Calling all Juniors!

If your student will be a high school Junior this fall, this is the year to take the PSAT. The PSAT is a Preliminary SAT exam. It is used as practice for the college entrance SAT exam, and as the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship competition.

The test is given once a year in October. Now is a great time of year to contact a local public or private high school and ask that they order a test for your student. The cost is approximately $13-$15, the school can set the exact price. The test is quite similar to the SAT, but does not have an essay portion.

Although the Junior year is the one that "counts" for the National Merit Scholarship, your student can take the test for practice in the 10th grade year as well. For the scholarship, it is the total score that is considered. While only the top few percent of students will receive any official recognition for their high score, the PSAT is well worth doing for the practice and allowing your student to become more familiar with standardized test formats. Feel free to use a "prep" book to help your student know what to expect.

The first time we considered having our 10th grader take the PSAT, I didn't realize I should have called well in advance. I found myself calling around to every local school, in a panic because September was too late to find a spare test available. One person finally explained it was only the 11th grade year that is considered for the scholarship competition. We waited until the next year for that student, and for subsequent students I knew to call early!

There is a homeschool code that your student will enter into a designated spot on the test form that will allow the test results to be sent directly to your home address. The score report will arrive around the first week of December.

For more information about the PSAT: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/about.html