October SAT results will come out soon!

October SAT I and SAT II results will be available on the college board 19 days after you took the test, which was October 4th. Thus you should be able to see your scores on www.collegeboard.com on Thursday October 23rd. Leave your SAT scores in the comments!

How to get National Merit on the PSAT

Quite a few people have asked me how to get national merit on the PSAT. First off, it is not easy by any means. This opportunity is usually reserved for overachieving 10th and 11th graders. The most common question I hear is what the minimum score you need to qualify for national merit. The answer is "it depends" on the state that you live in. Some states have lower standards for education, and have lower minimum cutoff scores for the PSAT national merit scholarship. Of the more than 1 million applicants (people who take the PSAT each October) only 50,000 qualify, and can become semifinalists, or finalists. More than half of the finalists win scholarship money!

Summer is officially over, so start college essays!

With the end of summer, there isn't much time before you have to start to get cranking on last minute test prep, and the dreaded college essays.  Here are a few tips to help you get started on college essays (which you should asap).

The common application essays are due December 31 for most colleges. You can access the common app at https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.aspx. 

UC applications are due on November 30, which means you will have roughly 2 months from today to finish the applications if you wish to apply to University of California schools such as UCLA and UC Berkeley. Start the application if you wish to apply at http://www.ucop.edu/pathways/

If you don't know what to write about, you should start brainstorming for the college essays. Think about your talents, passions, achievements, etc. 

National 2008 SAT scores remain unchanged from 2007 scores

The collegeboard has released its annual statistics for 2008 SAT scores. The number of SAT test takers increased by about 8% to 1.5 million (1,518,859). This year, more minorities took the test than in the previous year, however SAT scores remained changed. Perhaps this is good, since in the past 10 years SAT scores have been on the decline. Also the number of first generation students increased by 1%. Interestingly, females constituted the largest portion of test takers among all ethnicities.

Where to take a free IQ test

You've seen those IQ advertisements everywhere, but don't trust the IQ scores they give? Now I'll tell you where you can take a few free IQ tests. 

http://www.free-iqtest.net/

http://www.quizrocket.com/free-iq-test

I took a test at each, and got 155 on the first link, and 149 on the quizrocket test. Post your IQ in the comments.

Last minute SAT tips?

The title is a joke, because it's not last minute yet, so don't freak out about the SAT just yet. The next test is in October, so you have about 2 months left to prepare. How do you plan to spend those last two months prepping for the SAT or subject tests?

Possible New SAT and PSAT Scores

Here is a list from low to high of all possible SAT scores. Notice that the scores on the SAT range from 600 to 2400. Also note that the scores must all be multiples of 10. 

600
610
620
630
640
650
660
670
680
690
700
710
720
730
740
750
760
770
780
790
800
810
820
830
840
850
860
870
880
890
900
910
920
930
940
950
960
970
980
990
1000
1010
1020
1030
1040
1050
1060
1070
1080
1090
1100
1110
1120
1130
1140
1150
1160
1170
1180
1190
1200
1210
1220
1230
1240
1250
1260
1270
1280
1290
1300
1310
1320
1330
1340
1350
1360
1370
1380
1390
1400
1410
1420
1430
1440
1450
1460
1470
1480
1490
1500
1510
1520
1530
1540
1550
1560
1570
1580
1590
1600
1610
1620
1630
1640
1650
1660
1670
1680
1690
1700
1710
1720
1730
1740
1750
1760
1770
1780
1790
1800
1810
1820
1830
1840
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
2060
2070
2080
2090
2100
2110
2120
2130
2140
2150
2160
2170
2180
2190
2200
2210
2220
2230
2240
2250
2260
2270
2280
2290
2300
2310
2320
2330
2340
2350
2360
2370
2380
2390
2400

These is just a list of all possible SAT/PSAT scores. In the future we will compile data for a gaussian bell curve of all SAT scores by seniors and juniors.