The PSAT is available to sophomores and juniors, giving them the opportunity to practice for the SAT and apply for the National Merit Scholarship. 

October 2023 was the first year the PSAT was digital, leaving many students unprepared for the test.

“I was pretty nervous at first because it was a different format than it has been for the past couple years,” junior Isabella Nikolova said. “What I had prepared for wasn’t on the test at all.”

The questions seemed simple to some. 

“You weren’t sure if you were doing bad or good, because the questions were relatively easy.” Leticia Castillo Lopez said. 

The new formatting didn’t stop people from succeeding.

“My score was way better than last year’s,” said Castillo Lopez.

Though the PSAT went well for a few students like Nikolova and Castillo Lopez, they wish there were some changes to the test to make it more efficient.

“I would need a lot more preparation, like books, for [the SAT],” Castillo Lopez said. “Even the preACT, I feel kind of prepared you more for the SAT than the PSAT would have.”

Preparation and proper communication when changing formats is another thing Nikolova would have liked to see.

Even national tests that have existed for decades have entered the digital age.