The College Board, founded in 1900 as a non-profit education organization, now boasts a membership of 5,400 schools and institutions of higher education. Although the organization helps with college admissions and general education services, its most popular function is administering the PSAT, SAT and AP standardized tests.
The Student Search Service is an optional questionnaire that is part of the PSAT, SAT and Advanced Placement tests. Students who select to take part in this service answer a few questions about their future and list any colleges that they wish to attend after high school. Colleges then search for likely candidates for admission, whether or not students put them down as a preferred college.
Some students may worry about certain privacy issues that come with allowing colleges to search their information, especially scoring information on preliminary tests. The Student Search Service does not make specific scores available to colleges, but does allow colleges to search for students within a range of scores. The questionnaire itself only asks the most pertinent information, such as name, address and classification.
In addition to the National Merit Scholarship offered to top performers on the PSAT, achieving recognition as a National Merit Scholar and taking part in the Student Search Service offers extra scholarship opportunities. Colleges often offer scholarships for National Merit finalists who name these colleges as a first choice for college admission.
Although the College Board is generally only beneficial to the student, some people have reported an excessive amount of mail from prospective colleges, even after selecting their college. If receiving too many mailings worries you, then electing not to take part in the Student Search Service and researching colleges on your own may be a better choice.