PSAT is the abbreviation of Preliminary Scholastic Achievement Test also known as Preliminary SAT. PSAT is also referred as National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. It is conducted under the aupicies of the prestigious intitutions of the United States like College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation abbreviated as NMSC. Those who succeed in PSAT stand eligible for the National Merit Scholarship. The test is manged by the high schools administration and not by any other testing authority.


PSAT is designed to check academic potential and efficiency of the students with regard to their studies. The test also helps the students to streamline themselves for the tests like SAT which play a significant role in their studentship through out college education. PSAT is conducted usually in the month of October through out the United States. But the test day is finalized according to the convenience of the high school administration. The two-hour long exam comprises verbal and written segments and question of mathematics. There are five sections of PSAT. In critical reading skills section, there are two sections consist of 50 questions. You have to answer these questions in fifty minutes. The mathematical skills section is also designed on the same pattern. There are 39 questions in the writing skills which you have to answer in thirty minutes. Apart from these there is also a verbal section of the exam.


There are mostly multiple choice questions in the test. Recently, significant changes have been introduced in the examination pattern of PSAT exam. Unlike the old pattern, the new pattern is more realistic and based on the exercise and academic work done by the students in the classrooms. A great number of students, almost 1.3 million appear in the PSAT exam every year. Traditionally the candidates comprise juniors as well as students enrolled in the second year of studies at college called sophomores. At present, PSAT has expanded its horizon to include students from 7th and 8th grades along with students in the first year of high school, college, or university called freshmen.


Along with other tests of the similar nature there are many guide books and study material available on PSAT in the market as well as online. The softwares like In-A-Flash PSAT are enormously helpful for the students as they give detailed couching on all the five sections of PSAT. There are practice tests as well in these softwares which help you to measure your level of preparation. PSAT is comparatively an easy exam in comparison to the tests of similar nature and magnitude. You need not to prepare in detail the various subjects included in the test. The questions included in the exam are based on your routine academic work. But as regards to other tests, score in PSAT is also important. You should try your level best to perform well in the exam by answering the questions correctly. You should not try to answer all questions. Rather the best course is to respond those questions which are very clear to you. Many wrong answers create bad impression and may affect your score.