On October 16, 2024, juniors at NHP took part in the PSAT/NMSQT, administered by the College Board. This exam is the precursor to the SAT, as well as being a prerequisite for the National Merit Scholarship, a nation-wide scholarship awarded to students who perform exceptionally well on the exam, usually at or around the top 1% of test takers.
After taking the exam, which took place from approximately 8-11 a.m., many students have mixed feelings about their performance on the exam. The consensus among students at NHP was that module one on both sections were relatively easier compared to module two, paralleling the format and difficulty of the real exam.
“I think overall it wasn’t too bad. Both sections were generally easy to start in module one, but got significantly harder in module two. I think it generally went well and wasn’t too hard,” junior Rocco Lipari said.
“I honestly think I did pretty well on the PSAT. I was really stressed out in the beginning but once we started the test I kinda got into the rhythm of things and it went pretty smoothly. There were some moments where I started to doubt myself, but overall I feel like I did the best I could and I’m pretty satisfied,” junior Janice Park said.
“Module 1 for both sections was pretty easy overall, however module 2 of math was completely unrealistic to the practice tests that Collegeboard offers and the reading comprehension questions on module 2 of English were very difficult to understand,” junior Arvin Ghai said.
Juniors are expected to receive their 2024 PSAT scores on November 7, according to the College Board. By April 2025, 50,000 juniors who participated in the exam will be eligible to qualify for recognition in the scholarship program. By September of that year, only 16,000 students will become Semifinalists. These students will then be invited to apply to advance in the program. Later, 15,000 of the Semifinalists will be chosen to become finalists. Finalists could receive three types of scholarships: a National Merit Scholarship ($2,500), a corporate sponsored scholarship and/or a college sponsored scholarship.
While students may be anxious about their score, the PSAT’s primary purpose is to serve as a practice test for the SAT. While it is used for the scholarship search, the score generally is not an absolute representation of a student’s potential score on the SAT.
“Of course not everyone will feel the same way about the test, but it’s really important not to purely focus on your score,” junior Janice Park said. “Instead, it’s much better to focus on if you truly put in your all. If you did that then that’s really what designates ‘how well you did’. These scores don’t define who you are. What defines you is your mindset and the effort you put into bettering yourself for a brighter future.”
