<p>I am a rising sophomore and I have no idea what the PSAT's are. I know that they can get you the National Merit Scholarship or something so that makes it quite important. Should I begin studying and how much should I study? Are there prep books? Should I just he's the SAT prep book? Also, my state of Pennsylvania requires one to score above a 217 to become a National Merit Finalist. In order to score above this, how much should I study? Thanks!</p>
<p><a href=“The PSAT/NMSQT – SAT Suite | College Board”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools; - Look through the tabs on the left for test content, scholarship info, etc.</p>
<p>Basically, it only matters/counts for juniors (so you still have a year to worry about it), but take it this year for practice. 217 is pretty high for a cutoff, and it may increase, so it’s important to master the test. SAT tests should help in simulating the questions, but I personally used Kaplan’s PSAT/NMSQT Premier for practice tests - they were fairly accurate in simulating the College Board questions.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions about the PSAT, feel free to message me! I have some experience with it, as I did fairly well on the test during junior year and am expecting Semifinalist status, at the very least (likely Finalist). I feel that taking the test in both freshman and sophomore year (as practice) helped quite a bit.</p>
<p>Hope this helps! Good Luck! :)</p>