When students first take the PSAT and get their scores back, they also get a projected range of how they will likely score when they take the SAT. Let me state very clearly that you should never limit yourself to what the “experts” predict for you. The PSAT and SAT employ as much test taking strategy as they do academic knowledge. You can break free of your “SAT score range” with proper SAT preparation. Join me in this prepcast as I relate the real SAT story of a student, now a junior at Princeton University, who marched right past her SAT range as first indicated on her PSAT.
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Standard Podcast [3:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadReal SAT Stories: PSAT to SAT Scores Are Not Preordained (transcript)
I want to tell you a story about a girl that I tutored years ago who happens to be a junior at Princeton now. Years ago she took the PSAT’s her sophomore and did not do well; her father was not very happy with her score around five hundred. Her father had great ambitions for her and she had high ambitions for herself. They were disappointed when they saw her PSAT scores because they felt if we don’t improve these scores she’s not going to get into a selective college. The father called me shortly after the PSAT sophomore year and asked me to make his daughter a long-term project. He wanted me to help her with her fundamentals and see if I identified any gaps in her educational background.
I started working with her spring of her sophomore year and like most kids her vocabulary was a little weak and we started working on that. I started familiarizing her with some of the fundamentals of algebra and geometry and getting her more fluent in the things I thought she needed to do well on in order to get a high SAT score. By the time she reached her senior year her score was in the fifteen hundreds which today would be the equivalent of a twenty-three hundred. In the end result she ended up getting into Princeton.
The moral of the story is that your SAT score is something you can change with time and effort. Don’t think that the range is what the College Board gives you is some type of immutable range. You can change that range with time and effort. If you get a score on the PSAT’s or SAT’s that you’re not happy with do not give up on yourself. If you work hard you can get there. I suggest go get the College Board book and take those practice tests under simulated conditions. When you finish the practice tests grade them immediately so you can review all of the problems that you skipped, got wrong or guessed on. I would also suggest forming a study group and you can make a huge difference if you apply yourself over time.
Karl Schellscheidt
ePrep, Inc.
http://blog.eprep.com
February 5th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Dear sir,
Hello. I have a trouble with passages. I can’t find answers easily.
February 5th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
James,
Under the heading “Categories” in the right navigation column, select the category “Reading.” You should review all of the posts in this section. They are intended to help students with the Critical Reading section of the SAT.
Once you have done so, send me questions as needed. Good luck. Also, send an update when you get a chance.
Karl
February 5th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
hello
im really mad at the fact that collegeboard dosen;t have the
explanations on the back..
any solutions..?
February 6th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Sung Ho,
I understand your frustration. I suggest you review the really difficult questions with a group of friends. Sometimes, even if no one can explain the answer, you can eventually figure it out together. (If you really get stuck, send me the question and I will help you out.)
The College Board does offer an online course with answer feedback. You may want to consider that.
In any case, don’t let a frustrating situation keep you from succeeding. Work through it as best you can. In the end, your efforts will be rewarded.
Good luck and please keep in touch.
Regards,
Karl
February 7th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
I just read on the news that for students in Maine – _www.prepme.com is doing free SAT prep but I guess you have to pay if you are from another state. Do you have any thoughts on this program Karl?
February 7th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Jatinder,
I did read about prepme’s promotion in Maine. If you look at it from the perspective of a kid outside of Maine, it seems unfair. (Why should the kids who live in Maine get a free course, when the rest of us have to pay for it?) From my perspective, however, it seems okay. The guys at prepme are merely trying to promote their product in creative ways. And giving even one kid access to an educational product is an incredibly positive act.
I have not experienced prepme’s product, but I do know that the company is made up of a group of recent college graduates who are apparently bright and technologically savvy. While I am sure their product meets or exceeds the current industry standard for online courses, (a) I do not think the industry standard is very high and (b) I am always leery of young entrepreneurs who get into the “business” of education with little or no teaching experience. (In fact, prepme reminds me a lot of The Princeton Review, another company that was founded, not by veteran teachers, but by young entrepreneurs.) That being said, I think the best way to prepare for the SAT is to practice and if prepme is making it easy for kids to practice, it is providing a valuable service.
Thanks for the note. Good luck and stay in touch. If you eventually try prepme, I would be interested to know what you think.
Karl
February 14th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Karl – thanks. I signed up for their free diagnostic test and called to ask questions. They said one of the writers of the course has written his own best-selling SAT book called up your score. I am a 10th grader now so I am not going to take a course till this summer.
