Hey everyone, just took the PSAT as a sophomore and I'm curious about what score range is generally considered good for someone in my grade level. I want to gauge where I stand and understand how much I need to improve for junior year when it really starts to count for National Merit. Any insights?
Hello there! It's great to see you being proactive about your PSAT scores. A solid PSAT score for a sophomore would fall into a range where you're scoring above the 50th percentile compared to other sophomores who took the test. For context, scores typically range from 320 to 1520. So if you’re scoring in the 1000-1100 range as a sophomore, that’s a strong starting point.
National Merit qualification scores vary by state and year, but they generally fall within the top 1% of junior-year test-takers, which means you'll probably need to be well above 1400 to be selected. To make that kind of jump from your practice PSAT to the real thing, make sure you identify which content is most challenging for you, so that you can focus extra study time on it, and consider prep courses or resources to get yourself more familiar with the test.
With diligent studying, you'll be well-prepared for next year!
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