2.  Wednesday, October 15, 2014  ALL Sophomores & Juniors will take either:  PSAT - $14  Practice ACT – free  Sign up September 8-12 in the main office with Mrs. Brown.  If you don’t sign up, you’ll automatically be registered for the Practice ACT!

3.  Assess skills in critical reading, math reasoning, and writing that are important for success in college.  Assess your ability to reason with facts and concepts rather than the ability to recall them.  Receive suggestions on how to improve your skills.  Compare your skills with other college-bound students.  Practice for the SAT Reasoning Test.  Enter the National Merit Scholarship Competition.

4.  CRITICAL READING (2-25 minute sections)  13 sentence completions  35 passage-based reading questions  MATH (2-25 minute sections)  28 multiple choice  10 student-produced responses, or grid-ins  WRITING SKILLS (1-30 minute section)  20 improving sentences  14 identifying sentence errors  5 improving paragraphs  Go to www.collegeboard.org/psat for examples of the questions! If you sign up, you’ll get a practice test book as well!!!  http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ psat/prep/tips.html

5.  You can get a score of 20 – 80 in each of the three areas  The three scores are added together for your Selection Index  PERFECT SCORE - 240  About Guessing on the PSAT…  Educated guessing means guessing an answer whenever you are able to eliminate one or more of the choices as definitely wrong. Educated guessing may help you.  Random guessing probably won't help you because of the way the test is scored. Random guessing means that you have no idea which answer choice is correct. Don't waste time on that kind of question. Move on to the next one.

6.  If you are enrolled in the following courses, consider taking the PSAT:  Juniors  AP English Language  Pre-Calculus  Sophomores  Pre-AP English 2  Algebra 2  Sophomores take this test for practice. Scores don’t count towards the National Merit Scholarship Program until the junior year.

7.  Typically, around 1.5 million students take the PSAT each year.  About 50,000 will earn scores high enough to qualify for recognition  National Merit Commended Student  National Merit Semi-Finalist  National Merit Finalist  National Achievement Scholarship Program  Students that receive recognition typically receive generous scholarships to the colleges they attend.

8.  Recognized students typically have a Selection Index of 201* or higher.  Approximately 16,000 students will be named National Merit Semi-Finalists and usually have a Selection Index of 215 or above out of 240 possible.  These students then continue in the competition for about 9,700 Merit Scholarship Awards.  The remaining students can be recognized as Commended students. *2007 selection indices; these change yearly.

9.  DATE: Wednesday, October 15, 2014  TIME: 7:30 – approx. 11:00  COST: $14, cash or check made out to Piper High School  If you are on free/reduced lunch and want to take the PSAT, please let Mrs. Vader or Mrs. Eckard know.  REGISTRATION: Sign up for the test and pay the $14 fee by Friday, September 12 th at 3:00 p.m. Turn in to Mrs. Brown in the main office.

10.  You will be automatically signed up to take a Practice ACT test.

11.  The Practice ACT is given using “retired” ACT tests.  ACT (The American College Test)  Consists of 4 areas English – 75 questions Math – 60 questions Reading – 40 questions Science reasoning – 40 questions Writing (optional) – 30 minutes – Will not be given during the Practice ACT test  Scores range from 0-36 with a 21 being an average score.  One way to gain entrance into a Kansas State Regents University (KU, KSU, PSU, ESU, WSU, FHSU, Washburn) is to score a 21 or higher on the ACT.

12.  DATE: Wednesday, October 15, 2014  TIME: 7:30 – approx. 11:00  COST: free  REGISTRATION: You will be signed up for this automatically if you don’t take the PSAT

13.  Sophomores  PSAT  Results will be in at the beginning of December.  Use the results to help you find your areas of strength/weakness in order to improve scores for next year.  Practice ACT  If you plan to take the “real” ACT as a junior, plan to take the Practice ACT test at Wyandotte West library a couple times this school year.

14.  Juniors  Planning to attend a FOUR year university after graduating?  Take the…  ACT or SAT, depending on where you plan to go…  Planning to attend a community college or technical school?  Take the practice ACT again and see how you do. If you score high enough on it that would qualify you for an academic scholarship at the community college of your choice, then sign up for the ACT. Wyandotte West library offers several practice ACT test dates for free throughout the year.  Planning on a military career?  ASVAB (date TBD)

15.  You should not take the “real” ACT until:  December of your junior year if you are enrolled in Pre-Calculus  February/April of your junior year if you are enrolled in Algebra 2  If you DO NOT intend to attend a FOUR year college upon graduation from high school, you DO NOT need to take the ACT.

16. ACT test dates for 2014-2015:  October 25 – offered at PHS  December 13 – offered at PHS  February 7  April 18 – offered at PHS  June 13 – offered at PHS  Sign up online at actstudent.org.  Fee for ACT No Writing is $38.00.

17.  For juniors in Pre-Calculus that intend to attend a FOUR year college after graduating…  We will be offering an ACT PowerPrep session on Friday, October 17. Consider signing up and paying the $35 fee for this session to gain valuable information to better prepare for the ACT.  See Mrs. Vader or Mrs. Eckard for a registration form. Turn in form and payment to Mrs. Brown in the main office. Registration ends October 10.

18.  The SAT is a similar format to the PSAT. It tests students’ basic knowledge of subjects they have learned in the classroom, such as reading, writing and mathematics, in addition to how students think, solve programs and communicate.  Critical Reading – 70 minutes  Mathematics – 70 minutes  Writing – 60 minutes  The average score on the SAT is 500 on each section.

19.  Some colleges may require/recommend an SAT score as opposed to an ACT score.  Research colleges you plan to apply to and see if you would benefit from taking the SAT as opposed to the ACT.  Generally, most PHS students take the ACT.

20. Test dates for the SAT in 2014-15:  October 11  November 8  December 6  January 24  March 14  May 2  June 6 It is NOT offered at PHS.

21.  Register online at:  ACT - www.actstudent.orgwww.actstudent.org  SAT - www.collegeboard.org/satwww.collegeboard.org/sat  Some students may qualify for a fee waiver. Stop by the counseling office to see if you qualify (free/reduced lunch, foster care, etc.).

22.  A free test given by the military to help you “learn more about yourself and the world of work, identify and explore potentially satisfying occupations, and develop an effective strategy to realize your goals.”  Can help you determine your readiness for further education and training in different career areas.  Includes a multiple-aptitude test battery, an interest inventory, and various career planning tools

23.  General Science  Arithmetic Reasoning  Word Knowledge  Paragraph Comprehension  Mathematics Knowledge  Electronics Information  Auto and Shop Information  Mechanical Comprehension

24.  If you think you might go into the military after high school, consider taking this test.  Date and Location to be determined  Free of charge  Sign up with Mrs. Eckard or Mrs. Vader when you hear announcements for the test.

25.  See Mrs. Vader or Mrs. Eckard.