PSATease: He and Nguyen seek test takers' opinions on recent exams

By: Jason He and Vivian Nguyen 

On October 14, 2015, approximately 3.5 million sophomores and juniors attending high schools all across the nation took either the PSAT/NMSQT, or, in other words, the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Whether or not they bombed or aced the PSATs, students will receive their scores in December of 2015 or early January of 2016. Sophomores at Mystic Valley took the test for practice, because next year, students will be aiming for a scholarship, which is what the juniors faced last Wednesday.

The PSAT is designed to give students insight into the rigors of the SAT, a test typically taken during junior year, whose scores provide prime information to colleges when deciding which students to admit or decline.

After taking the PSATs, we interviewed some sophomores and juniors on their overall experiences with the test. Many students expressed that they wish they had prepared better for the test, although they were not necessarily sure of what that would have entailed.

In comparison to the sophomores, the juniors had more reason to prepare; third year high school students all over the nation compete for the National Merit Scholarship Program, which rewards scholarships for high scoring and talented test takers.

Below are a few highlights of from our conversations with MV’s PSAT test takers.

What is the PSAT like compared to MCAS?

Sophomores:

“There was no essay so you don’t really have to think deeply.”  –Jeffrey Mei

“Since the PSAT is timed, time management differentiates the two.” –Anonymous

Did you feel prepared?

Sophomores:

“It's like studying for life; you can’t study for life.”-Anthony Campana

“I forgot everything from Geometry/Algebra 2…” –Anonymous

*Shakes head* –Ben Li

Juniors:

“No.” –Ashleigh Inman

Did time impact effect you or your way of thinking?

Sophomores:

“Not really, it made me feel cool under pressure.” –Jeffrey Mei

“Maybe. Do I have to give an explanation?” –Ethan Lam

“Yeah, mostly for the reading.” –Jason He

“I rushed.” –Ben Li

“I didn’t finish.” –Anonymous

Also, we asked the sophomores and juniors we interviewed, “What was the hardest subject on the PSAT?” 57% of sophomores thought that the reading section was the hardest, while the juniors had a tie between math without calculator and math with calculator as the hardest section. The complete results are shown below: