Category: PSAT

It is hard to believe, but summer is here, and with it comes changing schedules and a break in the routine. It’s easy to let the weeks slip by, but remember that summer never seems to be as long as we expect! For rising seniors, the summer is a critical time – this is your chance to get ahead on all your college applications. Students can officially access the Common Application starting in August, however that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do before then. First off, rising seniors should make sure to check out the essay topics for this year’s Common App Essay (find them on commonapp.org). Use the summer to work on this. Keep in mind that this is a personal essay, and so it may take some time to get it right. The best essays are almost never the first draft that you write. Give yourself plenty of time to brainstorm and try [...]

Members of the class of 2020 and 2021 will be able to access their PSAT scores online on December 9.  After seeing their son or daughter’s scores, many parents will ask the same question: What do these mean?  

Parents who have an older child may find these scores strangely unfamiliar.   The scores have gone back to the future and returned to the 1600 scale instead of the 2400 scale.  There are two scores on the test now: A math score and an evidence based reading and writing score.  Each of these is scored from 160 to 760, and those scores are combined to give you a score from 320 to 1520. A PSAT score is on the same continuum as the SAT, so your score reflects what you would achieve on the SAT [...]

On December 12, students across the country will be able to access their PSAT scores.  For many students, this may be a time of great confusion.  Some students may not understand what the scores mean.  They may be asking “Is this a good score?” or “What does this mean for college?”  Many may not even know where to go to access their scores.

Let’s start there.  The first step is to have the student view his or her scores on the College Board website, www.collegeboard.org.  The score range changed last year and many parents are not familiar with the new scale.  The maximum score on the PSAT is 1520.  That score consists of a Math score that ranges from 160 to 760 and an Evidence Based Reading and Writing score that also ranges from 160 to 760.  The test is also broken down into 7 subscores, which range [...]