Elkhorn students take the PreACT for two years before they take their ACT their junior year. If they take those tests because they are required, why should they want to also take the PSAT if it isn’t?
“When you take it as a junior, you can qualify as a National Merit semi-finalist or finalist,” counselor, Theresa Crnkovich said.
This practice test brings students one step closer to qualifying for the scholarship. However, just taking the test isn’t enough.
“If you are a really good test taker, you have to score in the top 1% of the state. But then you could potentially earn scholarships through National Merit.” Crnkovich said.
The National Merit Program offers different scholarships to students who qualify. Taking the PSAT is a requirement for the scholarship and 50,000 students who have the highest scores can qualify. There are 2,500 National Merit scholarships, corporate-sponsored scholarships, and college-sponsored merit scholarships.
“I did it because of the chance to qualify as a national merit scholar to get scholarships,” junior Maureen Kubicek said.
Students who take it recognize that it is important to gain scholarships for college. Taking the PSAT gives them a chance to earn it. Along with qualifying for the National Merit Scholarships, most colleges on the coast also require the SAT.
“I plan to take it [SAT] when I am a senior. I wanted to get practice for it. I have looked at MIT before and East Coast schools do require the SAT,” sophomore, Carson Deprez said.
Most people don’t know why there are two different tests. There are differences between the ACT and the SAT.
“The PreACT has a science portion and the PSAT does not. The PSAT also has a few questions that are open-ended, whereas the ACT is 100% multiple-choice,” Crnkovich said.
Like the PreACT, it is important to prepare for the test. Students take the PreACT twice, but they aren’t required to take the PSAT. Practice and preparation for it is important. Luckily, there are many resources for it.
“There’s free online prep. Naviance has prep also,” Crnkovich said. “Understanding the whole strategy of not taking the time to fully read the passages even though it’s the opposite of how normal exams are taken, is important.”
