I’m trying to improve my PSAT score to National Merit Scholar material. How can I do this?

Treat the SAT like a practice for the PSAT, and take it once before you get to the PSAT this fall. You can take the SAT as often as you like, but you only have that one chance to make National Merit. I guess, looking at the test dates, that would put the SAT only a week or so before the PSAT, so you wouldn’t have a chance to get your scores back to see how you did, but I’m convinced that the best way to do well on these tests is to KNOW the test, and nothing can show you how you’ll do and what you need to work on better than the real thing.

You’ve got to get up in the 210 range. It’s different each year for each state, but somewhere thereabout is where the cutoffs usually are. It was 208 in my state when I was a Semifinalist.

The SAT class is a good thing to do; it’ll get you familiar with the test. Get a review book and take practice tests. Make sure you time yourself, since one of the hardest things about these tests is the time limit and your AWARENESS of the time limit.

The best way to improve your critical reading and writing scores is to READ. Try to read more challenging material, too, the type of novels you read for school. I recommend The Scarlet Letter and 1984. Other than that, improve your vocabulary. Any time you see or hear a word you don’t know, look it up. Both www.webster.com and www.dictionary.com will email you a Word of the Day, which can help too. I also recommend looking into Greek and Latin roots. The types of words they like on the SAT are the longer words with strong Latin roots, for some reason. Memorizing words is all good and well, but it’s better if you can look at a word you don’t know and figure out what it means from the roots. Look at Latin and Greek prefixes and suffixes (Wikipedia has various lists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affix ) or even get some sort of basic Latin vocabulary builder to study with your English vocab. The grammar is a bit trickier to study for. Get a review book and go over any grammar information it might have in it, and make sure you’re familiar with the grammar rules.

Math is more straightforward to study for. These tests cover very specific areas in math, and little else, so it becomes a matter of studying the right KIND of math. Take a preliminary or practice test to identify what you specifically need work on, and find specific information to help you with your weaknesses.

College Board has a Question of the Day that you can get emailed to you, so even if you don’t practice every day, you can still spend a few minutes each day thinking about test questions. http://apps.collegeboard.com/qotd/question.do

Good Luck!

Nope, if you don’t have an asterisk, it means your scores are valid for the competition–that is, you’re in the right grade and all of your forms are in order. As mean as this sounds, you’re most likely not going to qualify. Commended status, which is the next level down from semifinalist status, requires a 200 or higher as of last year–and will most likely increase this year.

The Kaplan course helped me get in the 98th percentile. Sorry for the short answer, but it’s got a lot of stuff to help you and some really good teachers. It forces you to prep.

Do the SAT course and see what else you need to improve on after finishing the course. You might also buy a prep book.

read as many classics as possible. its the best way to learn new vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. thats what I did and i made national merit this past year. Good Luck!!