Is a 1080 on the 8th grade PSAT good?

Answered

First of all, great job getting a 1080! It was your first time taking the PSAT and a score above a 1000 is generally considered good, so you're already on the right track. Colleges will not be sent the scores to your PSAT 8/9 - they only see and care about the PSAT/NMSQT (the one you take in 11th grade that qualifies you for the National Merit Scholarship). You might be worried that a 1080 is not Ivy League worthy, regardless of whether they see it or not, however, remember that you have a couple more tries left! Resources like Kaplan and Khan Academy can really help your score improve, as that's what colleges look for. It's great if students have constant 1300s and 1400s on their PSATs, but colleges also love progress. Getting a 1080 on your first try and significantly improving your score the next time you write the PSAT is something that will stand out to others. My one piece of advice is to maintain your straight A's, which will be hard to do in high school (but you must persevere!), and to take practice tests on the material as you continue to strengthen your understanding of the topics.

Finishing off, I would definitely not say that 1080 is a bad score - I personally know a lot of people who got low 900s on their PSAT 8/9 - but you can and should definitely improve your score by junior year of high school if you want prestigious colleges like Yale and Harvard to notice you.

Hope this helped :)

Assuming it was the PSAT 8/9, then a 1080 is a good score, especially if you plan to take it again in 9th grade. The PSAT 8/9 is essentially a practice to prepare you for the PSAT/NMSQT and the real SATs you will take later on in high school, and your score on the PSAT 8/9 doesn't matter. The average score (50 percentile) is an 850, so you're doing better than most people. :)

On your College Board account you should be able to see a breakdown of how you scored on each section, as well as each individual question you missed so you know what to study next time. I got an 1150 on my PSAT 8/9 this year, and I didn't think it was a good score at first, but the score breakdown allowed me to see my strengths and weaknesses so I know what to study before I take the PSAT/NMSQT and SATs later on.

Right now, you should be focusing on enjoying your last year of middle school, get on the honors track if you aren't already, join a few clubs, focus on your extracurriculars, and develop strong study habits if you aim to go to an Ivy League school.

Congratulations on your 1080, by the way!