First of all, a big shout-out to my client Stacey M. for sending me this article confirming news I had heard and was trying to track down. According to this article in The Palm Beach Post, "a new Florida law offers high school grads who scored high enough on PSATs to win a National Merit Scholarship a free ride at a state university — tuition, room and board, books, fees, transportation and health insurance. An equivalent amount also will be available for students who attend independent four-year universities in the state." National Merit Scholars already receive substantial amounts of free money and are often heavily recruited by many colleges. So this is just more icing on a cake for those who are already eating it. Now they have an even sweeter deal! But the real purpose behind this law is to keep more brainpower in Florida, since Scholars are often lured by tempting offers from out-of-state schools. A couple of things to note: not all schools pay for or push their Juniors to take the PSAT, or some select just those who already scored well on their Sophomore PSAT. And some guidance counselors or teachers are dismissive, saying it "doesn't really count" (although this might change as more become aware of the new law). While doing poorly on the PSAT does not hurt nearly as much as doing well helps, this additional reward justifies serious preparation which also provides excellent practice for the SAT. A student's PSAT score does have high statistical correlation with her SAT score: it is predictive. But preparation is proven to have a huge impact, so there is room for improvement especially if a student was not ready for the PSAT when she took it the first time.
What kind of scores qualify for National Merit? It varies widely by state. In Florida, the qualifying score in 2014 was 214. In September 2013, 16,000 of the highest scoring members of the class of 2014 qualified as semifinalists. These students represented approximately the top 1% of testers in each state. In February 2014, those semifinalists who met academic and other requirements advanced to Finalist standing. In April of 2014, scholarship winners were notified. This year, the PSAT is offered on Wednesday, October 15th and Saturday, October 18th. Check with your guidance department about registration.
How is the PSAT different than the SAT? The PSAT is shorter (5 sections instead of 10), doesn't include an essay, and is a significantly lower difficulty level, especially in terms of math and vocabulary. In other words, it's much easier.
What is the best way to prepare for the PSAT and become a National Merit Scholar? Hire me :)
To read the entire Palm Beach Post article, go here:
First of all, a big shout-out to my client Stacey M. for sending me this article confirming news I had heard and was trying to track down. According to this article in The Palm Beach Post, "a new Florida law offers high school grads who scored high enough on PSATs to win a National Merit Scholarship a free ride at a state university — tuition, room and board, books, fees, transportation and health insurance. An equivalent amount also will be available for students who attend independent four-year universities in the state." National Merit Scholars already receive substantial amonts of free money and are often heavily recruited by many colleges. So this is just more icing on a cake for those who are already eating it. Now they have an even sweeter deal! But the real purpose behind this law is to keep more brainpower in Florida, since Scholars are often lured by tempting offers from out-of-state schools. A couple of things to note: not all schools pay for or push their Juniors to take the PSAT, or some select just those who already scored well on their Sophomore PSAT. And some guidance counselors or teachers are dismissive, saying it "doesn't really count" (although this might change as more become aware of the new law). While doing poorly on the PSAT does not hurt nearly as much as doing well helps, this additional reward justifies serious preparation which also provides excellent practice for the SAT. A student's PSAT score does have high statistical correlation with her SAT score: it is predictive. But preparation is proven to have a huge impact, so there is room for improvement especially if a student was not ready for the PSAT.
What kind of scores qualify for National Merit? It varies widely by state. In Florida, the qualifying score in 2014 was 214. In September 2013, 16,000 of the highest scoring members of the class of 2014 qualified as semifinalists. These students represented approximately the top 1% of testers in each state. In February 2014, those semifinalists who met academic and other requirements advanced to Finalist standing. In April of 2014, scholarship winners were notified. This year, the PSAT is offered on Wednesday, October 15th and Saturday, October 18th. Check with your guidance deptartment about registration.
How is the PSAT different than the SAT? The PSAT is shorter (5 sections instead of 10), doesn't include an essay, and is a signficantly lower difficulty level, especially in terms of math and vocabulary. In other words, it's much easier.
What is the best way to prepare for the PSAT and become a National Merit Scholar? Hire me :)
To read the article, go here:
http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/good-grades-pay-off-national-merit-scholars-to-get/nghRs/
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