So, I'm a junior and I recently got back my PSAT. (I swear my school was the last to pass out scores ><). I'm curious as to whether or not I have a chance to qualify for national merit. I'm not sure if my score is good enough.

I've asked around, and I haven't really gotten a straight answer from anyone since juniors won't find out until their senior year. One senior got a 206 when she was a junior, but was only commended. And another scored a 208 and just made it; she was a semi-finalist. My other friend made a 207, and missed it by just one point, but he's also commended.

I'm very interested in everyone's opinions, and I assume there has to be someone in cB that knows what they're talking about!

So to cut to the chase, I scored in the 98 percentile; I made a 209.

Do I have a good/bad chance?

you did great.
and, by the way, commended is great. you're guaranteed to get accepted to almost any college by being commended.

me, i missed commended by 1 point.

Well see, since you were so close, I'd basically call your score commended. I mean, colleges would see that you JUST missed it.

My friend that got commended, though, said Baylor would not offer her any financial aid. Not that I'm planning on going to Baylor. However she didn't mention if Baylor would/would not accept her because of her score. Personally, I'm worrying more about getting into the school than getting the scholarship.

you did good.

good job for you.

I consider anything over 200 is good.
That's because my PSAT score is low. =(

Okay so I did some research on wikipedia. Apparently 96% and above is def. commended. Usually 99% is national merit. Gahhh I hope they accept 98%, too. I mean...hopefully Texas's selection index is hella low. I know it's not the smartest state HAH, so maybe that will work to my advantage...

209? My dear, I got well below that I'm happy. You should be very confident in your chances, you did very freaking well. Seriously.

And no worries, it was only recently passed back to us, too, so your school wasn't late.

I think you will be commended... but... you might make semifinalist. It all depends on the scores everyone got nationwide. They usually take 99%. I got a 212 last year and I'm in the hunt for Finalist now... the people in my school that got 98% were commended, but only me and one other person who got 99% made it farther.

But hey, I'm a Senior, and your a Junior. Therefore the classes are different, and the test is too. So, you've got a shot, maybe. I'd qualify that as a good chance. If you made the initial cut, they start looking at your grades in high school, and if you have good ones, you might make semi-finalist.

Good job! I hope you become a finalist. I know it's a hella long process...

The selection index also depends on the state. What state are you from? Because I know Mississippi had like the lowest selection index - 204 - whereas some other states had higher selection indexes like 216. I really hope Texas has a low selection index.

I could have made a 213 if I had gotten a perfect math score. I missed just one question, and it was a medium one! When I looked back, I didn't know how I got it wrong. It must have been some careless I-wasn't-paying-attention thing, because I got it right when I looked back. Oh well, no use dwelling on it... It could have been worse; I could have made more careless mistakes.

I really just want to make the initial cut. I make really good grades at school, and I'm 12th of my class. It's kind of ironic... I'm top 2% of my school, and top 2% on the PSAT.

Anyways, worst comes worst I'm only commended - but that in itself is pretty cool. Even if it doesn't get me scholarships, it'll still look good when I apply to colleges.

I should probably stop worrying now...especially since it'll be SEPTEMBER when all my questions are finally answered.

Gahhhh 209? Woah. Even if you dont qualify, thats still something to be proud of!

I got a 172 152

[edit] ^ That cant be right....??

Ahahahaah I was so sleepy during the PSAT. I did so bad, and my math section went down around 10 points from last year. I got a 189...

Pretty bad...my friend got a 226.

I got a 174.
Haha I suck.
Good job. :]

Keep your hopes up! I got 214 and got commended. I guess every school has a quota.

Dang, only commended!? I thought that'd be national merit for sure! I guess you're from a hella smart state, eh?

I thought you needed 219 to qualify?

Depends on the state

^yeah and it depends on how well everyone else did

I DID SO BAD IT'S NOT FUNNY. No one told me how to take it, so I answered all those math ones and guessed on everything, and everything was so hard, I never understood anyof it, so I just guessed, omg I did bad.

Yeah, guessing on the PSAT is definitely not rewarding. I suppose you only learned after taking it that there is a penalty for giving a wrong answer?

I think the fault does not completely lie with you. Does your school give any sort of preperation for the PSAT/SAT? Mine doesn't. It leaves a lot of students ignorant about the test, so they don't do so well. Of course, students should always put forth the effort to prepare for the PSAT, BUT schools are sometimes to blame. Teachers should at least tell students the bare essentials of the test, such as the grading system.

