The Importance of the PSAT’s

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The SAT’s are a crucial and extremely impactful test that kids across America take. Many students have expressed their feelings, both negative and positive in regards to this famously stressful test; however, in order to be granted acceptance into many colleges, one must sit for this test, sometimes multiple times.

The PSAT’s, although generally scoffed at by many students, are a vitally important way to prepare for the dawning SAT’s which could determine the course your education takes after high school. These tests do not factor into grade point averages, nor do they provide any tangible rewards other than information that is exceedingly important to the student as far as college readiness and insight into how well she would do on the real SAT’s.

Students who are given a PSAT test, especially in the early years of high school, tend to respond with apathy and lack of interest. Even students that are responsive to the test don’t take precautionary measures to ensure that they do the best they can since these preliminary tests do not weigh into any grades or averages. This resource, however, is ideal preparation for the SAT’s. After they complete the PSAT, students are graded out of 1520 points, up to 760 for both math and English sections. This grading system mirrors that of the real SAT’s which are scored out of 1600 points.

Students will eventually receive mail from the college board showing what questions they got wrong, their broken down score and how this looks to colleges. It is this sheet of paper that can provide guidance and intellectual acumen that can be helpful during the hunt for colleges. This sheet also provides tips on what to study dependent on questions that were answered incorrectly. In this way, the PSAT can offer invaluable navigation in regards to preparing for the SAT’s and applying to colleges.

Your PSAT information can then be purchased by colleges around America and gives them a view of your academic ability thus far. Colleges and universities use this information to drum up potential interest in their school based off of your score. A student with impressive scores may get up to 20 letters in the mail from various colleges. These letters or brochures include information that is worth reading about possible majors and opportunities that await them at these colleges. This, in turn, provides students with imperative information and possibilities that affect their future. It opens doors to them that they never knew existed and jump-starts the college search process.

The PSAT’s are a seemingly insignificant test that can have such a massive impact on a student’s future. As long as a student remains reactive in the face of sometimes overwhelming information, the Psat can indicate someone’s academic readiness and ability moving forward into the SAT’s and eventually college applications. While many students find these intrusive and sometimes boring tests bothersome, the fact is that these tests are crucial to build a young student’s future.