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Online PSAT leaves students with mixed feelings

Real Talk: PSAT

15 Redhawks named as National Merit Semifinalists

Juniors and sophomores who took the PSAT exam in October received an email Monday with detailed instructions on viewing their scores through their College Board account. 

“Receiving my PSAT score will help me determine areas of improvement, allowing me to focus and study for next year’s PSAT and the SAT,” sophomore Alex James said. “With more preparation, I hope I can qualify for the National Merit Scholarship next year.” 

Since junior Kritika Chamakura has the opportunity to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship, she found group studying to be the most effective method of preparation. 

“In order to prepare for the PSAT, I did a lot of practice tests online and just got together with my friends to study in a group,” Chamakura said. “For me, group studying is a lot more effective than independent studying.”

Sophomore Rupal Shirpurkar finds the PSAT valuable for SAT preparation and will utilize her score along with prep classes to obtain her dream results. 

“The PSAT gives me a good head start as to what to expect on the real SAT,” Shirpurkar said. “I have recently taken a practice SAT exam and have enrolled in a test prep class so they can see where I am and what I need help with. I think that being enrolled in the practice class and seeing my score will help me get between a 1400 and 1600 SAT score.” 

Not only does the PSAT help students get ready for the SAT, but a high enough score on the PSAT can earn students scholarship money from through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

That’s the case for 15 seniors on campus who scored high enough on the 2022 PSAT to earn National Merit Semifinalist status including seniors Avi Aggarwal and Sophie Yang.

“I think it shows that all the SAT practice that I put in, practice that, it carried over and I get a reward for it,” senior Avi Aggarwal said.  

“Definitely I feel like I worked hard to study for the SAT and PSAT,” senior Sophie Yang said. “I’m really happy that my score reflected that.”

Story updated to include students who earned National Merit Semifinalist status on the 2022 PSAT.