Can anyone help me with this information?

Question

I am a home-schooled sophomore in High School and I do my schooling through a private school program called Mother of Divine Grace. With my grades having been low my freshmen year due to medical illnesses I have been trying to find ways to do extra curricular activities for the on coming school year and take on a few extra subjects.

I recently learned that there is a standardized test called the PSAT available for Juniors and was wondering if anyone could give me any positive information about how this test could help me through High School and into college if I pass with a good enough score. And how would I go about studying for this test, is it similiar to the ACT or SAT, because I will also be taking the ACT this year and will be studying very hard for that.

I hope to pass through High School with atleast the GPA of a 3.8 (at least)

I was just wondering if some friendly people on here could help me out. I would appreciate it so much.!

Thanks

Answer 1

Hi so I'd love to try and help you out. I just got out of high school and still vividly remember how stressful all that stuff was.

Anyways, the PSAT is basically a practice for the big monster itself - the SAT's. In addition to practice, the PSAT's also allow you to qualify for becoming a National Merit Scholar. There are many study books that you can find for the test at stores such as Borders, Target, etc.

As for getting into college, you really need to focus on the SAT and ACT. Those two tests are what colleges look at to determine admissions. If you can manage to get a decent score on either of those, combined with a 3.8 GPA, you have a pretty sure chance on getting into some very good colleges.

Good luck!  

Answer 2

The PSAT is  a practice for the SAT. However, it is also very, very important because it is also the NMSQT--the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test. If you get a sufficiently high score (200 for commended, 210-220, depending on the state, for semifinalist) you become a commended scholar or semifinalist. Semifinalists can then apply to become finalists. Getting any of these gets you prestige and possibly scholarships, either through the National Merit Program or independently at your University. The test has little affect on admissions, but is very useful for scholarships.

You can use any study book available at most bookstores and on amazon. Popular brands include Barrons and Kaplan. Studying for the ACT should help to some extent, because the tests have much overlap. The format is like the SAT, only half as long and without an essay. The scoring is SAT divided by 10, 20-80 on each section, 60-240 total.