Many students are unsure if they should study for the PSAT, which is a "preliminary" or practice test by definition. Yes, getting a feel for the test and a rough idea of how you might do on the SAT is the major objective if you take it in your freshman or sophomore year. These "baseline" scores can assist you in determining your goals for college entrance and show you how much additional preparation you may need for the SAT or ACT. The PSAT/NMSQ, however, is more important in the junior year because it is the best indicator of your junior SAT score. Furthermore, your achievement can get you a National Merit Scholarship, a college scholarship, and help you stand out on college applications.
The PSAT is made to be a little simpler than the SAT because you'll probably take it in 9th or 10th grade and because it's meant to be SAT practice. You get more time per question than on the SAT because it is a shorter test (On the reading and math without calculator sections).
The best benefit of investing time in your PSAT preparation is that the ideas, tactics, and techniques you acquire will transfer to the SAT as well. Additionally, performing well on the PSAT often predicts success on the SAT. We'll discuss some of the top strategies for PSAT preparation in this article from our team of specialists. Remember that these also apply to the SAT.
The following advice will position you for success if you're prepared to start preparing for the PSAT:
1. Assemble your team and materials
Remembering that you're not traveling alone on this adventure is crucial when you first set out. You have a number of resources at your disposal, including teachers, tutors, PSAT prep courses, classmates, and online assistance. Reviewing official PSAT tests, which you can get on CollegeBoard, is a wonderful place to start. You'll get a sense of the kinds of inquiries you'll encounter. The level of assistance you might require can then be decided.
Be truthful to yourself. Many students may require a tutor to help them stay on task while others may be self-motivated and devote the necessary time and effort to studying and practicing on their own. If you fall somewhere in the middle, consider starting a prep group with friends who frequently get together to keep each other on track. Or maybe you decide to combine home study with attending a prep class.
As you get started, make sure you have access to a number of official practice exams as well as resources that can aid in your understanding of topics and tactics. There are many free materials available online or at your local library. Here, CollegeBoard provides PSAT assistance. You can practice and prepare with the fantastic tools that Khan Academy has created. We advise using the Official SAT Study Guide and then taking authentic PSAT tests for practice if you decide to buy a study guide.
2. Strengthen your base
Like other standardized tests, the PSAT was developed to assess your mastery of material you have already studied in school. Therefore, going through previous notes from math, reading, and English classes can be helpful. Here are some more useful hints. We advise you to:
- Spending time reading is one of the best strategies to increase vocabulary and reading comprehension. Look for books that will interest and amuse you, and read as much as you can outside of your allocated academics.
- Develop your reading speed. You might uncover several strategies to improve your reading speed by performing a fast Google search. For instance, you can get used to scanning, focusing on key words, and using your finger as a compass. In order to comprehend what you're reading more fully, you should also see whether making notes in the form of circles, underlines, and scribbles helps. Finding what works for you and honing your timing while taking the test will be much easier with practice.
- Learn Greek and Latin Roots to Expand Your Vocabulary. Long-term, this can save you a ton of time. Greek and Latin words make up a sizable portion of the English language, and once you grasp their origins, your vocabulary expands on its own. For instance, you can infer that amicable means friendly if you know that amic is the Latin word for friend.
3. Develop Your Talents Through Practice
In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell explains his belief that it takes 10,000 hours of effort to become a master at something like playing the violin. Not to worry! Although we don't recommend you spend that much time studying for the PSAT, the high number supports our claim that practicing is the best method to get ready for the test. It all comes down to becoming accustomed to the time and testing methodology. Therefore, to make your practice test as similar as feasible to the actual test, be sure to imitate the testing atmosphere. You ought to:
- Don't take the test digitally; there is a difference, so print it out instead.
- Use bubble wrap
- Time yourself using the exact amount of time provided for each area of the test.
- Try to complete it all at once.
4. Finishing Touches: Advice and Techniques
It's possible that our PSAT/SAT tutors have assisted students with tests after tests for close to 10,000 hours. As a result, they have developed test-taking techniques that go beyond your conceptual understanding. Here are some of their useful advice that you can use while you get ready:
- Put the simple questions first. Even if you have to move around a bit while taking the test, concentrate on responding to the questions that are simple or quick for you. Since all of the questions are equally important, you should move on to all of the ones you believe you can answer without spending time on the more challenging ones. After that, you'll go back and respond to those you missed.
- VERY CAREFULLY read the questions and answers. Understanding what the PSAT and SAT examiners are searching for is a difficulty in and of itself. A simple word in a question can occasionally cause you to veer off course. Make sure you comprehend the question's specific requirements. If required, read it three times. Repeat with the solutions. These frequently have parts of truth while omitting a word or phrase to render the response choice false.
- Use the same letter selection each time you guess the answer if you are. The odds are greater if you continuously stick with one letter rather than guessing randomly because history shows that each right response option gets selected around the same number of times.
