PSAT (Video). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPhokhuWzlI
PSAT/NMSQT Quick Facts
Frequency - 1 time/year
Duration - 2 hours, 45 minutes
Sections - Math, Evidence-Based Reading & Writing
Cost - Fees are paid by schools
Max Score - 1520
Frequency - 1 time/year
Duration - 2 hours, 45 minutes
Sections - Math, Evidence-Based Reading & Writing
Cost - Fees are paid by schools
Max Score - 1520
What is the PSAT and why is it important?
The PSAT (which stands for Preliminary SAT) won’t count towards your college admissions applications, but it is the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship. (Terrified? Learn more about the National Merit Scholarship and put your mind at ease.) This means that some of the highest scoring students may win scholarship money, so while you shouldn’t stress out about the PSAT, you certainly shouldn’t ignore it either. Instead, use the PSAT as practice for the SAT and ACT and one of the starting points on your college admissions journey.
Benefits of the PSAT
- The PSAT is great practice for the SAT. Both require you to use your critical thinking skills to answer multiple–choice questions within a fixed amount of time. The more comfortable you are with this format, the better your SAT scores will be.
- Your PSAT results can give you a general idea of how well you'll do on the SAT. This will help you figure out which colleges to begin considering, as well as which areas of knowledge to brush up on.
Practice for the PSAT? Take the practice test below.
Check out the subpage under Junior Year (SAT/ACT) for more ways to practice for the PSAT
collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/psat-10-practice-test-1.pdf
collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/psat-10-practice-answer-sheet.pdf
For Scoring Information -
collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/practice/full-length-practice-test