![\"a](\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/files\/2020\/12\/image-hs-header-psatpractice.jpg\")
\nmaybe you’ve realized that you’re taking the psat next week, or maybe the exam’s still a few months away and you’re hoping to score a national merit scholarship. in either case, welcome! whether you need psat practice stat (aka cramming for the psat) or want to set up a psat study plan, we’ll take a look at all the info you need to make sure you get the score you want on test day, from psat questions to psat tips.<\/p>\n
what, exactly, will we look at in this post? first, we’ll start out with some psat basics: what, when, why. then, we’ll take a deep dive into psat tips for prep: what you’ll see on the test and how to set yourself up for a great score. we’ll finish up with some psat questions and psat tips. <\/p>\n
ready? let’s go! <\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> the preliminary sat, or psat, is a test administered by the college board<\/a>, creator of the sat, that most students take in october or november during their junior year of high school, and possibly during freshmen or sophomore year. if you have siblings or friends who have taken the sat, you might be surprised to learn that, unlike that test, the psat\/nmsqt, which is commonly taken the year before the sat, is given only on one date, as determined by the school administering the test in combination with the college board.<\/p>\n usually, the psat is offered on a wednesday in october or november. in 2020, the dates the psat was offered included wednesday, october 14; saturday, october 17; and wednesday, october 29. be careful, though: your school will pick one of these dates and have the other as a backup, so make sure you know which day the main test administration will take place by talking to your guidance counselor or the person in charge of the psat at your school.<\/p>\n the psat is also the qualifying test for the national merit scholarship<\/a>, one of the more prestigious scholarships in the united states. (for this reason, the psat is also sometimes called the national merit scholarship qualifying test.) this exam is offered every october and can only be taken once per year.<\/p>\n for aspiring national merit scholarship winners, qualifying psat scores are only<\/em> taken from third-year high school psat scores. so psats must<\/em> be taken during junior year of high school for the purposes of the scholarship. if you\u2019re planning to apply for the national merit scholarship, it can still be helpful to do a practice run in your sophomore year (and maybe freshman year as well) to see how close you\u2019re getting to the score you\u2019ll need when you apply for merit as a junior. the psat has the exact same sections as the actual sat. this means that psat questions are really similar to sat questions—there are just fewer of them. there is a math component and a verbal component<\/a>. the latter consists of both grammar exercises and reading passages. this is a change from the previous version of the psat, which i\u2019ll talk about in a minute.<\/p>\n it\u2019s also important to note that the psat is not made up of facts that you simply have to cram into your brain and then retrieve test day. it\u2019s about applying rules and concepts to questions that are designed not to be straightforward. <\/p>\n essentially, you\u2019ll have to use a lot of critical thinking for psat questions. for instance, a math word problem won\u2019t be a case of plugging the numbers into a predetermined formula. the information is always different and you\u2019ll have to devise an equation to fit the specific circumstances. unlike the bread-and-butter three-line word problems you might be used to seeing in math class, some of the math word problems can run close to 15 lines.<\/p>\n here’s a deeper dive into the subjects you’ll see on the psat!<\/p>\n there are two things to consider when examining the reading test: what kinds of passages the test includes and which skills it measures. <\/p>\n as for the first category, you can expect to see at least one literature passage\u2014this can come from anywhere in the world and from any time period. you’ll also see a passage, or a passage pair<\/a>, from a u.s. founding document (like the constitution) or a text from the great global conversation<\/a> (like a speech by a world leader). two science passages will appear, but they’ll test your reading ability, rather than your science knowledge. finally, there’ll be a social science text.<\/p>\n in terms of the types of questions you’ll see, be prepared to show your ability to find evidence in the passage and show how authors use it. the test will also ask you to define vocabulary words based on their contexts<\/a>. finally, some of the passages will ask you to analyze data and charts from science or social science passages.<\/p>\n for the writing and language test, you only have one goal for your psat questions: find the mistakes in the sentences you’re reading and select the answer that fixes them. basically, the test looks at your command of grammar and usage<\/a>, but it also measures those same categories from the reading test: command of evidence, words in context, and analysis of additional materials.<\/p>\n the math test<\/a> examines three big categories of psat questions: heart of algebra<\/a>, problem solving and data analysis<\/a>, and passport to advanced math<\/a> (all of which will be mixed together, and none of which will be labeled). let’s look at what each of those areas covers.<\/p>\n in the heart of algebra questions, expect to see a linear expression or an equation with one variable. you will also be asked to work with linear inequalities with one variable. you’ll build a linear function to show the relationship between two quantities. you’ll do similar work then with a variety of other equations, some of which may have two variables or include two linear variables.<\/p>\n problem solving and data analysis will include an entirely different set of topics. these include: ratios, rates, proportions, percentages, measurements, units, unit conversions, scatterplots, relationships between two variables linear versus exponential growth, two-way tables, making inferences from data and statistics (this might include mean, media, mode, range, and\/or standard deviation), and evaluating data collection methods. whew!