The futures of millions of students rest on the PSAT, a standardized test taking place on October 13. While some may brush the PSAT off as an unimportant prequel to the more intimidating SAT, the PSAT is also the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) and is more important than most students think.

The PSAT is a standardized test taken by high schoolers around the world; the National Merit Scholarship, however, only recognizes the PSAT taken by students in their junior year. There are three components of the PSAT: reading, writing, and math.

The PSAT takes a total of two hours and forty-five minutes to complete. The maximum score is a 1520. Of the millions of juniors taking the test this fall, 16,000 will qualify as semifinalists, and 15,000 will qualify as finalists to win scholarships of up to $10,000 a year, according to College Board.

That being said, preparing for the PSAT is of utmost importance. An excellent way to study for this crucial test is through prep programs such as Elite, a highly established program located right here in Anaheim Hills. Elite provides personalized study sessions with specialized teachers working six days a week to ensure students score as high as possible. In addition to the PSAT, Elite also helps students prepare for the SAT, ACT, AP exams, college application essays, and more. They are dedicated to helping students “reach their full potential both academically and personally”, according to Elite’s official mission statement. Juliana Kim (11), who took the Elite SAT prep course over the summer, comments, “Elite was super helpful and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to raise their test scores. I know the SAT and PSAT aren’t fun, but they’re still important.”

Contact Elite today by visiting their website, www.eliteprep.com, or directly emailing the Anaheim Hills center at [email protected] to begin receiving a number of extremely helpful tips, such as the guide below, courtesy of David Han and Elite Prep Anaheim Hills:

How to Prepare for the PSAT

It is recommended that students take a full-length practice test before taking the official PSAT test.
It is very important that you time yourself when you take the practice test.

• Click here for sample questions and test.
• Once you take the practice test, score it! Click here for official scoring guidelines.
• Last step! Click here to review it!
• Do it all over again!
  • Click here for another test.
  • Click here for official scoring guidelines.
  • Click here to review answers.

What to Bring on Test Day!

• No. 2 pencils with erasers (mechanical pencils are not allowed)
• Acceptable calculator! (Link!)
  • Most graphing calculators
  • ƒAll scientific calculators
  • Four-function calculators (not recommended)
• If your school needs you to provide it, your Student ID number
• Your email address (optional)
• Current and valid school- or government-issued photo ID (if you are not testing at the school you normally attend)

My Score

Your score will be available online in December. If you provide your email address on the answer sheet, you’ll receive an email letting you know when your scores are ready. Also, you will get a paper copy of the test report from your school.

Good luck on the PSAT, Mustangs!