Suzybearybake Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 My ds is signed up to take the PSAT this week in order to qualify (hopefully) as a National Merit Scholar. I am reading threads about application letters and such and am very confused. This is new information to me . I thought that he would take the test and if he qualified I would be notified and then told what to do. Is there some step I am missing? Where do I get this info? Is it too late to fill this out? Help!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttichen Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Don't worry -- you don't have to do anything now! You'll get the scores back in December, and next fall the semifinalists will be announced. The application that people are talking about is what you do to move from semifinalist to finalist. If your child is a semifinalist, you'll get all that information next fall. I wish your son the best! I also have an 11th grader taking it this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 You are absolutely right. The posts you see about the application and essays are SENIORS who have been notified that they reached semi-finalist status as a result of their junior scores. All your child does this Wednesday is take the test. You do need to know your state homeschool code and the code of a college you want to receive the scores and that is it. Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 For now, all he has to do is take the test. The paperwork comes later if he gets a high enough score. Others who have btdt can give you a time frame. I know that taking the SAT is also a requirement - again, after getting a qualifying score on the PSAT. Just wanted to give you some basic info so you can stop worrying. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 My daughter is also taking the PSAT on Wednesday. Do we need to have the codes for colleges on that day? I thought we only needed to send score if we reached a certain level of the NMSQT. I hope someone can answer this!! I thought we would have more time to think about it. Blessings, Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicmom Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 (edited) There's not even a place on the answer form to enter a code for a specific college. Colleges do not get individual PSAT scores. What colleges do, though, is purchase lists of students who scored in a particular range on the PSAT, and then send those students information. Your dc will need to indicate whether or not he wants to receive information from colleges--it's called the Student Search Service (if he says yes, he'll get tons of mail and email--it's kind of fun, and can be helpful to become aware of what colleges are out there.) Your dc will also need to be prepared to indicate a major or field of interest--there will be a huge list of codes to choose from, including codes for very specific majors (like chemical engineering) and codes for general areas (like Social Sciences) as well as Other and Undecided. Your dc can just put down whatever his current interest is--it really doesn't matter. If he said "yes" for the Student Search Service, then I think all the code does is affect which colleges send information. For example, if your dc puts Engineering, he'll definitely get mail from colleges with engineering programs. (And I'm guessing the same is true for the religion codes.) You might get a letter next spring or summer offering to send your dc's PSAT scores to two colleges of your choice, and you can make that decision when you get there. Hope this helps! Edited October 10, 2011 by Musicmom added info; corrected typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Thanks so much Musicmom! That really does help. God Bless, Elise in NC BTW- my daughter wants to major in music she only wants to attend universities with a school of music rather than a department. Do you have any experience with schools of music by any chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Thanks for the list of codes. You saved me a google search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzybearybake Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Thanks, so much!!!!! You ladies are awesome !!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) OK, I am so dumb I read the wrong #. psat codes Edited October 11, 2011 by Angie in VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 The list printed above is a bit confusing as the code is ABOVE the state name, not below it. Each code begins and ends with 99 and the two numbers in the middle are basically the state's ranking alphabetically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicmom Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Thanks so much Musicmom! That really does help. God Bless, Elise in NC BTW- my daughter wants to major in music she only wants to attend universities with a school of music rather than a department. Do you have any experience with schools of music by any chance? Hi Speedmom, I'll pm you with what I know about those in our area. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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