Kids Are Our Future

What is PSAT?

PSAT stands for Preliminary SAT(Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test) and coincides with the NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test). By taking this test, a student not only gets practice for SAT but also have the chance to win a National Merit Scholarship.

PSAT is formatted like the actual SAT, and serves as an excellent introduction to SAT since questions are similar, containing the Critical Reading, Math, and Writing sections, but with fewer questions and shorter test time, which is two hours and ten minutes long. SAT has the essay section which tests students’ writing skills by means of multiple choice questions while PSAT does not.

When to Take PSAT?

Most students take PSAT in October of their junior year, only the scores they receive at that time will be considered for the National Merit Scholarship program. If a student takes it earlier, it will just be practice.

Test Dates and Locations

PSAT is given in October, and must be signed up and taken at a high school.

Prepare for PSAT

There are a wide variety of books, prep courses, online study guides, and sample tests to get ready for PSAT. Many of the best exam preparation techniques overlap between SAT and PSAT.

The College Board has more information and sample questions from each of the sections on the test.

PSAT Score

Usually the student will receive his or her PSAT score soon after Thanksgiving. The report includes three scores, one for each section (Critical Reading, Math, and Writing Skills). The score for each section ranges from 20 to 80. A student can get an idea of how he or she would do on the SAT by adding a zero to the end of each of his or her PSAT score.

A student’s score report will give his or her feedback about the areas he or she needs to work on to improve. PSAT scores are not part of the college admissions application. The student still has time to strengthen his or her weakness and be more prepared before taking SAT.

Merit Scholarships

If a student is one of the top 50,000 highest-scoring test takers of PSAT, he or she will be considered for the National Merit Scholarship. Semifinalists are those students who are top about 16, 000 of 50,000, representing the top scorers from every state. Among them, about 8,200 students receive National Merit Scholarships after considering their grades in high school, SAT Reasoning Test, biographical letter, and recommendation.

What is SAT?

SAT stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test. The purpose of the SAT is to measure a student’s academic potential by testing his or her familiarity with what he or she learned in high school as well as his or her test taking skills.

The SAT is a multiple-choice exam in which each correct answer adds points to the student’s score and each incorrect answer subtracts from it.

The SAT does test how well a student has prepared. Preparation for the SAT can make a big difference in the student’s scores, and where he or she goes to college.

What Represents a Good SAT Score?

The SAT has three sections, which are Writing, Math and Critical Reading and each on a scale of 200 to 800.

The average total score is approximately 1,500 points. An average score is acceptable for most colleges and universities. However, some of the top schools require an SAT score of 2,100 of more. A score above 2,100 puts the student into top 10% of test takers.

The statistics shows that approximately only 20 of 1,000,000 students who take the SAT get a perfect score, which is 2,400 points.

How to Best Accomplish the SAT?

Go prepared

Long-term preparation should stress the importance of taking challenging classes and reading more as possible as the student can, this will pay off on the SAT Verbal section and help him or her throughout college.

When get closer to actually taking the SAT, by preparing for the test, the student will know how much time he or she has to work on each question. Good preparation let the student move steadily and carefully through the test to achieve a good score.

Set Goals

Find out what the college the student desires to attend requires. What is the minimum SAT score or the average score for admitted freshman. The student can get this information by either calling the school’s Admissions Office directly or by looking at a book in a local book store, library or on the Internet.

Things a Student Needs

• College Guides
• College Catalogs
• SAT Study Guides
• SAT Software
• Dictionaries
• Calculators
• Timers
• Pencils
• Index Cards

Study options

Options include use of the ETS-provided study guide, commercially produced SAT preparation books, software, SAT study classes, and tutors.

Recommends

• Use the free SAT guide.
• Use an SAT preparation book and or software.Software is good for those students who feel comfortable with computers, use a book if the student just likes to learn by reading.
• Use vocabulary flashcards.Vocabulary is a key to succeed in the SAT. If the test taker doesn’t know the words, there’s a limit to how far a great guessing strategy he or she can use.
• Take the test early.Many schools look for the best score a student presents. By taking the test during the junior year, students will have an opportunity to re-take the test before admissions deadlines arrive.

How to Study for the SAT?

Concentrate on reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and usage, geometry, algebra and arithmetic.

In order to use time efficiently, use the SAT Diagnostic Test to find out what are the student’s weak parts.

