What are your chances of acceptance?
Your chance of acceptance
Duke University
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UCLA
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Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

Will scoring a 1500 on the PSAT give me a significant edge in admissions?

I somehow scored a 1500 on my PSAT and I'm stoked! But I'm curious, does this actually give me a leg up in the college admissions process, or do schools not place much weight on this test?

10 months ago

Congratulations on the impressive PSAT score! That's a great achievement. Unfortunately, the PSAT itself isn't a factor in college admissions decisions; however, a 1500 could potentially make you a National Merit Semifinalist, depending on the qualifying scores for your state. If you advance to Finalist standing and ultimately become a National Merit Scholar, that can be a significant accolade to list on your college applications. Plus, some colleges offer scholarships for National Merit Finalists.

That said, the PSAT is primarily a practice test for the SAT. Colleges consider the SAT and ACT scores when making admissions decisions, not the PSAT. So keep up the strong work and aim for a similarly high SAT or ACT score for it to impact your chances of admission. Moreover, a high PSAT score might indicate that you're already in good shape for these other standardized tests, which are a more central part of the admissions process.

10 months ago

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