What is the PSAT exam?
PSAT, Preliminary SAT, NMSQT, or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test is a standardized format of the SAT.
The underlying purpose of the test is to prepare you for the real test situation. And if things do go wrong, you can accept the timely failure. It is a learning experience that counts, which would certainly prevent serious consequences related to your SAT or ACT in the foreseeable future.
Is there a fee to take the PSAT exam?
The PSAT exam costs around $17. However, the price changes from school to school. Several schools, for instance, may cover part or all of your PSAT fee. Conversely, some schools need students to pay the fee for proctor services. You can, on the other hand, also get a fee waiver on your PSAT waiver.
The school you plan to attempt the PSAT must provide you all the payment instructions you need. Mostly, schools request students to pay the fee somewhere around mid-September. That said, don’t forget that you won’t have to directly pay the College Board, which is your school’s responsibility.
Can I take a calculator to PSAT exam?
You can bring an approved calculator, which you can use in the specific subsection of the math portion.
What is a good score on the PSAT?
The good score largely depends on your home state. Every student wants to get a favorable score to become a semifinalist or qualify for that precious National Merit Scholar. For instance, an average score might not amount to much because ultimately it depends on how many (%) applicants are accepted from different states every year.
Since the performance parameters for students also vary, there are different cutoff requirements set forth by the schools every year. However, if you want to achieve a certain score, you will need to align your goals for what you are aiming for in the long run.
For instance, the mean score for 8th graders when it comes to the PSAT 8/9 is 813. The mean score for the 9th graders is slightly higher with 870. Comparatively, the recent data highlights that the average mean score for 10th graders who take NMSQT or PSAT 10 is 934. Similarly, the average mean score for 11th graders who attempt NMSQT is 1014.
In short, these scores represent the strong and weak points of students. And when you become aware of your deficiencies, you can perform even better prior to the SAT. Anyhow, to identify the precise score, you will need to get a National Merit Scholarship is complicated. However, despite the constant annual variation, you should focus on your preparation to get the best score as per your abilities.