• Increase SAT VocabularyAlmost half of the questions on the SAT test the student’s vocabulary, testing how well he or she understands the meaning of words in some form. It is very important to increase the student’s SAT vocabulary focusing on difficult words that appear most frequently on the SAT.
• Review What Learned on Math SkillsThe other half of the SAT tests the student’s math skills, ranging from Arithmetic through Geometry and Algebra II. Make sure to remember what have already learned and build on the math skills already have.
• Learn and Use SAT Test Taking StrategiesTest taking strategies help the student transform what he or she already know into higher SAT scores.
• Practice on Real SATsIn order to practice what the student has learned, to practice on real SATs is a really good way. A student can get a copy of a real, full SAT from the High School Counselor’s office and can order Real SATs directly from the College Board.

Tips for Preparing SAT

• Start from the easiestStart to answer the easy questions and leave the hard ones later on.
• Understand the question thoroughlyMake sure understand the question correctly and then answer the question being asked.
• Focus on what you knowIf the student does not know exactly how to solve a question, he or she can get started with what he or she does know, then may figure out the problem, or at least move on towards the solution.
• Use elimination approachIt is best to eliminate one or more wrong answer choices, make a guess if needed and move on to the next question.
• Be a smart guesserLeave a question blank neither adds nor subtracts anything. If the student can eliminate two answers as definitely wrong, guess between the remaining two choices. If completely lost on a given question, skip it. Move on to the next question.
• Take a short note while readingWhen dealing with a difficult passage, it is important to summarize the main idea of each paragraph. It is helpful to quickly notate a three- or four-word summary in the margin of the test booklet.
• Review if have timeIf finish before the time is up, go back and work on any questions skipped, or review the completed answers.

How to Register for the SAT?

• Make sure to plan ahead. Do not miss important SAT deadlines. Contact the high school guidance counselor early in junior year, and get all the information regarding when, where and how to take the SAT.
• Decide when to take the SAT.
• Get the application forms and read carefully. Pay close attention to deadlines, and register early.
• The SAT administers offer to send test scores to up to three schools without additional charge. However, if the student wants to know his or her scores before submit, he or she may prefer to wait and have them sent later though need to pay a small fee for the service.
• If the student does not receive a confirmation letter within four to six weeks, call to make sure that his or her paperwork was received.

How to Prepare the Evening before the SAT?

Do not study, relax.

Organize all necessary materials, and put them into the backpack.

• Maps for directions to the testing location
• Identification Cards
• Test Center Admission Tickets
• Calculators
• Snacks
• A Watch
• Number-two pencils
• Erasers

Choose clothes and shoes for testing day.

Get a good night’s sleep.

SAT is very important for a student to demonstrate his or her academic horse power that the student is academically capable to handle the coursework and other academics in his or her university of choice. In addition the factors such as teacher recommendations, class rank and extracurricular activities have huge impact on college admissions.

Here are 20 frequently asked questions from parents and students about taking the PSAT/SAT.

1. What is the SAT I?

   The SAT Stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, which is a standardized test required for admission to most U.S. colleges. The SAT I measures critical reading, math, and writing skills, which are elements that are considered essential for success in college. The test takes 3 hours and 35 minutes to complete and includes the following three sections.

   • Critical ReadingThere are sentence completion questions, short and long reading passages followed by multiple-choice questions.
   • MathThere are multiple-choice and student-produced response questions covering numbers and operations, algebra I and II, geometry, statistics, probability, and data analysis.
   • WritingThere are an essay session and a grammar session including multiple-choice questions on sentence and paragraph improvement, as well as identifying sentence errors.

   For more information, please refer to How to Prepare for SAT.

2. What is the PSAT?

   The PSAT stands for Preliminary SAT, which is designed to be a warm-up for the SAT I, it is also used for applying the National Merit program. The PSAT is not just a shortened SAT I, it contains a Writing Skills section that does not appear on the SAT I, it is actually a grammar test. Although the Writing Skills section is not found on the SAT I, it is very similar to the Writing Test in the SAT II.

   For more information, please refer to How to Prepare for PSAT.

3. What is the SAT II?

   The SAT II is called SAT Subject Tests, which are an additional group of standardized tests required by some of the most competitive colleges. Unlike the general SAT I, the SAT II test the student’s knowledge in a variety of subject areas. The University of California system, Stanford, and most Ivy League schools require the SAT II tests, and consider the SAT II tests as a significant component in computing the student’s Eligibility Index. For more information refer to each school which the student is interested in.

4. Should the student take ACT instead of the SAT I?

   The ACT is an alternative national college admissions examination to the SAT I, which is particularly popular in the Midwest, while the SAT is more common on the coasts. The ACT test consists of subject area tests in English, Mathematics, Reading and Science, a broader range than the SAT I. Almost all colleges accept either SAT I or ACT scores although some state preferences for one over the other, students should check the admission requirements at each school to which they are applying. Another approach is that the student takes the ACT in addition to the SAT, which can give him or her another chance, because he or she can decide which score to submit. For more information on the ACT see the ACT Program.