February 19th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
I need a copy of my previous sat scores from 1999 or 2000 how do i go about getting this inrormation. I attended Texas City High School my date of birth is june 14, 1981 my full name is Ebony Azuree Ellison if you could give me any information it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you . I could be reached at 409 9391952.
February 19th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Hi Ebony,
You need to contact the College Board in order the obtain copies of your old SAT score reports. You can make your request online or by calling the College Board. To access College Board telephone numbers go to the following webpage:
http://collegeboard.com/html/communications000.html
Good luck.
Karl
February 12th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Is a psat score of 174 good? I’m a sophomore
February 12th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Luffy, 174 is a good score for a sophomore. Keep up the good work.
March 25th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Karl… I am worried about my SAT scores…they range from 550 to 570
If I take the test again, will I be able to get them to 600?
March 25th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Tamie,
I absolutely think you can get your scores into the 600s. You’re only a few questions away. Start with the free trial version of ePrep for the SAT. If you need more practice, let me know and I will help you figure out what to do. Good luck.
March 29th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Karl,
I am a sophmore and I got a 174 without preparing much this year. I got 53 on Reading Comprehension, 58 on Math, and 63 on English. For percentiles those were 83rd, 89th, 96th……From this I have 3 questions.
1) Considering I’m only a sophmore, do you think my scores will improve by a fair amount just because I haven’t been taught as much as a junior?
2) Is there usually a big score improvement from sophomore to junior year?
3) I have heard that a lot of colleges don’t care as much or even go as far as to disregard the reading comprehension section, is this true?
March 29th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
correction: I got a 174, but im not sure if it was 48-58-68 or 53-58-63
March 30th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
E.J.,
1) If you continue to study diligently, you scores will certainly improve from sophomore to junior year.
2) Students who take challenging high school courses seriously are the ones who see the biggest improvement in SAT scores from sophomore year to junior year.
3) It is the writing section, not the critical reading section, that some colleges ignore. Please do your best on the CR.
Good luck.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I have trouble with all types of math except some algebra and
and some geometry.
I want to know what is the difference between the PSAT scores
and the SAT scores.
PSAT I scored a very low score in math, around 30, and how is
that graded in the SAT?
September 27th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Vanessa,
A 30 on the PSAT is equivalent to a 300 on the SAT. If you practice for the SAT, however, your score can improve dramatically. You may want to try ePrep’s free trial to see whether you think I can help you with math. Good luck.
May 23rd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I’m a freshman and I want to know what I should be doing to get my scores up in math?
May 24th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Sarah,
As a freshman, your main focus should be doing well in school. Pay attention in math class and go to extra help after school, if necessary. The material you are learning now is critical for success on the SAT.
You really do not need to worry about practicing for the SAT specifically until sophomore year.
Good luck.
May 25th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Hello Karl. I’m a little concerned about how my transcript looks at this point. I am a junior and I have taken 5 AP classes to date. I got B+’s and B’s and a B- in all of them. I recently took the May SAT for the second time and my scores were as follows. My total score was a 2140.
CR 690
M 710
W 740
Essay 11
I am involved in my community. I volunteer at the local hospital, I have participated in after school programs that provide music and art classes for underprivileged children. I have tutored younger grades in math and French. I have also been playing violin and piano since I was 8. I am involved a couple clubs at school, debate, key club, and French, but hold no leadership positions. I speak French and Arabic at home. I took the AP US history exam and received a 4. I took four more AP tests just a few weeks ago. I got a 730 and the US History SAT II last year.
I may have missed a couple things on here, but from what I’ve said, what are my chances of getting into my reach school Columbia? This is hardest school I’m looking at. I’m also looking at NYU and McGill and several others.
Thank you so much Karl, your eprep program helped my bump up my score by over 100 points!
May 26th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Sophia,
You have a pretty amazing resume. The thing that jumped out is that you speak Arabic. While many students apply ing to Columbia, NYU, and McGill next year will match your school performance and extracurricular activities, not many of them will have the ability to speak English, French, and Arabic.
While it will be tough to get into Columbia–your reach school–the Arabic will definitely help. Keep up the good work, Shopia. It sounds like you have set your self up for 4 years at a top-notch college or university.
Send me an update when you find the time. I am glad to hear that ePrep helped.
