Poor PSAT results

There are some colleges which will admit without considering SAT results. Try a site that used to be at www.fairtest.org for a list of the colleges that don’t require SAT or ACT scores. It’s also true that she can transfer after her first year at any local community college to a four year college. Some say the ACT test is easier than SATs and you might consider having her take that test instead of SATS.

Does she receive accomodations for her dyslexia in school? If so, she is entitled to those accomodations such as extended time when she takes SATs. You can also apply for accomodations even if she does not receive them at school. Theoretically the accomodations can include a reader or large print font as well as extended time.

Tutoring for the SAT can also help. She can take a class with Princeton Review or hire a tutor from them (it’s pricey though)

Frankin & Marshall College, for example, will not consider SAT scores if your grade point average is a 3.2 or higher. Bates College does not consider SAT scores and neither does Bard or Mt. Holyoke. But try www.fairtest.org for the long list.

Good luck.

Tutoring is a good idea, there is a certain way to take multiple choice tests and often people with LD’s and ADD have a hard time figuring out what the question is asking and eliminating the foils…If she had test anxiety there is a simple solution for this…Extra Strength Tylenol, take 2 before the test and it helps keep your blood pressure in check and the anxiety isn’t as bad.. Also she can get some accomodations to take tests. When I took the CBEST for my credential I had written accomodations for instructions because of my hearing impairment.

The Extra Strength Tylenol suggestion is so interesting. Why does it work, do you know? I’m fascinated. Thanks.

Boy, Patti, I sure wish I had known that about the Tylenol before my daughter took the SAT in December! She is not LD, but she certainly does have test anxiety! If she retakes it, I’ll remember the tip!

One thing I will add, the SAT scores have been altered from how they used to be. Kids had started scoring lower overall, so they “rebalanced” (or some word like that) the scores. So both my older kids scored a good bit higher on the SAT than the PSAT. That’s one bright spot.

Someone just told me the other day that their child was a poor test taker and that in our state, if you go to a comuunity college for two years with decent grades, you can apply to a state 4 year university with no SAT scores. Some colleges also admit students on a provisional basis. They may have to take some classes to help them prepare for college level work if grades or SAT scores are low but show potential for college level work in some way.

Janis

I went to a community college for 2 yrs and got my AA, then transferred to a college that only that year became a 4yr(it was previously a jr/sr college). I got my BA from that college. It seemed fairly standard way of doing things where I went to school.

I am not sure my sat/act scores were ever actually used, even though I had good scores. Although I took the sat and act in high school, I still had to take placement tests for com. college, a test to exit the com. college and placement tests to enter the sr. college. All this after exit tests from high school. This was about 20 yrs ago. It would seem with the high stakes tests, that things aren’t all that different now.

I will keep the tylenol thing in mind, my son does a terrible job on standardized tests even with accommodations. I worry about how he will do in high school and trying to get into college if he continues to do so poorly. However, we will also keep in mind that there are schools that don’t require the sat and act. Just have to worry about those placement tests.

One thing I think should happen, is that in cases like this, a portfolio of student work, a letter of recommendation, and high school grades should be used instead of the standardized test. The tests just don’t show potential and talent. An argument I think that could be used against grade school testing.

Anyway, I had a point somewhere in there, sometimes community college is an easier way to get into a 4 yr college. Classes are smaller, and it is an easier transition into college life. Especially good for us shy folks who easily get lost in the crowd.

I took the psat /act/sat way back in highschool.The 4 year school I went to you had to take one of these.I do know that most 2 year colleges dont always require this.I went back to school 3 years ago to finish up my ed. degree and I had to take the placement tests andtake praxis tests so i could continue in the education field.I did well on the SAT 1380 in high school.But even after returning to school 17 years later I had to take plaement tests for the 4 year school started attending then even if I had credits for any class they could place me in.
I am studing sp. ed now and I do know you can if you are on a IEP get accomindations for these tests.If your daughter has to write a esaay for the college of her choice it helps if her scores arent too good.My brother got into William and Mary andf I was rejected and my scores were higher than his It was his essay that helped him .And it was 5 years later too but Im know it was the essay he is a wonderful writer and it showed i his essay more so than his scores did.

An RN told me about the Extra Strength Tylenol. She worked in a hospital and when patients were agitated and could not be given anything else to calm them down the Dr. would prescribe Extra strength Tylenol. It worked for them. I shared this information with other friends of mine and they tried it and said it worked for them too. I am not a physician so I can’t tell you the medical reasons why it works.

You should be aware that PSAT tests are normed for juniors NOT grade levels, therefore she is being compared to juniors not other sophmores. So there is generally a jump from sophmore scores to junior scores. It won’t hurt to get a headstart on SAT and getting tutoring. The hardest score to raise is the verbal because it is much more time-consuming to review than the math. You have a heads up and the time to tutor.
You should have received 4 scores from PSAT: verbal, math, writing and a selection index. Any news in the other scores?