Roughly 1.5 million high schoolers take the PSAT every year. The PSAT is a standardized test that students take prior to the SAT for practice. However, one question lingers in students’ and parents’ minds: Is the PSAT worth taking?
The PSAT familiarizes students with test-taking environments, and what the SAT is like. Juniors can even apply for the National Merit Scholarship if their scores qualify.
The PSAT is split into four parts. The first two sections are English, and the last two sections are math. Each of the sections are timed with a break between English and math.
“I know now that the questions are timed and that there’s an English section and harder English section, and math section and harder math section,” said Lucia Farrell, junior.
According to College Board, the PSAT is useful because it can help you know what you need to work on for the SAT.
“In prepping for the PSAT, I was also prepping for the SAT and I feel like after seeing how I did on the PSAT will show me what I need to improve and work on for the SAT,” said Julia Dorry, junior.
The PSAT can also open opportunities for scholarships, like the National Merit Scholarship. The National Merit Scholarship is a large scholarship that is available to all of the US. Around the top 1% of students in the state will qualify for the scholarship based on their PSAT scores.
The PSAT is good practice to prepare for the SAT. According to the Princeton Review, the PSAT can give you a good sense of your future score and help you focus on target areas you need to practice before the SAT.
“It taught me how the layout of the test was going to be. I thought the test was going to be much different until I took the PSAT,” said Justin Benoit, senior.
The PSAT also prepares students for a standardized test taking environment. Test taking, specifically standardized tests, can be stressful for students, and the PSAT prepares students to know what to expect.
“It was good for standardized test practice but it wasn’t helpful for the actual questions,” said Caitlyn Thau, senior.
Some students who have taken the PSAT don’t think it is necessary at all. It is not required for college admissions, and it might be too demanding for some students.
“I took the PSAT and it wasn’t that helpful, but to be fair I only took it once,” said Jake Montevirgin, senior.
Overall, the PSAT can be very helpful to prepare the students for the SAT and give them a sense of what to expect walking in on test day. However, whether or not it helps depends on the individual. Some students may think it is very helpful practice, while others may prefer other studying tools.