<p>What's the difference? I apologize for my cluelessness...</p>
<p>The PSAT is taken either in the fall of the sophomore or junior year of high school. The SAT is based off the PSAT, it has similar things(sentence completions, critical reading, math, etc.) but the SAT is usually taken in the junior year. The SAT is the master test that is accepted by virtually all colleges around the world.</p>
<p>oh okay. thanks.
so wait, so why would you bother taking the PSAT? Why don't you just take the SAT, colleges don't see your PSAT right?</p>
<p>The PSAT is intended to be a practice test/predictor for the SAT. The types of questions on the PSAT are the same, but the PSAT has no essay, and it is a much shorter test. </p>
<p>Another difference is that colleges you apply to don't see your PSAT score (cross-posted with meadow36 there); they see only your SAT score (or of course the ACT, if you choose to submit that instead).</p>
<p>Most students take it because in addition to being the PSAT, it's also the NMSQT, or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Scoring above a national cutoff earns the student "Commended" status; scoring above the individual, annually adjusted state cutoff earns the student National Merit Semifinalist status and the opportunity to become a Finalist and possibly a Scholarship winner.</p>
<p>1) It gives you good preparation for how it's set up --what the SAT is like
2) When you get your scores, you see where you are score-wise(but it's not really accurate)</p>
<p>Colleges do not see your PSAT scores, but if you take the PSAT in the fall of your junior year and you score high enough you have the chance to be a National Merit Scholarship winner, basically meaning that you have very high PSAT scores. But this is awarded to like 1% of the total testtakers, the ones who score fairly high. So yeah the PSAT is great preparation for the SAT, and i took the PSAT twice(fall of sophomore and junior year) and I just took the June SAT.</p>
<p>In terms of material, both are the same. PSAT does not have an essay like the SAT, but both scores are seen by colleges, unless you don't allow the colleges to view them. In fact, I am receiving tons of mail from colleges due to my PSAT scores. PSAT (for the most part) has more scholarship money involved.</p>
<p>what's psat out of? 240? is it just SAT score/10?</p>
<p>It is out of 240. A quick and not terribly accurate method of predicting SAT score is to multiply it by ten.</p>
<p>My PSAT score and SAT score were so flipping different.
PSAT
M-67
CR-65
W-51
Composite: 1830</p>
<p>SAT
M-590
CR-560
W-690
Composite: 1840</p>
<p>i agree with ajjared. they also call the test the PSAT/NMSQT</p>
<p>NMSQT means national merit scholar qualifying test</p>