It was that time of year again on Wednesday, October 19th. All of the juniors and a select amount of sophomores gathered in the gym, filled with white tables. The PSAT booklets were set on the edge of the table, staring back at the students who were looking anxious and unprepared. The students sit down and after 2 hours of pencil pushing and nail biting, the student realize that their nerves and worrying was all for nothing.

The PSAT is not the devil of all tests. It is a reasonable assessment to prepare you for the real test, and if this is in any way a valid measure of the real deal, then the SAT is not the monster either. Also, here is a great tip: If one does not know the answer, one does not answer it and it will not count off on the final score. If only such information was publicized sooner.

The Critical reading is the longest section, but to make it feel a little more manageable, it is split into two 25-minute sections with 30 questions each. The questions were not there to trick or dupe students. They presented straightforward information for students to digest, and then answer. One thing that can eat away at the test-taker’s  time on the test is the four or five page long article about various topics. In order to finish the test within the allotted 25 minutes, one should make sure not to hover over each sentence like a hungry hawk. So in al,l for the reading sections, remember: one should not read as if looking to convict a criminal, think logically rather than looking for the tricky answer, and do not stress out. It is only 25 minutes of life that will be in the rear mirror soon enough.

Now the beast of the test, the math section. This section was also split into two sections, one with multiple choices, and another shorter section where the headwork and mental math comes into play. The multiple-choice section is a breeze. