PSAT PREP AND STUDY TIPS

Hi,

The PSAT does not really determine a lot and will not be used for collage applications. The only real thing it is used for is the National Merit Scholarship.

I just took the PSAT and it was a little different this year. It was all online. There is two English and two math sections. MAKE SURE BY TEST DAY YOU CAN GET INTO BLUEBOOK!!

Here are some tips:

Apps: Knowunity- they have some basic test prep

ChatGTP- honestly, ask it to create some questions and quiz you over. If you don’t know something it can explain.

Quizlet- find some basic PSAT prep questions.

Study options: telephone- call or FaceTime somebody and ask questions

Teach it: If you can teach it to someone else, then you know it.

Flashcards: if there is something yo struggle at, look at it a bit more.

Other tips:

- If you can, bring a graphing calculator.

- Sleep, Sleep, Sleep!!

- eat a good breakfast, I promise it will help.

You’ll do great!!

Here My best study Tips: Flashcards, Get enough sleep to focus, Chew Gum, Study partner, And remember not to push yourself. I hope this helps you!!

Hey! As someone who took the PSAT and went up from 1230 to 1400 after wasting a year doing nothing and then only about 1 month of minimal studying, I recommend you do the following:

- Understand that the PSAT will not determine much unless you are going for the scholarship (NMSQT for Juniors only). Knowing this should help take the pressure off for test day.

- Realize that this is still a great practice for what the actual SAT exam day might be like. This exam can help you identify weaknesses so you have time to target them before the SAT.

- Avoid using practice questions that don't come directly from the College Board. I did this the second time I took my PSAT and got the same score as when I took it freshman year because all it did was confuse me. I didn't go up any points because the practice questions I had used were designed differently than the official ones. This meant I had gotten used to the wrong format of questions and threw me off my game on test day. Therefore, ONLY USE OFFICIAL QUESTIONS (even if they look the same, trust me just read from College Board)! Use Bluebook and Khan Academy as they are the only ones that provide official-style questions. (If you find others let me know, but these are the only two that I am aware of.)

- If you struggle with test-taking strategies I advise you to get the SAT Prep Black Book. Even if you don't struggle with it, the information there is pure gold. I normally don't like telling people to spend money, and you most definitely don't need it to do good, but if you're a person like me who needs to understand how things work to do good on them, then this is it. You can find it on Amazon for ~30 dollars, buy it used for cheaper, or try to find a free digital copy online. I barely cracked it open before my last PSAT but it definitely helped me and now I went up 100+ points. I want to take it more seriously come SAT time to hit a 1500.

- If you struggle with content, look at Khan Academy and take notes to essentially relearn what you forgot. Since you've already learned it before, it should come back quickly. (For me, this meant going over math formulas I forgot and reviewing Geometry Theorems, for you it can be anything else depending on your struggles.)

- Make sure you give yourself time to study. I recommend studying 30-45 hours total before you take the SAT exam. For the PSAT, you can stick to around 30, but, again, to REALLY take advantage of this test I advise you to treat it like the actual SAT. Therefore, if your schedule allows, try to hit 40-45.

Then make a schedule. For example, if you want to hit 40 hours before the exam and you only have about 3 months, you can study for 2 hours each Saturday and Sunday. Four hours a week for 13 weeks takes you over 40 hours, but accounting for weekends where you might be too busy, it balances out. You can use this schedule, adjust it, or make a completely different one based on what works for you.

This is a less stressful version of the SAT exam. To study for it, think of it as if it were the SAT, this way you make the most of the exam and also get a head start on studying.

the PSAT isn't really important, I wouldn't worry about it. I got like an 1270 on mine, and then went on to get 1450 on my SAT. Keep in mind that colleges don't accept the PSAT, and that it's harder than the SAT.

I would definitely use bluebook practice tests, but aside from knowing what's on the test, I'd focus on not making mistakes ON the test-usually that's what causes lower scores. I'd review each section thoroughly and run out the clock on practice tests to accurately simulate a max score.

Hey, I'm a junior who's taken their PSAT stuff and am now all done with it. The test is broken into two portions, one math and one Reading/Writing. In each portion it is broken down into 2 segments, the first a preliminary assessment (still counts towards score) and the second an adaptive segment with question difficulty based on the first segment.

What is on the test:

Math: Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem Solving and Data Analysis, Geometry and Trigonometry

Reading/Writing: Information and Ideas, Craft and Structure, Expression of Ideas, and Standard English Conventions (grammar)

Here's my advice:

1. Practice Test. Take a practice test on bluebook, see where you're at. Then don't take another for at least a week. With you being a freshman, it's not too big of a deal if you're aiming for national merit. The practice tests are a limited supply and taking too many can be detrimental to you're progress. I've seen people who only take the practice tests and don't study, therefore don't learn the material, and do poorly on the test.

2. Study. Study you're weak points, and everything else too. As a freshman, you have plenty of time, so stay calm. After the bluebook test you get a score sheet how you're strength in each area of the test is. Study you're weaknesses, but also make sure to review the rest of the content too. I personally recommend Khan Academy. The study guide for the SAT covers everything in the PSAT in depth, with some of the questions being harder than what's on the PSAT. Mastering the SAT study guide on Khan academy will help you go a long ways.

3. Vocabulary. Do vocabulary sets, study prefixes and suffixes. By learning these, you help set yourself up for success in the reading section. College Board likes using words to throw you off, words you've never heard before. Having a background in words, and more importantly, prefix/suffix meanings, can allow you to know/figure out what these obscure words mean. Also learn the word preclude. That's a weird word.

