I Received My PSAT Scores. What Now?
October 30th, 2008 - by 
Every year around the second week of December 11th graders receive their PSAT (Preliminary SAT) scores. And, like clockwork, they anxiously ask the same set of questions:
“If my score is low, does this ruin my chances of getting into college?”
N0. PSAT scores are NOT sent to colleges nor are they necessary for college admissions. It’s the full-length SAT you send when applying to colleges, not the PSAT.
“If I don’t get a National Merit honor, does that hurt my chances of getting into college?”
No. We have students admitted to Harvard and Yale without ever earning any National Merit honors. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) honors students who post a PSAT composite typically at or above 217 out of 240 (the sum of their 80-point scaled scores in Critical Reading, Math, and Writing). Yet only 50,000 of the 1.4 million 11th graders who take the PSAT ever score this well and qualify-that’s only 3.5% of PSAT test takers.
Whether you’re part of this 3.5% or more likely part of the other 96.5%, there’s a much better question you should be asking:
“How do I use the PSAT to improve my chances of doing well on the SAT, which could truly influence my admission to college?”
In December, The College Board sends home each student’s score report, test booklet, and answer sheet. Sit down with these reports and answer these questions:
- What was my lowest subsection–Critical Reading, Math, or Writing?
- Was there a particular question type within a subsection that challenged me?
- Was it the sentence completions on Critical Reading? (If so, specific emphasis on SAT vocabulary is called for.)
- Was it the Identifying Sentence Errors on the Writing? (If so, a review of SAT Grammar is in order.)
- Or was it the student-produced responses in the Math? (If so, a healthy review of the most common SAT math problems is necessary.)
In short, the best use the PSAT is as a diagnostic tool: to reveal your individual needs and to direct the best teaching plan to address those needs. Make it a familiar affair. Sit down. Analyze. Plan.
