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Does anyone know whether PSAT scores are directly reported to colleges or, alternatively, are made available to them? I thought it might be helpful (and motivational) for my sophomore to begin getting letters of interest from colleges based on her scores. If the scores are not sent out, when should our contact with colleges begin?

By dad on Thursday, December 26, 2002 - 09:10 am: Edit

It is our understanding that the actual PSAT scores for specific students are not reported to colleges but many colleges request lists of students from the Educational Testing Service that meet criteria defined by the college ( i.e. range of PSAT scores, state of residence, intended major, sex, GPA, etc. ) When filling out the PSAT registration form a student must specify that they are willing to receive information from schools.

Our daughter was deluged with college mail from hundreds of schools all over the United States after taking the PSAT in her sophomore year. Smith might request a listing of all females in the US with a PSAT selection index over let's say 200. MIT might request a list of all students in the United States with a selection index over 230 with an interest in science and engineering. State U. might request a listing of all students in their state with a selection index over 150, or send different information to different students based on interests or test score ranges. Schools develop profiles of students they would like to recruit and get lists of students who took the PSAT, SAT, or ACT that match that profile.

Most likely she will start receiving tons of unsolicited college mail. If there are particular schools she is interested in, you can also log on to any college's website. Most have a section in which you can enter the student's name and address and they will add her to their mailing list.