230 likes | 350 Views
The PSAT and Beyond: What You Need to Know. About Me. Name: Brendan Getzell College: UCSB SAT Score: 2400 About Me: Scored a perfect 2400 on the SAT Has spent 5 years as a Revolution Prep instructor 93% of former students rate him as an A or A+ instructor
E N D
About Me • Name: Brendan Getzell • College: UCSB • SAT Score: 2400 • About Me: • Scored a perfect 2400 on the SAT • Has spent 5 years as a Revolution Prep instructor • 93% of former students rate him as an A or A+ instructor • A musician, currently at work recording an album
Roadmap for tonight • Introduction to the PSAT • Interpreting your results • Going from the PSAT to the SAT • More tests: The ACT and SAT Subject Tests • Next Steps: Testing timeline and prep options
Why does Testing Matter? Standardized tests are the biggest “bang for the buck” part of the college admissions process.
What is the PSAT? • Practice version of the SAT • For Sophomores: the first exposure to college admissions testing • For Juniors: A chance to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program • For Everyone: A chance to find out “where you stand” so that you can get prepared effectively for the real SAT!
The PSAT Math 2 25 minutes Critical Reading 2 25 minutes Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Section Scores • Each section is scored out of 80 points (240 total) • For each section, you receives score, a score range, and a percentile rank.
Total Score (Selection Index) Answer Breakdown • Selection index = sum of section scores = # of 240 • Percentile = What percent of college-bound Juniors in your state did you score higher than? • PSAT index SAT score: Add a zero. 156 PSAT = 1560 SAT
Skills Breakdown Error Log • Assess your strengths and weaknesses to determine where you need to prep. • Use your online access code to get more details at collegeboard.com.
Question-by-Question Detailed Analysis
What is the National Merit Scholarship? • Based on total PSAT score from Junior year. • Semifinalist – varies year to year, state to state – somewhere between 201 to 221. • Requires a “qualifying” SAT score (2000+) by fall of the Senior year. • Most Semifinalists become Finalists. • Roughly half of Finalists receive monetary awards. • Semifinalist or Finalist status is a big leg up in the college admissions process.
Going from the PSAT to the SAT • 95+ percent content overlap between the tests • There are only three differences between the PSAT and SAT: • The SAT is slightly harder • The SAT has a 25-minute essay • The SAT is much longer (~4 hrs.)!
The SAT Reasoning Test Critical Reading 1 25 minutes Math 3 20 minutes Critical Reading 3 20 minutes Math 1 25 minutes Writing 2 10 minutes Experimental Section 25 minutes Essay 25 minutes Writing 1 25 minutes Critical Reading 2 25 minutes Math 2 25 minutes Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
SAT Scoring • Three sub-scores (just like PSAT): Math, Critical Reading, and Writing • Each sub-section is scaled from 200-800 • The national average for each section is roughly 500 (1500 total)
SAT Scoring Scoring • One raw score point gained for each correct answer • 1/4 raw point taken away for each incorrect multiple choice answer • No penalty or gain for omitted questions or incorrect answers on grid-ins
The ACT • The ACT has four sections: English, Reading, Math, and Science. • Each section is scored on a scale from 1 to 36 • The national average for each section is roughly 21
The ACT Science 35 minutes English 45 minutes Reading 35 minutes Math 60 minutes Total Time: 2 hours, 55 minutes Total Time with Essay: 3 hours, 25 minutes
PSAT vs SAT vs ACT PSAT vs. SAT vs. ACT
SAT Subject Tests • Each test is one hour in length • Achievement-based tests, measuring knowledge learned from college-level courses in the following areas: • ENGLISH: Literature • HISTORY: U.S. History, World History • MATH: Mathematics Level 1, Mathematics Level 2 • SCIENCE: Biology E/M, Chemistry, Physics • LANGUAGES: Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Modern Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Japanese, Korean
Testing Timeline Sophomore Year Junior Year Senior Year
Revolution Opportunities • Upcoming Mock Exams • SAT: February 5th, $15 donation 9am-1pm • ACT: March 12th, $15 donation 9am-1pm • Upcoming Group Courses • March SAT Course begins January 22nd Tuesdays 6pm-9pm • May SAT Boot Camp April 30th and May 1st • June ACT Course begins April 30th Tuesdays 6pm-9pm • Special offer attendees of this event expires on 1/31/11. • $50 off group course use promo code PSAT3GJ • $75 off hybrid course use promo code PSAT3HJ • $100 off tutoring package use promo code PSAT3TJ • $200 off Premium Instructor Online/Virtual Tutor use promo code PSAT3VJ