Taking place on Oct. 7, the PSAT for Convent and Stuart Hall students is coming up quickly. For freshmen and sophomores, it is just a way to track progress, but for juniors, the test could earn them thousands of dollars in scholarship money.
The PSAT, or Preliminary SATt, which is taken by grades nine through 11, can mean nothing for some but everything for others. This school year, many freshmen and sophomores have voiced their easygoing attitudes toward the exam, showing that even under pressure most students seem to be handling the situation well.
“I haven’t felt especially worried or stressed about the upcoming PSATs,” freshman Chloe Lee said. “I’ve heard that its main purpose is to give your teachers an idea of what you have been able to master so far and what concepts you still need to strengthen,”
Conversely, there is much more pressure placed on juniors, because their PSATs also count as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, juniors who score above a certain percentile can be eligible to receive this scholarship ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.
The benefits of receiving the National Merit Scholarship do not end with just money. Being tracked as a commended student, semifinalist or finalist in this competition can bring attention from colleges, strengthening one’s overall academic portfolio and displaying a high level of scholastic knowledge. Being a finalist is especially beneficial because it can allow students to be awarded scholarships from many top-tier universities.
“The PSAT is a great opportunity for students to show their academic excellence in order to possibly qualify for the National Merit Scholarship,” junior Caroline Koch said. “As an upperclassman, it is a great opportunity to prepare for college admissions testing.”
Be it upperclassmen or underclassmen, it can be agreed upon that PSATs do raise a level of anxiety. For this reason, it is always a good idea for students to ask their teachers for guidance. Since the PSAT consists primarily of mathematics and English, asking teachers for support through practice problems and review sheets can provide students with the necessary information to understand the PSAT questions on a deeper level and answer them correctly within a short time frame.
“Taking the PSATs will become increasingly important. The more times you take it, the more you will improve,” ninth grade English teacher Elizabeth Waters said. “It is important for underclassmen to take it so they can gain practice with the test and perform better when it matters for them as upperclassmen.”
Overall, students should not think of this test as something stressful or a defining factor in their futures, since each student has many other unique talents to offer. Instead, students should think of the test as a way to improve important academic skills such as knowledge retrieval and time management.
“I think taking the PSATs as a freshman can provide a look at what entering the National Merit Scholarship Competition would be like so that I can better plan ahead for preparing and studying,” Lee said. “This way, students can feel more at ease knowing what they can expect instead of feeling like they are being thrown into an entirely new experience.”
