With the school year beginning to wind down, it is time to start thinking about how to best capitalize on summer vacation. For our rising juniors, they are getting ready for their busiest academic year. While thinking about starting college counseling, course selection, and SAT scores there is one important exam that really kicks off their junior year and that is the PSAT.
What is the PSAT
The PSAT is often students first exposure to standardized testing. It helps give them a great baseline and idea of their strengths and challenges ahead of their first SAT exam. The PSAT can also give students an opportunity to reach for the National Merit Scholarship which can be an incredible benefit for them.
National Merit Scholarship
The National Merit Scholarship requires an extremely competitive PSAT score as well as an outstanding application. Semi-finalists for this scholarship represent the top 0.5% of students in their state, making it extremely difficult to achieve. It is typically a one-time financial award of $2500, but this can vary. What doesn’t vary is the prestige associated with being a National Merit Scholar.
Looking Beyond Scholarships
The PSAT often gets attention for its connection to the National Merit Scholarship, but its value goes far beyond that title. For most students, the PSAT serves as a low-pressure introduction to standardized testing—one that provides detailed insight into strengths and weaknesses.
Because the PSAT mirrors the SAT in format and content, it’s the perfect opportunity to practice pacing, test strategies, and problem-solving under real conditions. The score report offers a roadmap for targeted study, showing exactly which skills to sharpen before official SAT testing begins.
It also gives students a sense of where they stand compared to peers nationally. This awareness can spark earlier preparation, which often leads to stronger final scores. Even without the scholarship connection, the PSAT is a powerful tool for building confidence, identifying areas for growth, and stepping into the SAT with a clear advantage.
The AJ Approach
Here at AJ Tutoring, we offer a customized 1:1 approach to PSAT preparation and highly recommend students capitalize on their summer vacation to be as prepared as possible!
