Unlike the ACT, the PSAT/NMSQT is made to see what you know and to check the normal body of knowledge a junior would have. It gives students many benefits from scholarships to just experiencing a standardized test.

Costing $20, the Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT), is a cheap standardized test, according to gifted and talented counselor, Andy Wilkes.

“I recommend all my sophomores and juniors to take the test, the reason is because it’s dirty cheap standardized test practice,” Wilkes said.

Taken along with the PLAN (preliminary ACT), the PSAT gives students both a projected ACT and SAT score, Wilkes said.

“The tests test different things, and so what’s really awesome is say you test really well in the kind of questions the SAT asks but your PLAN score is super low, then don’t worry about taking the ACT,” Wilkes said. “Spend your time practicing the SAT and go and get a amazing score on there.”

Junior Cynthia Narine said she disagrees with Wilkes and would rather spend more time on the test she does bad on than the one she got a good score on.

“I plan on taking both test, I would focus on both, but put more emphasize on the one I did badly on, so I can do well on both,” Narine said.

The PSAT also shows students what they are missing and allows them time to fix it, while calming there fear of testing situations, Wilkes said

“The other thing I love about it is that it gives students a real sense that the standardized tests are do-able,” Wilkes said. “And let’s them see really clearly there gaps and weakness.”

Much of the PSAT, other than preparing students for the SAT, is qualifying for the National Merit Scholarship Andy Wilkes said.

“It not a huge scholarship, it’s a couple thousand of dollars, but it’s a really highly prestigious thing,” Wilkes said. “Just getting to the process and being named a semifinalist is a really cool thing.”