5. What the SAT I scores look like?

   For Critical Reading, Math and Writing, each section is scored on a scale of 200 to 800. The total score will range between 600 and 2400. The Writing section has two sub-scores, which are a multiple-choice sub-score on a scale of 20-80 and an essay sub-score of 2-12 that are combined to yield a final score out of 800.

6. When to take the SAT?

   Since most students applying to competitive colleges now take the SAT more than once, a typical schedule involves taking the PSAT in October of the junior year, taking the SAT I in March of the junior year, and taking SAT II’s in June of the junior year. It is recommended that perfect timing for SATII is before the summer so that the student still can study to repeat the SAT I on the fall test dates.

7. How many times can or should a student take the SAT I?

   A student can take the SAT as many times as he or she likes, but it is suggested that plan to take it no more than 2 or 3 times, because frequently taking the test does not help the student improve the score much. Since almost all schools now take a student’s highest score when evaluating them for admission, students and parents do not need worry about multiple scores. As long as a student does his or her best to prepare, by trying 2-3 times the student should achieve his or her full potential.

8. What is a good score on the SAT I?

   It depends which college the student wishes to attend. Basically there are no cut-off or guarantee scores. Namely, even the student’s score is higher than a school’s median does not mean that he or she will get in. For more information on the median score ranges for accepted students refer to each college.

9. What will the student be asked to write about in the essay?

   The essay question asks the student to take a position on an issue and support it persuasively with examples from studies and experience. It is an open-ended question, so the student can answer it successfully in many different ways.

10. What are the biggest pitfalls students make when taking the SAT?

    Not practicing enough. We know that in order to succeed in doing anything, we need prepare well, with the SAT, no exception. Many successful stories tell us that practice for the SAT does make perfect. The more the student gets used to the type of questions the SAT asks, the better he or she can do. The SAT is known to keep math questions and sentence completions almost the same. For the grammar section, the more the student memorizes the rules, the more his or her score goes up. The best way to do that is to familiarize with the format of the test and to review the content areas the test covers.

11. Where can a student improve?

    Each student needs to look at his or her PSAT scores to find out where the most help is needed.

    • In the Critical Reading section, which part is his or her weakness? Is it in the vocabulary, the short readings, or the long readings? Can the student understand them with the time limit? Start using flash cards for SAT words, practice timing on the readings, and practice taking tests are definitely good approaches.
    • In the Math section, is the student missing the early easy ones and making careless mistakes? How did he or she do on the medium-hard questions? If it is just the hard ones at the end, perhaps skip the last 1-2 questions. Review thoroughly on Algebra and Geometry which is the math given on the SAT.
    • In the Writing section, to improve the student’s understanding on the rules of grammar is the key. He or she needs to know where to find a double negative, subject-verb agreement, common English idioms, adverbs, when to use I or me, the “W” rule, when-time, who-people, where-place, etc. Once students know the rules of grammar, they can really bring up their Writing score. The Writing section is 2/3 grammar, 1/3 the essay.

12. What does it cost to take the SAT?

    The current fee to register for the SAT is $45.00 (USD). There is an additional fee for various services dealing with score reports and student questions.

13. How to register for the SAT?

    All registration must be done through the College Board, online, by mail or by calling (800)728-7267, there is an additional fee to sign up for the test by phone.

14. Can the student eat or drink during the test?

    No, during the test in the test room for security reasons, however the student is encouraged to bring snacks in a book bag on test day, which can be consumed in designated areas during breaks.

15. Will colleges see the student’s essay?

    A college will be able to view and print the student’s essay only if he or she sends that college the test scores.

16. How do colleges use the SAT writing score?

    Different colleges use the writing score in different ways. Writing scores may be used for admissions decisions. It is said that writing is actually the strongest predictor of college success.

17. When will the students get his or her scores?

    In about 2 weeks after the student takes the test, scores will be available by phone for an additional fee (1-800-SAT-SCORE). In about 3 weeks after the test, score reports will be mailed to the student and the colleges that he or she has designated.

18. Does the student get a copy of his or her test with scores?

    Only if the student request and pay for it on certain dates. The Question-and-Answer Service for the SAT I is available only on certain test dates. The student can receive a copy of his or her exam in about 6 weeks after the test date, and it will be very useful in helping the student assesses what he or she did right and wrong. For any other test date, or for the SAT II tests, there is no way to obtain a copy of the student’s exam.

19. What are the good resources for PSAT/SAT?

    Great Free Stuff for SAT Preparation

20. What a student needs to prepare for PSAT/SAT?

    The student needs index cards, pencils, a timer, a calculator and dictionaries.