DD is in 9th Honors English and had to take the PSAT yesterday. What exactly are these tests? Are they college entrance tests? The better the score the better the college? I know her test doesn't count but what do I need to know for future years. What is a good score?

Hi Rhonda,
My 9th grader took them yesterday-he is not in any honors classes, so I think all of them must have had to take it. As far as I know, it's just a prepatory test, so that they know what the SAT is going to be like. Patrick is a Sr. and just took his first SAT test a couple of weeks ago. He is a smart kid/Honors and AP classes, but he said it kicked his butt! He didn't take it last year w/ being so sick. He is also scheduled to take it again in Nov. The website Collegeboard.com is how we registered for the SAT-there is a lot of great info there. Watch out-the time is just gonna' fly between now and college time-I know it has with Patrick!

The PSAT is the practice test for the SAT. The SAT is a "college boards" test, as is the ACT exam. Most of the time, students take one or the other and it seems that it's kind of a regional thing. Eastern schools seem to use the SATs scores as part of admission criteria (but can convert ACTs), while when I grew up in teh MidWest, the ACTs were used and I believe still are.

SATs will be taken "for real" in the junior year or last case in the fall of their senior year. Universities tend to use the best from all test takings when rolling up the composite score, so many kids take them 2 or more times.

The SAT has added a written portion that has mucked things up a bit.....and for now, it seems that most universitities are still trying to assess the value of this portion of the test and how to use it. The remainder of the new SAT has a 1600 score as perfect.

What is a good score? Depends on the kid of course and where he/she has his/her sights set for higher education. I'd say 1300 and above is pretty good. Top schools will be looking at 1400-1450 and above.

Hope that helps...we are working through this right now with our HS senior.

ETA: This may help: College Search - SAT Registration - College Admissions - Scholarships

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

My son took the psats in 10th, the acts in 11th lol and the sats just last weekend. Considering how much these tests cost he better do well the first time Since we've started the college search we have found different schools will take different tests. Some schools will convert the ACT to SAT equivalent. He did choose not to take the one with the essay part.

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"Never loan your car to someone you have given birth too"

FWIW, while the PSATs are basically practice tests, they can be helpful in college admissions. Taking the test places you in running for the National Merit Scholarship awards. The top percentile of kids are named as National Merit Commended Scholars or NM Semi-Finalists. Commended students choose 2 colleges, which the NM Association will notify of their interest, and their "Commended Scholar" status. They then take the top scoring students from each state (scoring also involves school grades) and they become Finalists.

There are scholarships available from NM for some of the Finalists, and honestly it does help grease the wheels for any of the top kids (Commended, Semi-finalist or Finalist) at a lot of schools and in other scholarship considerations.

But no pressure!! My d/s is taking them Saturday for the second time, and begins SATS in December. I feel so badly for all the pressure upon these kids to achieve perfect scores. I keep telling him I know he'll find a great college, and these tests are just a small piece of the picture. It's more important to keep the grades high, take the right courses, and have a well-rounded life.

Good luck to all the kids!

My DD took this last year. The nice thing about it is that along with letting them know how they scored, they rank them against others kids in the state and nation, who have taken it. Different colleges require different minimum scores to get accepted to their college. They can take it more than once, also, so they can increase their scores. DD will no doubt be taking it again, since she has five years before college.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

My DD received a letter from school indicating that they wanted her to start taking the SAT's or ACT's this winter. She is only 11 years old??? Apparently the grades do not go to the colleges but are used when the child maxes out the state standardized tests in their grade. I am not certain that I want to pay the $75.00 for her to take the SAT just for practice. Anyone have their 11 or 12 year old take these tests? I could see that it would be helpful when she does take the test for real, but come on, an 11 year old in there with high school kids???

TIA for any info. on a younger child taking these tests. BTW, she is not in the accelerated programs (her choice) at school.

My oldest son participated in this program offered through Johns Hopkins University (although I think several schools do it). Personally, I think it gives them a confidence in their abilities (a kid who is maxing out on grade-level standardized testing will feel very proud at scoring up there with HS juniors!) and in test taking that is well worth the $75. We opted not to participate in the camps and other things that the JHU program offered though.

Younger DS didn't get an invitiation. He's a social butterfly and we love him!

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Yes, that is my DD. She took it last January, 2007. She was 11, 7th grade. She is in advanced classes at school. Not sure what triggered the Invite......could be the TIP (Talent Identification Program) thru Duke University. She went to a ceremony and received recognition for being in the program, and for her scores on the SAT. I think it was good practice for her, and any time they can receive positive reinforcement, I think is a very good thing. Great motivator.

Hope that Helps. Feel free to email me or PM me if you want to discuss it in private.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

Thanks for the information. The letter did say that Northwestern University sponsored the program so it sounds like nearby universities are doing studies on the kids taking the SAT's. I have not yet seen my DD's state standardized test scores, but I guess that they are off the charts. She could care less, but I think it would be really good practice for her.

Thanks again, I will have to talk to DH about getting her to take the exam.

DD took her first PSAT yesterday. Just before the test, I was making her breakfast and asked her to go outside and grab my newspaper. She did grab it, and got stung by a bee on her hand. This is just the way things happen for this kid!Thankfully, it was her left hand. She still wanted to go take the test. I gave her ibuprofen, and an icepack, and told her to call me if she wanted to bail out during the test. She stayed for the entire thing (they didn't let her bring her ice pack into the exam), but said the sting pain broke her concentration. Luckily for us, she will take them again next year, this was just the PSAT and not a make or break situation for her. But now I know I will 'bubble wrap' her before her real SATs.

Any one have kids take the SAT yesterday morning??? Linny - did Patrick take it again?? Hopefully he felt better about it the second time. DS1 said that the writing section was shorter and he felt better about it. That's the one part that he hasn't done so well on....but thankfully no one seems to be using it quite yet...and particularly not for prospective engineering students....

We have two college apps done as of this week, hopefully will get Illinois off today. Just returned from a visit to Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh - wow, liked that school! What a fun (and frightening) time in a parent's life!

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

What do you do at the college apps?

I personally don't do much with the college applications except fork over the transcript release fee (charged by his high school) and the college application fee. I look over what he's submitting and suggest things he might do different, point out honors or activities that he missed, and proofread his essays. I know some people hire help to perfect the application and/or participate in it heavily as parents. While I want my kid to get into a great school, I want him to do it on his own. I want him to be successful and comfortable once he gets there

The college application process for undergraduate admissions for the schools DS is applying to includes an application form (some use the Common Application), essay/writing samples, letters of recommendation from teachers in academic subjects, high school transcript, and SAT scores (ordered and sent from collegeboard.com). Other students may have additional requirements, for example, fine arts applicants and athletes. Due dates for college applications generally fall between November and early in January of the senior year, although he has one as late as February 1st.

If you were asking about the college visits, we just visit the campus in person and go to an admissions information session, campus tour, and for the first time at CMU, an "interview" with an admissions counselor.

Hope that helps!

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips