Does the PSAT matter?
Not for college admissions: colleges never see your PSAT score, and it does not go on your transcript or application. It matters in two other ways. Your junior-year PSAT/NMSQT is the entry test for National Merit recognition and scholarships, and in any year it is a low-stakes practice run for the SAT. If National Merit is not realistic for you, treat it as practice.
In more detail
Scores are not sent to colleges, so a bad PSAT cannot hurt an application and a good one cannot help it directly. The test is run by College Board and scored from 320 to 1520, close to the SAT scale, so your score report is a useful early read on where you stand and which skills to work on before the real SAT.
The one place the PSAT can pay off is National Merit. Only the PSAT/NMSQT taken in the October of junior year counts, about 1.2 million students enter each year, and National Merit Scholarship Corporation offers about 7,320 scholarships a year. Students who reach the cutoff for their state become Semifinalists, and roughly 34,000 high scorers are named Commended Students. Some colleges also sponsor their own scholarships for Finalists.
Taking it as a freshman or sophomore, or taking the PSAT 10, does not count for National Merit. That makes those years a free dry run: you learn the format, the timing and your weak areas at no cost to your record.
How much the PSAT matters, by situation
| Your situation | Does it matter? |
|---|---|
| Freshman or sophomore | Practice only, no National Merit entry |
| Junior with a real shot at National Merit | Yes, this is the only score that counts |
| Junior with no National Merit goal | Mostly as a diagnostic for the SAT |
| Senior | No, National Merit uses the junior-year test |
Step by step
- 1
Check your grade: only the junior-year PSAT/NMSQT in October counts for National Merit.
- 2
If you are a junior, look up your state's recent National Merit cutoff and judge whether it is in reach.
- 3
If it is in reach, prepare for the test with timed practice sets in the weeks before October.
- 4
If it is not, take the PSAT as a free diagnostic and skip the heavy prep.
- 5
When your score report arrives, list your three weakest skills and plan SAT practice around them.
How StudyPDF helps
If the PSAT is practice for you, make it count. Upload your SAT or PSAT prep chapters and the questions you missed, and StudyPDF builds flashcards, quizzes and timed practice sets from them, then tracks per concept what still trips you up. You can also try the free PSAT practice test at PSAT Practice Test. The free plan covers about 4 materials a week, no card needed.
See also
More questions
Do colleges see PSAT scores?
No. College Board does not send PSAT scores to colleges, and they do not affect your high school GPA. Only National Merit recognition can show up on an application, and only if you choose to list it.
Is the sophomore PSAT important?
Not for National Merit, because only the junior-year PSAT/NMSQT counts. It is still useful as a practice run and as a first look at your SAT weak spots.
Do it on your own course
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