Last Wednesday, October 16th, the juniors at HTLA took their PSATs. The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test better known as PSAT is what helps prepare students to take the SATs. It’s supposed to give students a feel for the test and be practice for when they might need to take the real SAT. Although the PSATs are practice tests, there are still great opportunities that can come out of doing good on them. We’ve interviewed some juniors around campus about their experience and how it went.

Many of the people wished to remain anonymous and therefore are described as students, however, they are all juniors. Student 1 said, “Compared to NWEA testing it wasn’t that bad.” NWEA is another standardized test that we take throughout high school and, this could tell us that taking standardized was good and helpful for preparation. I also asked students if they had any recommendations for other students and here’s what some of them had to say. Student 2 said, “Please study beforehand, be ready, get enough sleep, please just be at your best!” Similarly, students 3 and 4 who were questioned said, “It was very nerve-racking, and I would tell people to study.” “Just don’t stress,” both of them added. As a junior myself, I also took the PSATs and I could say that studying and preparing your mind and body is important for being well-rested. I would recommend no to wait till the last minute to study and don’t procrastinate till the last minute

Testing well on the PSATS could get you opportunities such as the National Merit Scholarship. During the COVID-19 pandemic colleges stopped requiring the SATs. However, more recently many of them began adding it back as a requirement. The class of 2026, the juniors who took the test, are still unsure if colleges will be requiring the SATs or not which will determine if we need to take the SATs in the spring or fall. Therefore it’s important to know if your graduating class will need it or not.