Next week my oldest daughter takes the PSAT/NMSQT which is a practice test, except they use the score to place kids on the list for the National Merit Scholarship Award.  This award is worth about $1,000 for one year. I found this and other things out about the getting into college process last night at her school.  The college guidance counselors had a meeting for parents to fill them in on the process and answer questions.

You can a free practice SAT – a PSAT if you like at Princeton Review online.

My kid goes to a college prep school, Greenhills School in Ann Arbor, MI, and they have a great “get into college” support team for the kids. I’ll share what I learn with you along the way in case your out of the loop on that process. Or in case you kid doesn’t tell you.

One piece of advice for the SAT and ACT test reporting is not to send them out automatically when the test results are processed.  Yes. You can save a few dollars and perhaps some time this way but if your kid wants to retake a test or perhaps doesn’t want to send a particular test score to a certain college then you are safe.  You can make the decision after you find out the scores.

Taking the practice tests will not improve your intelligence but it will help to figure out how much time to spend on each section; figure out how to skip a question and go back later without messing up the order of the answers, and see where you need to improve the test taking process in general.

I’ll share more as I find out. Hope this helps. Practice your SAT with a PSAT.