<p>I know it's a "practice test" for the SATs and for juniors, there's the National Merit Scholarship thing. But, what's the advantage for taking it sophomore year? I know it'll help you get an idea about how the SAT is, but still. Do colleges look at these in anyway? Like send info about their school?</p>
<p>I am going to be a junior, and I didn't want to take the PSAT soph. year. My CA teacher talked me into taking it, and he said that it would be "good practice." I think that I'm going to take the ACT when it comes time to take standardized tests...lol.</p>
<p>I took the PSAT my sophomore year, and I started getting a ton of college mail even with a score of 186, which doesn't even come close to qualifying for National Merit. I doubt that colleges use your sophomore PSAT in admissions since that really is irrelevant. Taking the test your sophomore year is a great opportunity to preview what it's like taking standardized tests and once the mail starts coming you'll find a lot of colleges out there you didn't know about. I found out about Emory and IU Bloomington from brochures they sent in the mail. Taking the test also gives you exclusive access to features on the CollegeBoard website that are really helpful.</p>
<p>...because everyone else is doing it.</p>
<p>Honestly, I did it for National Merit. I also had planned on studying for the SAT. I suppose if you don't plan on studying for the SAT, it would help. But if you do, or are even just taking the ACT, then I don't see why you would need it.</p>
<p>And college mail is sorta annoying...</p>
<p>My school made me do it sophomore year. It raised my confidence level. That's basically the only advantage it had.</p>
<p>I hate college mail--I regret signing up for it. But I didn't know what to do so in a moment of panic I whispered to a friend sitting adjacent, "What are you doing?" And she said, "I'm saying yes." Yes, that was an answer. But was it the right answer?
The right answer (to both) is no.</p>
<p>My school forces all the sophs to take it at the same time as juniors. It was good practice-they basically do it to gauge who might be national merit or barely getting into community college</p>
<p>My school also makes us do it. It was good practice, especially for the junior year one. If you want colleges, leadership programs, etc. to find you it really is a good idea.</p>
<p>If you want to try to qualify for National Merit recognition, which could land you big $$$ scholarships and get you noticed by colleges who like to snag top scorers, then taking the PSAT your sophomore year, studying the results of your test, and doing some additional prepping [if needed to raise your score ], is worth the effort.</p>
<p>I would definitely do it.
I didn't and regret it.</p>
<p>Ya. My school also forces sophomores to take it and I was just wondering the "rewards" of taking it sophomore year. I'm hoping I can get national merit junior year, but we'll just find out. Is it worth studying for it sophomore year?</p>
<p>not really. it just helps to see where you stand, and what you need to work on.
other than that don't worry about it.</p>