The Allen County-Scottsville High School
guidance department is reminding students and parents about the upcoming PSAT/NMSQT
(Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test). The PSAT/NMSQT is
a two-hour test given once a year with this year’s test scheduled for Wednesday,
October 10. The cost of the exam is $16.
“Many students take the PSAT, not only as
preparation for the SAT s, but also to qualify for the National Merit
Scholarship Competition,” explained AC-S counselor Jane Yokley. “Almost all students take the PSAT during
their junior year, but many students take the PSAT when they are sophomores to
get the feel of the test. However, it is only the scores from the PSAT taken in
your junior year that are considered for the National Merit Scholarship
competition.”
As with the SAT, the PSAT has separate
math and verbal sections and a third section testing English grammar. Each
subject is scored on a scale of 20 to 80 and these scores are combined to
create the National Merit Scholarship selection index.
This scholarship competition awards
approximately 8,200 scholarships annually. The selection process starts with
the choosing of National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists and Commended
Scholars. Cutoffs vary from state to state but typically, the Semi-Finalists
score in the top one percent of students in their state and Commended Scholars
between the top one to four percent. Most of the approximately 16,000
Semi-Finalists become Finalists, and half of those ultimately receive National
Merit Scholarships.
In addition to qualifying for the National
Merit scholarship competition, taking the test helps students obtain feedback
on their strengths and weaknesses on skills necessary for college study.
Students can then focus their preparation on those areas that could most
benefit from additional study or practice. Other reasons for taking the test include
to see how your performance on an admissions test might compare with that of
others applying to college and to help prepare for the SAT.
Sophomores or juniors
interested in taking the test on Wednesday, October 10 need to sign up in the
AC-SHS Guidance Office at which time they will receive a student guide. The
cost of the exam is $16.