<\/p>\n finally, passport to advanced math will have questions about quadratic\/exponential functions, equivalent expressions with rational exponents and radicals, showing algebraic equivalencies, quadratic equations, working with polynomial expressions, one-variable equations with radicals, systems of equations, simple rational expressions, parts of nonlinear expressions, the relationship between zeros and factors of polynomials, nonlinear relationships, function notation, and isolating a quantity of interest in an equation. the psat is basically an sat with smaller teeth and a less overwhelming purpose (it can get you scholarships, but it doesn\u2019t get you acceptance into college). all of the same basic sat topics show up in psat questions, minus a bit of the higher-level stuff, especially in math.<\/p>\n psat questions are the same types as sat questions, the instructions are all the same, and even the timing on each section is very similar. there are a few important differences in length, scoring, and content between them, though. take a look at the chart below to get an idea. the psat is a tad easier than its big brother, but the difference is pretty minimal. it\u2019s all toned down slightly, though. questions that would be on the easy end of sat math show up more frequently on the psat. you might get 5 questions on psat math that are as easy as the first 2 questions of an sat math test, for example. and the most difficult psat questions don\u2019t quite reach the difficulty of the hardest sat math questions.<\/p>\n the higher end of sat math topics might still show up on the psat, but they\u2019ll be more straightforward. you\u2019ll see easier “passport to advanced math” questions, for example, and you may see only one very basic trig question. or you might get a graph of a parabola that simply asks for an intercept and requires no algebra.<\/p>\n so don\u2019t freak out if you\u2019re going to take the psat and are just taking geometry 1: the test mostly asks for basic number skills, algebra, and basic geometry, nothing more. <\/a><\/p>\n the psat is a preliminary sat\u2014it isn’t used in college admission\u2014so you might be wondering: is it even worth prepping for the test? what’s the point of studying for a test that colleges won’t even look at?<\/p>\n there are actually two really important reasons to study for the psat! first of all, remember that it’s not just the psat\u2014it’s also the nmsqt, or the national merit scholarship qualifying test. if you’re a junior, prepping for the test can set up you for a far higher score, putting you in the running for more money for college.<\/p>\n if you’re a sophomore, that’s still a great reason to prepare! think about it this way: your scores on the psat this year will help you get a better idea of what prep you’ll need to do within the next year to reach that qualifying range. if you prep beforehand, it’ll not only set you up for greater success as a junior, but you can also tailor your study this coming year to really focus on your weaker areas, now that you’ve mastered psat tips.<\/p>\n even if you’re not aiming for a national merit scholarship, studying for the psat will give you an incredible baseline for your sat prep. by reviewing the more basic concepts you’ll find on the sat and picking up psat tips and tricks, you can then focus your sat prep on the higher-level areas you’ll see on the real sat. win-win! ideally, your practice will consist of a mixture of fundamentals and practice questions, with some test strategy (psat tips and tricks) thrown in. for instance, you\u2019ll want to revisit algebra concepts you learned a year back, or are maybe learning right now before you tackle actual test questions. <\/p>\n you don\u2019t want to spend too much time on fundamentals, however. throw yourself into practice questions to get a feel for the way the test works. often a good idea is when you miss a psat question to review the fundamentals at work, assuming you didn\u2019t make a careless error. that\u2019s better than trying to memorize a bunch of fundamentals but then waiting an indefinite period before actually reviewing them.<\/p>\n here is a great sat one-month study plan<\/a> that you can use, tailoring it to your schedule. the skills that the sat tests are almost exactly the same that you\u2019ll need to practice on the psat<\/a>. even the types of questions are the same. in both tests, you\u2019ll see math and evidence-based reading and writing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n so don\u2019t brush it off as a test that doesn\u2019t matter! it\u2019s important practice that will save you valuable study time later on. our biggest psat tip if you’re studying with sat materials? make sure you get the timing right!<\/p>\n how long is the psat? 2 hours and 45 minutes overall. this means that the psat is only just a little bit shorter than the sat (without the essay anyway), so you\u2019ll need to bring the same level of stamina to the psat as you will to the sat. pacing on both tests (in terms of the amount of time you have to answer each question) is comparable as well, so you aren\u2019t going to get more time to answer questions on the psat.table of contents<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\npsat tips: mastering the basics<\/h2>\n
\n <\/p>\nwhat is the psat?<\/h3>\n
\n
\n![\"go](\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/files\/2017\/08\/back-to-top-button-1-e1502493700147.png\")
<\/a>
\n
\n<\/a>
\n <\/p>\nwhen do i take the psat?<\/h3>\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
\n<\/a>
\n <\/p>\nwhat does the psat test?<\/h3>\n
the reading test<\/h4>\n
the writing and language test<\/h4>\n
the math test<\/h4>\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
\n<\/a>
\n <\/p>\nhow is the psat different from the sat?<\/h3>\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
\n<\/a>
\n <\/p>\nhow hard is the psat?<\/h3>\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
\n<\/a>
\n <\/p>\npsat tips for prep<\/h2>\n
psat tips for prep 1: evaluate whether you need to prep<\/h3>\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n<\/a>
\n <\/p>\npsat tips for prep 2: set up your practice schedule<\/h3>\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
\n<\/a>
\n <\/p>\npsat tips for prep 3: master content from each section<\/h3>\n
math psat prep<\/h4>\n
\n
reading psat practice<\/h4>\n
\n
writing and language psat prep<\/h4>\n
\n
\nthat means that studying for the psat is a good way to get ready for the sat while you are a junior (and the psat 8\/9 and psat 10 for younger grades can help you get ready even earlier). the scores and subscores you receive can help you determine what you need to study and how long you need to study for the real deal. <\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
\n<\/a>
\n <\/p>\npsat tips for prep 4: work with the correct timing<\/h3>\n
\n <\/p>\n