PSAT vs. New SAT difficulty?

Test Preparation
1

So, I took the PSAT/NMSQT without studying AND I forgot to answer 4 questions (don’t ask, it’s a long story), but I still got a 1310. It’s not amazing, but it’s really not that bad either. If it were the SAT, it’d be enough to get me into a few in-state colleges.

Anyhow, I’m taking the October 1 SAT and while I’ve actually studied for this one, I’m pretty nervous about it. I’m aiming for 1310-1400 to get into my #1 college but I’m still really scared that I won’t score that high. Can anyone give me some insight on how hard the PSAT is vs. the SAT?

2

You have a very strong chance – especially since your 1310 would have been higher but for the overlooked questions (we’ve all been there). College Board uses what is known as “vertical scaling” for the PSAT and SAT. This means that, in theory, if you had showed up last October and taken an SAT instead of a PSAT, you should have ended up around 1310. Most students improve between PSAT and SAT (hey, you know more!), so there is every reason to think that 1310-1400 is in your sights.