scholarships), then there's really no reason to bother about it.  Just jump right into the regular ol' SAT test (after taking some practice exams at home first, of course) and don't look back.

 

This is the boat we are in and this is now my plan.  There is pretty much no way I am going to tangle with my local district again anytime soon unless I absolutely have to.