Upcoming PSAT

Upcoming+PSAT

Ramina Nejad, Author

Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors – get ready for the upcoming PSAT on Wednesday, October 19th taking place at Westside. You will be reporting to your homeroom in the morning and beginning your test around 8 AM, so make sure to get a good night’s sleep and eat a big breakfast!

The PSAT has the same structure and format as the SAT (except for not having an essay), thus giving students some exposure as to what the SAT will be like. The PSAT may seem useless now, however, taking it seriously could greatly benefit your future, and here’s how: if you make a high enough score on it, you may be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship. The National Merit Scholarship gives money out to students who do well on the test, and even just a small amount can help in paying for college. So be sure to check your scores when they come out mid-January next year. In addition to this potential scholarship, taking the PSAT seriously can give you a head start on the material you need more help on for the SAT, which will be one of the major components of what you send to colleges once you start the application process.

If you want some additional practice after taking the PSAT, you can sign up for an account on Khanacademy.org and start free lessons. You may need to take a pre-test before beginning your lessons; this way, the practice problems you’re given are catered to the skills you need extra help on. This website helps you solve problems step-by-step in various math and reading questions similar to the ones on the SAT. So make sure to take advantage of this free service; it could boost your SAT score higher than you think!