PSAT/NMSQT

The same test as the SAT in shape and almost in content, taken a year or two earlier — and the usual route into the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Reading — information, ideas and craftPSAT Reading — reading the graph: data that support or weaken a claim PSAT Reading — the quotation that proves the claim PSAT Reading — primary sources from US history PSAT Reading — mixed 13-question set in module order PSAT Reading — main purpose and overall structure

Writing — expression and conventionsPSAT Writing — transitions: the word that names the logical link PSAT Writing — synthesis for a named audience and purpose PSAT Writing — nouns, possessives and agreement beyond the basics PSAT Writing — when no punctuation is correct PSAT Writing — however, therefore and lists within lists

Algebra and Advanced MathPSAT Advanced Math — polynomial arithmetic, factoring and zeros PSAT Algebra — inequalities in two variables and shaded regions PSAT Math — student-produced responses: solve it, then enter it right PSAT Advanced Math — shifting and reading nonlinear graphs PSAT Advanced Math — radical, rational and absolute value equations; a line meeting a parabola

Data, Geometry and TrigonometryPSAT Data — reading distributions: frequency tables, histograms, box plots, range and standard deviation PSAT Geometry — area and volume with the reference sheet PSAT Geometry — angles, congruence and similarity PSAT Data — converting square and cubic units PSAT Data and Geometry — entering your own answers

What it is

The PSAT/NMSQT is the Preliminary SAT and the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which is one test with two jobs. College Board states it plainly: the PSAT/NMSQT is the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

It is taken at school, in the Bluebook app, and it has exactly the shape of the digital SAT:

Reading and Writing — 54 questions, two modules, 32 minutes each.
Math — 44 questions, two modules, 35 minutes each.
2 hours 14 minutes, 98 questions, in total.

Two modules per section is the SAT's design, where the second module is set harder or easier according to how the first went. A calculator may be used on the whole Math section. Most questions are multiple choice; some math questions ask you to type the answer instead of choosing it.

The scores, and the one that matters for scholarships

Three numbers come back, on scales deliberately set below the SAT's:

Total score: 320 to 1520.
Reading and Writing: 160 to 760.
Math: 160 to 760.

And, on the PSAT/NMSQT only, a fourth: the NMSC Selection Index, on a scale of 48 to 228. It is computed from the two section scores — double the Reading and Writing score, add the Math score, divide by ten — which is worth sitting with for a moment, because it means Reading and Writing counts twice as much as Math for scholarship screening. A student who has quietly decided they are "a math person" and will make it up there is working against the formula.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation, not College Board, runs the program and sets every rule about who may enter, which administration counts, and what a qualifying Selection Index is in a given year and state. Those rules change and are state-specific; read them at the source rather than taking anyone's summary, including this one.

What is actually on it

Eight content domains, four in each section — the same eight the SAT uses, pitched for a student one or two years earlier.

Reading and Writing. Each question has its own short passage and one question attached to it; there is no long article with a run of questions hanging off it. Passages come from literature, history and social studies, the humanities and science, and some questions carry an informational graphic.

Craft and Structure — words in context, the structure and purpose of a text, connections between two related texts.
Information and Ideas — central ideas and details, command of evidence including evidence from tables and graphs, and inference.
Standard English Conventions — sentence boundaries, form, structure, punctuation.
Expression of Ideas — transitions, and rhetorical synthesis: notes in, one sentence out, meeting a stated goal.

Math. About 30% of the questions are set in context — a science, social studies or everyday scenario you have to read before you can start.

Algebra — linear equations and inequalities in one and two variables, linear functions, systems.
Advanced Math — equivalent expressions, and nonlinear equations and functions: quadratic, exponential, polynomial, rational, radical.
Problem-Solving and Data Analysis — ratios, rates, percentages, one- and two-variable data, probability, inference from a sample and margin of error, and judging a statistical claim.
Geometry and Trigonometry — area and volume, lines and angles, triangles, right-triangle trigonometry, circles.

Should you be here or on the SAT track?

If you are taking the PSAT/NMSQT this fall, here. If you are taking the SAT itself, use the SAT track — it is organized as eight separate domains with a material each, and it is pitched at the real thing.

The honest position on preparation is this: the PSAT/NMSQT is not an admissions test, and nothing about the score follows you anywhere. It matters for exactly two reasons — National Merit, which is decided by a formula weighted towards reading, and the fact that it is the earliest realistic diagnosis of where you stand on the test that does count. Both are served by the same work, and that work is SAT work.

How these materials are organized

Four categories: two for Reading and Writing and two for Math, each covering two of the official domains. The difficulty is pitched at the PSAT rather than at the SAT.

They do not reproduce the adaptive test. They are practice on the content. For the real experience — the timer, the routing between modules, the built-in calculator, the interface — use College Board's own free full-length adaptive practice tests in Bluebook, which are the actual software.

How to work

Weight your study time the way the Selection Index does. Reading and Writing counts twice. If National Merit is the reason you are here, that single fact should reorganize your week.
Never leave a question blank. Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer.
Practice some math with the options covered up. A share of the Math section gives you nothing to work backwards from, and eliminating choices is exactly the habit that fails there.
Read the explanation when you were right. On Standard English Conventions especially, being right by ear and being right by rule look identical until the question is hard.
Treat the result as a diagnosis, not a verdict. It is the cheapest information you will get about the SAT, and the only thing worth doing with it is deciding where the next months go.

Official sources

The test itself: satsuite.collegeboard.org — PSAT/NMSQT
How it is structured: structure
The Reading and Writing section: reading and writing
The Math section: math
Score scales and the Selection Index formula: understanding scores
Scholarships and recognition: scholarships and recognition
Free full-length adaptive practice: Bluebook practice

Entry requirements for the National Merit Scholarship Program are published by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation on its own site, nationalmerit.org.

Zestly is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with College Board, which owns the PSAT/NMSQT, nor with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, and it is not a test center. Every question here is written by Zestly; no official test material is reproduced.

PSAT/NMSQT® is a registered trademark of the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which are not affiliated with and do not endorse Zestly. All questions here are original; nothing reproduces official test material.