[BHS Etree] SOPHOMORES/JUNIORS: PSAT - Oct. 14 (Wed.)

[BHS Etree]

PLEASE do not reply to this email, contact Jorge Melgoza, 
jorgemelogza at berkeley.net

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We will offer the PSAT to sophomores and juniors on Wednesday, October 
14 and it will impact our daily schedule.

Due to a generous grant from the Berkeley High School Development Group, 
the PSAT will be offered to /all sophomores /free of charge.  We are 
excited because it will afford a large portion of our students an 
opportunity to take the practice SAT and familiarize themselves for the 
SAT their senior year.

/Juniors interested in taking the exam/ will need to register from 
*_September 15 - September 25_ *at lunch (11:40 - 12:10) or after school 
(3:40-4:10) at the Jacket Stadium Ticket Office. /There are only 350 
tests available for juniors /and registration will be on a first come, 
first served basis. Registration is $25 or $5 if on free and reduced 
lunch. This fee is meant to cover not just the exam itself but the 
administrative cost associated with offering the exam during the day at 
our site to such a large number of students.

This year we face a number of constraints beyond our control that 
/require we use a Monday late start schedule to accommodate the nearly 
1,200 students testing this day./ The plan is to begin testing by 8:30 
and finish by 11:34. That will take us through the end of second period, 
at which point students will then continue with the rest of the day. 
  All other students not taking the test will begin their day at 9:57, 
like any other late start day. The bell schedule is listed below.

*PSAT Bell Schedule for October 14:*

*8:00 - students taking the PSAT arrive to campus*

*8:30 - testing begins*

*All other students:*

1st - 9:57 - 10:40 (43)

2nd - 10:46 - 11:34 (43+4)

3rd - 11:40 - 12:23 (43)

Lunch - 12:23 - 1:03 (40 )

4th - 1:09 - 1:52 (43)

5th - 1:58 - 2:41 (43)

6th - 2:47 - 3:30 (43)

*_PSAT Resources and reasons for taking the PSAT_*

If students are interested in more information on the PSAT format or 
what they can do to prepare for this test they can visit 
www.collegeboard.org <http://www.collegeboard.org/>. We have also 
included 10 reasons for taking the PSAT below.

*1. It’s a win/win for the student*

Taking the test prepares you for the SAT. You can take it freshman and 
sophomore year and your score doesn’t matter, except to prepare you for 
the qualifying test.

*2. The PSAT opens the door for scholarship opportunities*

If you study, you have a good chance of outscoring other students in 
your state. Outscoring means you open up multiple scholarship 
opportunities. Why would any student neglect this amazing opportunity?


*3. It’s the only way you can qualify for a National Merit Scholarship*

In the National Merit® Scholarship Program 
<http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php>, three types of Merit 
Scholarship®awards are offered to finalists: National Merit $2,500 
Scholarships, corporate-sponsored merit scholarship awards, and 
college-sponsored merit scholarship awards. Special scholarships are 
awarded to outstanding students who are not finalists and meet a 
corporate sponsor’s criteria. Awarded to 2,500 students across the 
United States each year, the National Merit Scholarship is a great honor 
that can also expand a student’s educational opportunities. By 
outscoring others in your state, you can become a National Merit 
Semi-Finalist. In order to do this, you don’t necessarily need to have a 
perfect score. You have to score as well or better than the state index. 
By outscoring others in your state, you can become a semi-finalist. Your 
goal is to beat the state index.

*4. This qualification is key to major college scholarships and awards*

After being chosen as a semi-finalist, there is a 96 percent chance of 
becoming a finalist. The only students who do not move up to finalist 
rank are those who do not submit any information about themselves, do 
not have good grades, do not take the SAT, or fail to score well on the 
SAT. When you complete the semi-finalist paperwork, you will indicate 
the college of your choice. Only one college can be selected, however; 
be thoughtful when making the selection. Colleges who have money set 
aside for the finalists will use merit aid to entice you to attend: full 
tuition, room and board, books and fees, laptops, study abroad and even 
spending money. They might also offer automatic entrance into the honors 
college, the best housing and priority registration until graduation.

*5. If you qualify, you’ll gain access to the National Achievement 
Scholarship Program*

The NASP is a scholarship program that’s only available to African 
American high school students and is responsible for 700 scholarships of 
$2,500 each. Like the National Merit Scholarship, the door is also 
opened to corporate scholarships. Nearly 5,000 black students are 
honored each year, and out of those, 3,100 get college referrals as 
promising candidates. The PSAT also puts African American students on 
the radar of advisors and recruiters through the National Scholarship 
Service.

*6. It’s a “preliminary test” preparing you for the SAT*

The proof that taking the PSAT pays off is already out there: the 
College Board found that last year, students who took the PSAT scored 
145 points higher on the SAT than their peers who skipped the test.

*7. You need to take it to compete with your classmates*

With college competition fierce, you need every advantage when stacking 
up against your classmates. Your peers may have made it even more 
important to take the PSAT your junior year, because some of them have 
already taken it once or even twice by their junior year. The College 
Board reports over half (56%) of the PSAT-takers in 2011 were sophomores 
or younger, which on average helps them score 3.5 points higher on each 
section of the PSAT their junior year.

*8. It puts you on a college’s radar*

It’s to your advantage as a college-bound student to make it as easy as 
possible for colleges to get ahold of you. Through a program called the 
Student Search Service (SSS), the College Board (the group that 
administers the PSAT and SAT) allows students to share “personal and 
preferential” information with more than 1,100 colleges and scholarship 
boards for no cost. The service is opt-in, and you won’t get bombarded 
by spam mail. The SSS is a great way to hear from colleges you may never 
have considered. And if you score well on the test, colleges will court 
you for their student body and offer scholarships.

*9. You can take advantage of My College Quickstart*

Every student who takes the PSAT gets access to a program called My 
College Quickstart 
<https://quickstart.collegeboard.org/posweb/login.jsp>. It’s a free 
resource that lets you use your PSAT scores to predict your future SAT 
score, go over questions you got wrong on the test, see a list of 
recommended colleges that are a match for your stated degree interest, 
have a customized SAT study plan created for you, and even view 
suggested majors and career choices that might be a fit for you.

*10. It helps you determine your strengths and weaknesses*

Once you’ve used My College Quickstart to review what kinds of questions 
you missed on the PSAT, you’ll be armed with invaluable knowledge about 
where to target your studying. We know it’s the real world, and you have 
only so much time to dedicate to SAT prep, so why waste time studying 
for a subject you clearly already have down cold?

Respectfully,



Jorge Melgoza

Vice Principal
Berkeley High School



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