<p>Any words of advice... haha.</p>
<p>I think I am now able to take them, I couldn't before because I was supposed to be leaving that day to go somewhere, but now we are flying and leaving later that week. </p>
<p>Do you guys have any tips for me? Do you really need to study? BTW I am a sophomore so I don't have to worry about the NMSQT stuff...</p>
<p>I really want to do well on it though... any and all advice would be appreciated. </p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<p>run through a couple of practice tests so you're familiar with types of questions, format, etc. you dont need to do much else since you're still a soph.</p>
<p>Any advice for juniors first time taking the PSAT or any standardized test at that?</p>
<p>^be really familiar with the format of the test cuz one of the worst things to do is wasting time reading directions and looking at examplaes when you can do that beforehand...and practice...A LOT...because on standardized tests for the most part you already know all the stuff...they are just trying to trick you</p>
<p>Also, don't read the passages...you won't have much time. Skim through them to get a general idea of what they are about.</p>
<p>Tell yourself that you don't have to write an essay until the SAT. (I don't know if you have to now. I didn't. Haha)</p>
<p>Get your hands on the PSAT packet thingy and do that test. I went out and bought 2 PSAT review books. o_O</p>
<p>Im also a sophmore. Ive decided to take this psat as a way to tell where i am at and what i need to study. Im not going to study for it. After i get my results ill begin studying for the 11th grade psat and the actual SATs.</p>
<p>im soo screwed for that LOL
and im a junior and i need like a 220 so i can get national merit
shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitzu</p>
<p>Actually, most of the passages in the PSAT last year weren't too long. Definitely brush up on vocabulary, because most of the verbal is just knowing a lot of vocabulary. That goes for the SAT as well. </p>
<p>For math just look over the kind of stuff on there, and make sure you can do it. If you have any questions ask a friend or a teacher. They tend to do the same types of questions (geometry, especially triangles, sequences, etc)</p>
<p>Do the sentence fill-ins really quickly in CR and spend the majority of your time on the passages. For me, it helped to just skim the questions (and get an idea of what to look for), skim the passage and underline where important concepts are located, and then go back to the passage to find out where the answer to the questions was located (since I already had a general idea where it was because of my skimming. Plus, there were several I could answer without going back to the passage).</p>
<p>Then again, although I did very well (72 on CR), I obviously didn't get that perfect 80 and someone who did may have a better solution. :-/</p>
<p>yeah i bombed my first psat cause i didnt know about the writing section. look that shiznit over.</p>
<p>I've already taken practice SATs (I'm a Sophomore) and got an 1810 total-660 W, 610 CR and 540 M (yeah, I need to bring that up). However, I relearned functions so I can expect to do a lot better on the PSAT. Will I be ok for this year? As in, good enough so that you can almost expect me to me a Nation Merit Semifinalist in NY next year?</p>
<p>I did really well as a sophmore and i didn't study, but this year i'm going to so i can qualify for national merit.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Also, don't read the passages...you won't have much time. Skim through them to get a general idea of what they are about.
[/quote]
NOOOOOOOOOO
please dont do this ... read the passages throughly..just dont waste time ...you will be better off this way because once you get to the questions you can answer them more qickly instead of hunting for answers</p>
<p>your more likely to make a mistake if you attempt to read the passage thoroughly and then answer the questions from memory. so if you do read the essay thorougly and think you can answer from memory, dont make that assumption and go to the text and find the specific evidence.</p>
<p>honestly i read the info paragraph if there is one, the first paragraph, and nothing else, just to get an idea of what the essay is about.</p>
<p>then tackle the questions and read along as you go.</p>
<p>I like how we're all "helping" the sophomores/juniors by giving them conflicting pieces of advice, and all of us are so sure we are correct and not the other person. :P</p>
<p>this is true. there is a wide spectrum of how to tackle the essays:</p>
<p>go straight to answering questions >>>>> read entire essay thoroughly for comprehension</p>
<p>anything between reading enough to find out what the essay is about, all the way to reading the entire essay for moderate comprehension works. anything more extreme than that is likely to either cause you to make mistakes or waste too much time.</p>
<p>where you choose to be in that spectrum depends on how much time it takes you to complete the section on average, how long the essay is, how ahead or behind your average pace you are, etc.</p>
<p>I must emphasize again, the sections aren't that long, you just have to practice time management and get used to reading quickly. In my AP Eng Lit class (and Lang last year) we do scantrons that are SAT MC at the beginning of the year and progressively get harder. Point being, once you get used to reading passages thoroughly and quickly the PSAT/SAT is a sinch. The better you comprehend, the less you have to look back at the passage to refresh your memory or look for the answer.</p>
<p>with psat and any other standardized tests, the best advice i can give is to be thorough yet fluid in your thinking. Read VERY carefully, passages (or problems in math) and answers. Make absolutely sure you read EVERY answer choice. Part of the sat's goal is to see how well you avoid errors (as well as reasoning a problem's solution), hence the -1/4 pt. for wrong answers. Try your best to not get hung up on a problem you don't think you can do, because time is a factor. Also, it may be cliched but getting a lot of sleep is very helpful.</p>