Good PSAT Score Benchmarks for Sophomores?

I'm a sophomore working on my PSAT prep - just trying to get a sense of where I should be scoring. What's considered a good PSAT score for someone in my grade level?

Understanding where you stand with your PSAT scores as a sophomore is a great way to prepare for college admissions tests in the future. Generally, for sophomores, scores can range widely, but a 'good' score may be one that places you above the 75th percentile among test-takers.

Since the PSAT is scored out of 1520, a good benchmark might be above 1100, which is a solid indicator of your potential for the SAT. However, it’s important to remember that as a sophomore, this is just a practice run and the main purpose is to identify areas for improvement before you take the actual SAT. For a bit of context, if we're converting PSAT scores to SAT scores, a 1150 on the PSAT is around 1180 on the SAT, close but slightly higher. The PSAT is also a qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program, though this is only applicable during your junior year.

Additionally, different colleges have different score expectations, so a good strategy might be to look at the average SAT scores of freshmen at colleges you’re interested in and use that to set a target PSAT score for yourself. It's also worth noting that you can take the PSAT again in your junior year, and most students see their scores improve with the additional year of high school coursework and studying.

Just keep working hard, and use the PSAT as a learning tool rather than a final judgement. I'm here to help if you have more questions or need resources for further test prep.