Tomorrow, many sophomores and juniors will sit in Rezac Auditorium for more than two hours to take the PSAT.

The PSAT [Preliminary SAT], also know as the NMSQT [National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test], is a standardized test that provides firsthand practice for the SAT. It also gives students a chance to qualify for National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s scholarship programs.

While this test’s scores aren’t what students send in to colleges, they have become an important part of college preparedness.

“Since I took it last year, I think I have a general knowledge of what might be on it,” junior Amanda Vestweber said. “Hopefully I improve on my weaknesses and the parts I didn’t know as well.”

For sophomores, it is purely practice.

“I’m not really nervous, probably because this is just a practice for me, but also because I know what to expect from the test,” sophomore Chloe Dorst said. “I’ll get practice for the NMSQT next year and practice for the real SAT.”

Sophomore Angelica Lang agrees.

“I’m not very nervous,” Lang said. “Since I’m a sophomore, it’s really just practice for a practice test.”

The PSAT helps juniors prepare for the SAT and gives them scholarship opportunities.

“The main reason I have decided to take the PSAT is in hopes that I will score great enough that I can get into KU and further my career in the medical field,” Vestweber said. “Getting a scholarship is a big goal of mine so hopefully all this studying and hard work pays off and I can get through college and medical school without any problems thanks to my test scores and determination.”

The test can be tricky, as it differs from the testing format students have come to expect in school.

“I think I am most worried about the time we have between each part of the test,” Vestweber said. I know the background knowledge, but putting it all together and answering in a timely manner might be very tough for me and many others.  We as high schoolers weren’t always taught to have a time frame, we were told to take your time, to think things over thoroughly.”

To combat these differences, students must study and prepare in advance.

“I think the PSAT is going to be tough but I’m ready and well prepared,” Vestweber said. “I have been prepping for three weeks so I’m excited to see how well my hard work pays off. I’m sure this year I will be better prepared for the timing compared to last year when I took it.”