Is the PSAT Important?

We get this question at Within Reach every fall, so we thought we’d close out our blog series on Test Prep with a short note about the PSAT. The answer is that it is, certainly – but not in the way that many people think! First, a little background…

What is the PSAT?

The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, often referred to simply as the PSAT, is a standardized test that serves as a practice run for the SAT and a qualification for the National Merit® Scholarship Program. Most high school students take the PSAT at some point, often more than once, and usually at their own schools. Like the SAT, it includes sections on Reading/Writing and Math and is fully digital. It is administered by the College Board, just like the SAT and Advanced Placement tests.

The PSAT is an important component of the National Merit® Scholarship Program, which confers about 7,000 National Merit scholarships per year. The traditional scholarship awards are $2,500 (some colleges and corporations offer scholarships as part of the program as well). Being named a National Merit semi-finalist or finalist is a wonderful and well deserved honor to have on a resume, but many people are surprised to learn of the relatively low dollar amount of the scholarship itself. Accordingly, National Merit winds up being more about prestige and less about money for many students.

Does the PSAT “count” for college?

No. PSAT scores are not sent to colleges for admissions, so they are not a factor in the college application process. 

So, back to the question: is the PSAT important?

Yes, we think it is, for a few reasons:

• The PSAT is a great chance to practice standardized testing in a real-world, low-stakes environment, and the more comfortable a student feels about the testing experience in general, perhaps the more successful they will be. In this case, familiarity breeds comfort, not contempt! Think of it as “exposure therapy”.

• PSAT scores are not necessarily predictive but are often helpful, as they're starting points to understanding a student's relationship with standardized testing earlier in high school. 

• PSAT results might also help flag a student’s knowledge gaps. If that’s the case, then foundational Academic Tutoring in a subject area could be a very wise move before starting a Test Prep program.

Should we use our student’s PSAT score to decide on the SAT vs. the ACT?

Ideally, no. At Within Reach, we are happy to look at PSAT (and PreACT) results, but we almost always ask students to take a full-length Mock SAT and a full-length Mock ACT, since those will give us very granular results for each question and answer. We use this information to help determine the better-fit test, and it helps us then personalize Test Prep for each student, typically driving the work of their first few sessions with us. 

The bottom line on the PSAT

Your student should take advantage of the opportunity to take the PSAT and PreACT at school when offered; as we said before, it’s good practice!  At the end of the day, we’d recommend Mock Tests as more detailed tools to help chart a Test Prep path. If you’ve got questions, please let us know. We’re here to help!