4. Practice Questions. College Board offers questions at each level for each area the test covers, make sure to review them as you go along in studying, these questions are formatted like they would be on the test.

5. Up to Date Material. If you get a study book, make sure it was published in 2023 or later. My freshman year the test was on paper, but after that it was switched to online. The online switch meant a change in test formatting, with the reading sections becoming much shorter, going from passages that spanned multiple questions to at most a paragraph or so per question. Meanwhile the math section lost the no calculator portion entirely, so ...

6. The night before the test, calm down. Go to bed at a decent time or better yet, early. Get at least 8 hours of sleep. If there is something you have to study for the test, spend a maximum of 30 or so minutes on it in the morning. The worst thing you can do on test day is give yourself the yips. At test day, what is done is done; prep time for the test is over. Sounds brutal, but staying calm is part of the test.

Hi I know this is late but for next year you should use Khan Academy. It got me from an 800 to a 1020. On the website you can study different skills you need to work on and it really does help.

That's great that you're preparing early for the PSAT—starting as a freshman gives you a big advantage! There are many excellent resources available online and in-person to help with PSAT preparation. Some of the top websites that offer PSAT prep include:

Khan Academy (khanacademy.org): Free, official SAT and PSAT practice provided in partnership with the College Board. Offers personalized study plans and interactive practice questions.

College Board (collegeboard.org): The official site for the PSAT and SAT, with sample questions, test dates, and tips.

Princeton Review (princetonreview.com): Offers both free and paid PSAT prep classes and resources.

Kaplan Test Prep (kaptest.com): Known for comprehensive test prep courses and books./

Magoosh (magoosh.com): Offers affordable online PSAT practice and video lessons.

You can also find help at local libraries, tutoring centers, and even some school guidance offices—especially if you're in a region ontheclocklogistics.com/> serving Colorado & Beyond</a> serving Colorado & Beyond, where many tutoring services offer hybrid or remote options for broader access.

PSAT Test Sections Overview

The PSAT is composed of three main sections:

Reading: This section includes passages followed by questions that test your ability to understand, interpret, and analyze text. You'll read literary works, historical documents, social science, and science-based passages.

Writing and Language: Here, you'll answer grammar and usage questions based on short passages. It tests your skills in punctuation, sentence structure, and improving the clarity of writing.

Math: Divided into two parts—one allows a calculator and one does not. Topics include algebra, problem-solving, data analysis, and some advanced math concepts like geometry and trigonometry.

Taking the PSAT early helps you identify areas for improvement before the SAT and opens the door to scholarships like the National Merit program. Stay consistent with your prep and you'll build a strong foundation for future testing success.

being completely honest, i didn't prepare for the PSAT in freshman year. if you don't prepare at all, you get a completely honest score which provides a great baseline and shows which areas you need to work on for junior year. at least in my state, freshman year PSAT has no overall meaning (can't influence GPA, colleges, or national merit) so I decided not to study. if you want to study, though, there are some great SAT prep books you can find online!

Hey!

I'm assuming you have probably already taken the psat, but as someone who just took it I can give some advice also to others wanting to know more!

where I live, it's required to take the psat freshman and sophomore year but I don't know what it's like for everyone else. Oh-- key tip, The whole test was online and multiple choice as well, so the process of elimination can be used very well.

The first section was English, specifically grammar and what words and sentence types go where. You can study this from studying English grammar (it's wacky!) through practice tests and such.

The second section was math. It was mostly algebra and geometry, which is above a freshman grade level, so if you can study ahead i'd recommend that. Especially learning trigonometry and changing functions to graphing equations.

the fourth section was English again, but this time it was specifically reading. It was just a lot of complex words and asking what part of the reading meant or if it should be changed. This you can do by asking yourself questions when you're reading more complicated texts.

the final section was science. This part was not something we had learned yet, so i'm not sure how to study for it. It was a lot about graphs and tables and using statistics to prove a point.

Hope I helped!

You can use Khan Academy for PSAT/SAT prep for free! There's math and an English section which covers most/all of what's on the test.

Hey! Im currently studying for the SATs, but i really like the blue book practice tests. They offer them for both PSATS and SATs, but they are times and structured just like one you would take on the real exam. Also, Khan academy is great for individual lessons. Another thing Id recommend if you're comfortable with it is tutoring. I'm currently doing classes on Varsity Tutors. Hope this helps!

I would definitely use the bluebook practice and pre tests aswell as Quizlet flash cards. They definitely helped a lot but personally I would not stress the PSAT. Good Luck!

Each section for me at least was mostly multiple choice (thank god). Math was mostly algebra 2, with some geometry and a little algebra 1. English was mostly filling in the blank for a sentence and picking which word would work best, occasionally summarizing and deciding what the writer was trying to convey.

For me the way that helped me prepare for it was take practice tests and each time I took it I always aimed to get a higher score than what I got before. Another thing is that I watched Youtube videos about the PSAT and different ways to manage your time while taking it! For me the 2 English parts each had 27 questions and it was a lot of grammer and reading passages and answering questions. The 2 Math parts consisted of 22 questions each and it had Algebra,Geometry, and Trigonometry. Good Luck and I hope you do well!!

Consider exploring whiz.study a complimentary website designed to help you prepare for the SAT.

Try practicing what you learn in school or watching YouTube tutor videos. Bluebook, the app you'll take the digital PSAT on, has practice exams, so try that too. The PSAT is composed of two Reading and Writing modules and two Math modules. Without breaks, it should take about 2 hours and 15 minutes.

I'll suggest to do as much practice as you can and go for SAT suite bank.