My school is obsessed with preparing for the state test, TAKS, which is possibly the easiest test anyone could ever take. Their reasoning is understandable; they are more concerned with the school's rank in the state. But still, by preparing for the PSAT/SAT, students would be overqualified for TAKS.

The PSAT is by far the most underrated test at my school. Nobody cares about it, sadly enough. Like I'm amazed by the scores you guys get on it, because I've met 2 people irl who've studied for it. Most wake up, take the test, and then forget about it until the scores come out. And then forget again.

I didn't study at all and as a sophomore I scored 88% higher than all the Juniors who took it.

Also, I scored in the 99th percentile for the reading or something like that. Woo!

I dunno how it will turn out this year, Texas is actually somewhat competitive my friend with a 221 got stuck at Semifinalist but that was like 2 years ago? It didnt really affect him though since he perfected the SAT and nearly perfected the new one as well and he got into Rice University with ease. So, if this doesnt work out for you, theres always the SAT to shine on.

Man, I hope I do well on the SAT. I find it harder than the PSAT because it's hella longer, has an essay and has harder math.

Anyways...hopefully this year juniors are dumb. I just read on the other PSAT topic that one state had like 204-211. I sure hope that's what it is this year for TX.

The essay isn't as difficult as you'd think it'd be, it's just a matter of writing quickly and not doubting yourself; that just wastes time. And I didn't find the math to be that much harder, but there are definitely newer kind of problems. I don't know how many times I've promoted the SAT prep book, but yeah, it does the trick. Ummm, what else is there to say? Oh yes, the length. The length is definitely the biggest difference between the two. Bring two snacks for the test; it'll be so worth it.

Yeah, I've taken practice SATs before, so I know what to expect. I'm taking classes with KAPLAN, and they have a bunch of SAT prep books, so I'm good there, too.

It's actually a fact that there is higher level math on the SAT.

SAT Mathematics Review
The mathematics content level of the SAT includes advanced topics. The following math concepts are covered on the test.

Number and Operations
Arithmetic word problems (including percent, ratio, and proportion)
Properties of integers (even, odd, prime numbers, divisibility, etc.)
Rational numbers
Logical reasoning
Sets (union, intersection, elements)
Counting techniques
Sequences and series (including exponential growth)
Elementary number theory
Review Number and Operations

Algebra and Functions
Substitution and simplifying algebraic expressions
Properties of exponents
Algebraic word problems
Solutions of linear equations and inequalities
Systems of equations and inequalities
Quadratic equations
Rational and radical equations
Equations of lines
Absolute value
Direct and inverse variation
Concepts of algebraic functions
Newly defined symbols based on commonly used operations
Review Algebra and Functions

Geometry and Measurement
Area and perimeter of a polygon
Area and circumference of a circle
Volume of a box, cube, and cylinder
Pythagorean Theorem and special properties of isosceles, equilateral, and right triangles
Properties of parallel and perpendicular lines
Coordinate geometry
Geometric visualization
Slope
Similarity
Transformations
Review Geometry and Measurement

Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability
Data interpretation
Statistics (mean, median, and mode)
Probability

VS.

PSAT

Math
The math section of the PSAT/NMSQT requires a basic knowledge of number and operation; algebra and functions (though not content covered in third-year math classes--content that will appear on the new SAT); geometry and measurement; and data analysis, statistics, and probability. You can use a calculator to answer math questions, but no question on the test requires a calculator.

Last year's cut-off for National Merit was somewhere around 217 (in Texas).

A 209 is definately commended, though. Good job.

Educated guessing is a very effective method of s-shotting for a higher score.

i think for merit, it's 99 percentile no matter wat. in my school, pretty much half the juniors got 99th and the rest didn't ..i got 199

but who cares? it's the SAT that matters most.

I guess I care because it looks hella good.

as a sophomore i got a 200, which is really just average in my grade because everybody is freakishly smart.

My schools dumb, i got a crappy crappy score and it was above average.

I did really bad too! I had no idea what I was doing, i'm so used to answering every question on tests. So i ended up like skipping half the crap because I wasn't absolutely sure of its correctness and didn't want to lose points. Not a good thing to do. Especially if all the ones you did end up answering on one part were correct. :\

ahh . you are all hella smart .

im a freshman and i got 180.

i wished i had studied. . . my mom told me i was going to take it the day before...=[

Uh, if you're a freshman then there's no point in studying now. It doesn't count until your junior year.