College Essay Guy

MARCH 30, 2023

If you’ve heard of the PSAT, thought about the PSAT, or taken the PSAT, chances are you’ve also heard of the National Merit Scholarship. Maybe you thought, “cool … a scholarship!” Or, if you’re like most of us, your first reaction might have been, “What is a National Merit Scholarship?

Scholarships 52

Scholarships PSAT Out-of-State Letters of Recommendation 52

College Essay Guy

JULY 6, 2023

If you’re looking for help paying for college (and since most applicants probably are— here's some helpful info about that ) and have started to check into scholarships (because you definitely should), chances are you’ve come across some of the famous ones ( The National Merit Scholarship or the Gates Scholarship , for example).

Scholarships 52

Scholarships Financial Aid Transfer GPA 52

College Essay Guy

JUNE 15, 2023

How can students find out what a “good score” is? How do the PSAT and the National Merit Scholarship play into all of this? Yes, but you might still need to submit test scores for things like scholarships (for example, many institutional scholarships require a test score). Here are some answers. How about APs?

Standardized Testing 52

Standardized Testing Testing PSAT SAT 52

CTK College Coach

OCTOBER 8, 2023

Testing Tips and Timeline for High School Juniors (Class of 2025) October - Taking the PSAT Most high school juniors in the US will take the PSAT on or around October 11. The PSAT will still be the qualifying exam for the National Merit scholarship (the NMSQT). It is meant to be a warm-up to the real test, and it is!

Test Prep 52

Test Prep Testing PSAT SAT 52

Spark Admissions

JUNE 20, 2023

“National,” “Merit,” and “Scholarship” all sound very good when considered in the midst of college admission. Even better when you realize that just by taking the PSAT in the fall of your junior year, you’ve already entered yourself for this award! National Merit Scholarship Eligibility First things first.

Scholarships 130

Scholarships PSAT Programs High School 130

CTK College Coach

AUGUST 31, 2022

You can prep on your own– you can sync your PSAT score to Khan Academy for adaptive learning– with a private tutor, or through a group course. Don’t forget about the October PSAT ! If you are a strong test taker, this is the test upon which the National Merit scholarship is based. How should I prep for testing?

High School 52

High School PSAT Letters of Recommendation National Honor Society 52

The Thoughtful College Search

JANUARY 30, 2023

(Originally published in Inside Higher Ed ’s “Admissions Insider” January 30, 2023) In case you missed it, there was a bizarre news story coming out of the D.C. The school is being investigated for having failed to inform students that they had been recognized as Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Competition.

PSAT 40

PSAT Out-of-State SAT Test Prep 40

College Essay Guy

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

So if you're applying to highly selective schools as a junior, it might be harder for you to beat out a senior with more depth in their application. Maybe if you have an outstanding academic record, near-perfect test scores, and a resume that's beaming with extracurricular achievements. Still, it may not be the best idea. Here's why.

Standardized Testing 52

Standardized Testing Early Decision Transcripts Extracurricular 52

College Essay Guy

JULY 21, 2023

Many colleges accept a CSS profile from students, and this particular profile helps provide qualifying students with additional loans, grants, and scholarships that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to obtain. TABLE OF CONTENTS (click to skip ahead) What is a CSS Profile? Do I need to complete the CSS Profile?

Financial Aid 52

Financial Aid Out-of-State Loans PSAT 52

DC College Counseling

JANUARY 18, 2023

Instead of waiting for official notification, we just compare the student’s selection index on their 11th grade PSAT with the score cutoffs online. BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK CYBER ATTACK SHUTS DOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT Students in Des Moines, Iowa, received two unexpected days off of school last week.

PSAT 52

PSAT Out-of-State Private School High School 52

Ivy College Essay

AUGUST 3, 2023

The highly selective nature of the school means that you will need to stand out with your grades and scores to make it past the first round. Harvard states that there isn’t a single path of academics that all applicants are expected to follow in high school. and across the world. or above, and 18% had GPAs from 3.78

GPA 68

GPA PSAT Ivy League SAT 68

College Essay Guy

MARCH 13, 2023

The ACT (short for American College Testing) is an entrance exam used by various colleges and universities to help determine who is admitted as well as who qualifies for certain scholarships. To figure out your target score, look up score percentiles in a school’s Common Data Set.) is a resounding “no.” What is on the ACT test?

ACT 52

ACT SAT Testing Scholarships 52

Great College Advice

AUGUST 23, 2023

Figures are from the State of College Admissions 2019 – which came out before the pandemic). These tests loom large in the college admissions process. And yet, every student seems to be asking these days, “do my test scores matter?” On the one hand, you should not tress too much about your scores.

Testing 10

Testing Ivy League Financial Aid Standardized Testing 10