Special Note: The PTSA will offer a briefing on college information during its November 25, 2003 meeting at 7:00 pm in the NMBHS Media Center.

If you are a junior, you should make sure to see English teacher Ms. Gonzalez in Room 230C anytime except 3rd period to pick up the registration information for the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholar Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

This test will only be offered once this year, on Tuesday, October 21, 2003. It is the only test you can take to be eligible to receive one of 8,000 Merit Scholarship awards, such as the $2,500 National Merit Scholarship. Your PSAT scores will not be seen by colleges and therefore do not impact the college admission process.

Essentially, the PSAT is a practice SAT. The PSAT has five sections: two Verbal, two Math, and one Writing Skills. The Verbal and Math sections contain the same kinds of questions as the SAT. The questions on the Writing Skills section are very similar to the multiple-choice questions on the SAT II Subject Test in Writing. These questions include identifying sentence errors, and improving sentences and paragraphs

It is a good idea to take the PSAT in the fall of sophomore year. This gives you more flexibility to gauge your preparedness for the SAT, and allows more time to take SAT II's, the ACT, or the SAT one or more times. So, if you are a BEAM sophomore, you should also see Ms. Stevens about taking the PSAT this year.

Here are some other important dates on the standardized test calendars this month:

October 8, 2003 – Late Deadline for SAT and SAT II on November 1, 2003

October 11, 2003 – SAT and SAT II

October 25, 2003 – ACT

October 30, 2003 – Regular Deadline for SAT and SAT II on December 6, 2003

November 1, 2003 – SAT and SAT II

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Last modified: November 01, 2003