The EDUFAX Educational FAQ

Question #106:

My daughter's scores on the PSAT taken in the fall of her junior year are: 96th percentile Verbal, 94th percentile Writing, 37th percentile Math. What does it mean in terms of scholarships, types of University she should apply to, etc.? We have become inundated with phone calls, catalogs and financial aid offers. Why the new frenzy? (courtesy of Tanya Porter, Bowling Green, KY)

Answer #106:

In addition to being excellent practice for standardized pre-college testing, PSAT scores (and PLAN scores which introduce students to the ACT) are valuable because they can indicate areas which need to be remediated while there is still time to do some good. My first comment to you about your daughter's PSAT scores would be to note the discrepancy between her language scores (Verbal and Writing) and her math score. I suggest that you start working on Math Prep immediately so that she is better prepared for the Math Sections on the SAT or ACT when it is time to take those tests. Since such a significant discrepancy might also indicate certain types of learning disability, it might be a good time for an educational evaluation to see if your daughter could benefit from any accommodations in learning subjects which require math skills. She might even be eligible for test-taking accommodations, such as extended time. You have been inundated because your daughter's Verbal and Writing scores are high enough to throw her combined score into a category which warrants interest from a lot of schools who do active student recruiting. The schools who reject 12 students for every one they accept don't spend much money on pre-application advertising. There are, however, many fine schools with which you might not be familiar who would like to acquaint your daughter with their programs and educational opportunities. Some will be appropriate for her to consider; others will not. Discuss some preliminary criteria with your daughter so that you can discard some of the material as soon as it arrives. Begin by listing her preferences for location, academics, size, etc., and keep information from schools she would like to investigate further. If she is certain she wants a school with a warm climate, you can throw away some offers from colleges in Alaska or Minnesota. Similarly, schools designed exclusively for performing artists will probably not appeal to budding engineers. If you don't take care to sort and discard before storing the information you receive, you will probably have to move before your daughter applies to college in order to accommodate the myriad of paper with smiling faces that will gradually fill your entire home. The amount or availability of scholarships and grants will not change if you contact a school or if they contact you, so look over the information and keep anything that interests you, but do not feel that you must respond immediately to any offer described in the literature you receive. Your daughter's eligibility for a Letter of Commendation or Semi-Finalist Status depends on a score computed by the NMSQT, which you can find on the report sheet sent to you. This score varies from state to state and from year to year. You can find additional information on this topic on the EDUFAX site in the EDUFAQ. Although her Verbal scores were quite high, I imagine that her Math pulled her out of the running for Finalist Status. Nevertheless, you should check the printout. When the PSAT is taken in the sophomore year, it counts simply as a practice test. Merit Scholarship status, however, is determined by the junior year PSAT. Your daughter's 96th percentile rating in Writing means that only 4% of the students taking the test did better that she did in this section. Similarly, 37th percentile in Math means that 63% did better than she did in this section. The college search can be wonderfully exciting or absolutely overwhelming. Some families find that using the services of an experienced educational consultant is a productive way to manage the process both pragmatically and emotionally. Good luck, and take heart in this thought - you'll have at least four years to recover before your daughter applies to graduate school! EDUFAX provides Verbal Test Prep Tutorials (PSAT/SAT I/SAT II/ACT).

Students who read this question were also interested in: The PSAT The SAT Q.#91 : How can I raise my Math scores ? Q.#96 : am receiving letters from colleges. How did they get my scores ? If this information was helpful, please click on the smiley

 take me back to the list of questions