Lammaluva asked:
If i only have SAT prep books will those also help me with the PSAT or do i have to buy additional prep books for PSAT?
If i only have SAT prep books will those also help me with the PSAT or do i have to buy additional prep books for PSAT?
21 December 2009 at 9:56 am
psat
I asked my school guidance counselor the same question, she said the PSAT prepares you for the SAT and you can most likely take the PSAT during your freshman or junior year.
23 December 2009 at 8:04 am
psat
it will, just know that PSAT is much much shorter, does not have the essay, and it doesnt go as into depth, it also dont have alg. 2 problems, whereas SAT goes up to alg. 2.
25 December 2009 at 10:27 pm
psat
Hi Lammaluva,
There is a significant difference between studying for the PSAT and studying for the SAT in two ways: motivation and methods.
I’ll discuss the methods first though.
For PSAT, your studying type should be focused on being accurate and not making any mistakes. Especially with writing section, because there is no essay, you cannot miss as many questions you can as in real SAT. Indeed, this is same for math section as well. I am not sure about the difficulty, but PSAT is probably bit easier, but at the same time, it’s not too much. I’ll explain WHY in a minute for the motivation.
For SAT, you obviously have to cover essay and overall, harder test. There are, of course, many prep books that cover for SAT, and the way you study for SAT will allow you to be “over”-prepared for PSAT and make you do well. PSAT, in many cases, is a practice test for students.
Now, motivations.
As you know, we take SAT because either that, or we have to take ACT, or we find a school that can waive it. But, the point is that it’s a standardized test that you take because everyone else is.
PSAT is different. Those who STUDY for PSAT are very intelligent people, like you. Doing well on PSAT will let you to qualify for National Merit Scholar, which is VERY good for college applications AND it awards you with a very nice scholarships. I know that some institutions actually award you a FULL RIDE (i.e. pay for EVERYTHING) if you are National Merit Scholar. That is the only requirement. Pretty sweet, right?
So, those are two differences. I wish you a good luck for studying for PSAT/SAT. I’m an online SAT tutor and a college student, so feel free to contact me if you have any question, and maybe even want advices/lessons.
