MCHS PSAT PROGRAM Information for Parents and Students

PSAT/NMSQT What is it? (What’s the difference in the PSAT and the SAT?) Who takes PSAT? When? What’s NMSQT? Who’s your competition? How does the process work?

PSAT What is it? (What’s the difference in the PSAT and the SAT?) –PSAT Practice for “Real Deal” college admissions test 5 sections (2 hrs., 10 min.) –SAT “Real Deal” college admissions test 10 sections (3 hrs., 45 min.)

PSAT/NMSQT Who takes PSAT? When? –9 th and 10 th graders for practice –11 th graders for scholarship competition

PSAT/NMSQT What’s NMSQT? –National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test –When high school juniors take the PSAT, their scores are used for scholarship competition National Merit National Achievement (African Americans only)

PSAT/NMSQT How does the process work?

National Merit Scholarship Competition (Oct. Junior Year) - Dec. (Jr.): scores arrive - Apr. (Jr.): letter -Sept. (Sr.): 34,000 Letters of Commendation (stop) 16,000 semifinalists (go!) Oct. (Sr.): MCHS reception/field SEMIS complete packet & take SAT –Feb. (Sr.): semifinalists who meet academic and other requirements advance to Finalist standing (approx. 90%). –March (Sr.), winners of special scholarships notified.

NMSQT Who’s your competition for semifinalist? –Juniors in the state If MS has 3% of the nation’s incoming college freshman, we get 3% of the nation’s semifinalists. Student scores are listed from the top down and CUT OFF when that percentage is filled. The CUT OFF score may change each year depending on % of incoming college freshmen and performance of high school juniors.

Qualifying Scores for the Class of 2012 National Merit Semifinalists: Alabama 221 Alaska 212 Arizona 213 Arkansas 205 California 221 Colorado 215 Connecticut 220 Delaware 217 D.of C. 223 Florida 214 Georgia 218 Hawaii 216 Idaho 211 Illinois 216 Indiana 214 Iowa 210 Kansas 214 Kentucky 212 Louisiana 209 Maine 212 Maryland 221 Massachusetts 223 Michigan 210 Minnesota 215 Mississippi 205 Missouri 213 Montana 209 Nebraska 209 Nevada 209 New Hampshire 216 New Jersey 223 New Mexico 210 New York 219 North Carolina 217 North Dakota 204 Ohio 214 Oklahoma 209 Oregon 216 Pennsylvania 215 Rhode Island 213 South Carolina 211 South Dakota 206 Tennessee 214 Texas 219 Utah 208 Vermont 217 Virginia 220 Washington 220 West Virginia 204 Wisconsin 209 Wyoming 204

At SCHOOL, 70 = barely passing! But on PSAT Critical Reading70 Math70 Writing + 70 ( Below cutoff in over 1/3 states) 210 National Merit GLORY BOUND in MS! THINK ABOUT IT! C

NMSQT Who’s your competition for college admissions? If you want to attend college out-of-state, it’s not good enough to be an in-state semifinalist. Your score will need to be competitive nationally.

LAST YEAR’S CUT OFF: YOUR TARGET SCORE (for Merit $$$:

BASED ON: Realistic assessment of strengths & weaknesses Performance analysis to ID areas where you stand to pick up most pts. Commitment! Targeted PRACTICE! PRACTICE! And more PRACTICE!* (3O hrs. min.)

Your current score: A realistic personal goal: ? ?

 DEBORAH BEVERLY SUSAN REED DANIEL SHIVERS WRITING MATH CRITICAL READING MCHS PSAT PROGRAM

 Masters degrees in ◦ English ◦ Mathematics ◦ Social Science  National Board Certification  Advanced Placement Certification  100+ years of experience combined Education, Certification, & Experience:

 SKILLS: ◦ 10 th Grade Class  STRATEGIES: ◦ Summer Workshop  SPEED: ◦ 11 th Grade Class S 3 Approach

PRACTICE IS KEY! Educational research shows that 30 hours of deliberate (dedicated and focused) practice nets pts. Most students simply lack the discipline to do that in addition to other classwork, so… We program 20 hours of drill into each of our components.

 SCHEDULING: ◦ 10 th Grade Skills Class 10 th Grade Skills Class ◦ 11th Grade Speed Class 11th Grade Speed Class  LESSON PLANNING: ◦ Class Structure ◦ Class Content  3 SATURDAYS: Real Practice Tests! DATA-DRIVEN

See our National Merit and National Achievement