What You Need To Know About Your PSAT

Passing the PSAT test will require you to make use of two sets of skills: recalling the knowledge that you possess about the PSAT exam; and answering exam questions quickly and accurately. Both of these skill sets are vitally important.


What is the purpose of PSAT?
The purpose of the PSAT is two fold:

First, it’s a practice run for students who are planning on attending college who will be taking the SAT test. Since the PSAT is produced by the same company that produces the SAT, the test is very similar, and by taking it, students can learn what to expect and get a feel for how they will do on the test. They can also identify their strengths and weaknesses prior to taking the all important SAT.

Second, by doing extremely well on the PSAT, students can qualify for scholarships and other honors by being named a National Merit Scholar. For this reason, the PSAT is also known as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or NMSQT.

It takes a little over two hours to complete the PSAT, and there are three sections of the test.