June 4th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
hey karl,
i have two questions that really keeps getting me. As I am reading the questions for
the long and short passages on the critical reading sections, I am able to eliminate 3 of the 5
choices for sure. Eventually, I am stuck with 2 remaining choices
and end up picking the wrong one almost every time. I am not
guessing but I keep getting the question wrong.
secondly, I have taken two SAT practice tests recently( one from
kaplan and one from barrons) and i did so much better on the kaplan one.
do you know which one matches the difficulty level to the actual SAT.
i am taking the test this Saturday on June 06 so your reply before
the test would be great. thanks
June 5th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Hash,
Remember that there will always be tough decisions to make on critical reading questions. It comes down to 2 answer choices for most test-takers. Remember also that when you are reading the prompt and the answer choices, you have to be incredibly discerning. Any word or phrase that causes an answer to go even slightly off topic should be eliminated. (When reading the actual passages, I think you can be a little “sloppy.” In fact, I often try to exaggerate positions or arguments in the passages in order to better understand contrasts.)
The Kaplan test is surely the better one. I find Barrons well below industry standards.
Good luck tomorrow.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
hi karl,
I just took the SAT and performed decently. I have a question though:
I am decently good at math(looking for a 750ish) but horrible at
critical reading(550ish). I just don’t understand how this is
possible. The SAT tests your reasoning capability to a certain
extent. How can a person be able to reason in a certain way but
be completely blank in a different area?
June 9th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Navya,
Your reasoning abilities may be strong all around, but without mastery of the content used to test your ability, you may fall short. In other words, you may have a greater mastery of math facts and concepts than vocabulary and verbal concepts. That may be the difference.
September 16th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
What if it’s too late. My SAT is in a month and I feel completely unprepared for ite. I plan on getting one of the official SAT study books withing the week but I’m afraid I’ll fail or do poorly. Any tips or hints?
September 17th, 2009 at 7:17 am
It’s never too late, Missy. Buy the book and get started. You’ll be surprise with how much you can improve in just a few weeks.
October 5th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Hi Karl,
I just took a practice PSAT and got a 54 on RC, 61 on Math, and a 66 on Writing. The total is a 181. Is this good for a sophomore?
October 5th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Jack,
181 is great for a sophomore. Keep reading as much as you can, looking up words along the way. Doing so will certainly help you increase your CR score.
October 11th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
So, I’ve got the PSAT this Wednesday…
As a sophomore, is this test anything more than a practice test and a fairly accurate prediction of my potential score next year when it really counts (National Merit)? Do college see PSAT scores from Freshman/Sophomore years? What about Pre-ACT test such as the EXPLORE or the PLAN?
Thanks again,
Blake
October 12th, 2009 at 7:39 am
Blake,
You are right. The sophomore year PSAT merely predicts SAT success. Colleges will not see your PSAT scores and sophomore year PSAT scores will not qualify you for a National Merit Scholarship.
Taking the PLAN isn’t a bad idea. Doing so will give you a sense for how you may eventually do on the ACT.
Good luck on Wednesday.
October 12th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Thanks!
I actually took the PLAN a few weeks ago. I’m not sure when the scores will be sent back for that.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Do you have any recommendations for the best books to use to study for the PSAT/SAT (or ACT)?
October 20th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Blake,
The best prep book for the PSAT/SAT is The Official SAT Study Guide. The best one for the PLAN/ACT is The Real ACT Prep Guide. Both books can be purchased online at at big bookstores like Borders and Barnes & Noble. Good luck.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Karl..I recently got bad PSAT scores (146)..I was wondering if
there is still hope for me. I bought the Offical SAT Study Guide,
as well as McGraw-Hill’s SAT I Second Edition..
Were these good choices? Do I still have hope for the SAT, if I
work hard? I am currently a Sophomore.
January 20th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
John,
Absolutely. If you are willing to work hard, the sky is the limit. The Official Study Guide is definitely a good source of practice materials. I honestly don’t know much about the other book.
Over the next year–aside from taking some practice tests here and there–you should complete your school work diligently and work on your vocabulary. If you do so, your scores will increase dramatically.
Good luck.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
Thanks Karl! Any good places you recommend to get started on my vocab?
January 21st, 2010 at 3:39 pm
John,
Aside from ePrep’s WordSmith vocabulary builder, I don’t know a whole lot about online vocabulary building products and resources.
FYI: When I was younger, I simply got myself into the habit of looking up the unfamiliar words I encountered while reading. It’s an old-fashioned but effective way to get it done.