Subject: From the College Office: Upcoming PSAT exam
From: "Lauren Carter [email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Date: 15 Sep 2014 15:57:17 -0400

September 2014

Dear Sophomores, Juniors and Parents:

Welcome back and we hope your school year is off to a smooth start. This letter is to serve as a reminder about the upcoming PSAT exam and also some additional reminders regarding the college search process.

October is PSAT month. Sidwell Friends will be administering the PSAT exam on campus on Wednesday, October 15. All sophomores and juniors will be taking the exam on this day and have been pre-registered for the exam; classes will not be held on October 15. On the morning of the exam, all students should proceed directly to the Athletic Center; the PSAT begins promptly at 8:00 am and finishes at approximately 11:15 am. Sophomores and juniors will then have some free time, eat lunch, and participate in various Upper School activities during the afternoon of October 15.

The PSAT/NMSQT is the Preliminary SAT and the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.  It is preliminary, in that the scores received are strictly for your purposes.  Colleges do not see these scores.  The importance of taking the exam is to practice and to gain familiarity with standardized tests.

For juniors who do well, they may be invited to participate in the National Merit Scholarship competition.

For sophomores (who will be in line to take the redesigned SAT in March 2016) it is an opportunity to take a practice test with the current PSAT as they will have an opportunity to take the current SAT exam thru January 2016. Next fall, the class of 2017 will also take the newly designed PSAT in October 2015. College Board will offer practice information for the redesigned PSAT (i.e. sample questions) in Dec 2014/Jan 2015 and a full practice exam for the “new” PSAT in March 2015.

For additional information: https://www.collegeboard.org/delivering-opportunity/redesigned-psat-nmsqt

During class meetings, the college counselors will speak with all sophomores and juniors and distribute the 2014 Official Student Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT.  We encourage all sophomores and juniors to review this bulletin. A practice test is included in the student guide, as well as test taking tips and other useful information.  We encourage students to get a good night’s sleep the night before the exam and eat a good breakfast.  Students need to bring two number 2 pencils with erasers and a graphing or scientific calculator.

The PSAT is divided into three sections: Critical Reading, Math and Writing.  The Critical Reading section (formerly called the Verbal section) will have short and long reading sections and sentence completion.  The Math section will include the following four categories: numbers and operation; algebra and functions; geometry and measurement; and data analysis, statistics and probability.  The Writing section will include multiple-choice grammar and usage questions.  It will not include a student-generated essay.

Aside from the PSAT exam, we wish to share some upcoming opportunities for you which are great introductions to the college process in general and specifically.

Upcoming SFS college programs this year include:

October 7, 7:00pm: Financial Aid Night (all Upper School parents invited)

October 20, 6:30pm: The Admissions Game(Junior families only)

October 23, 7:00pm: 10th grade Parent College Counseling Meeting (Sophomore parents only)

January 7, 7:45am: College Athletics Conversation (all Upper School parents invited)

January 21, 7:00pm: Junior Kick-off Meeting (Junior families only)

April 22, 7:45am: Junior Parent Q&A with Admissions Representatives (Junior parents only)

Local events for students:Local information session for students interested in learning about UK universities, the UCAS application and the benefits of UK education. RSVP at  http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/world-class-study-in-london-usa-7139272515

September 27, 11:00-12:00 pm: George Washington University, Marvin Center, Room 309,

800 21st Street NW, Washington DC 20052

National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) College Fairs, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, http://www.nacacnet.org/college-fairs/

Sept. 28, 1:00-3:30 pm: Performing and Visual Arts

Oct. 2, 6:00-8:00 pm: General Fair

EducationUK DC & Montgomery County Mini College Fair. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/educationuk-dc-montgomery-county-mini-college-fair-tickets-12842346805

September 29, 6:30-8:30 pm, Georgetown Preparatory School

10900 Rockville Pike

North Bethesda, MD 20852

If you have questions or concerns at any time, please feel free to contact us.  We look forward to a great year ahead.

The College Counseling Team

Laurén Carter, Jane Alexander, and Cory Zimmerman

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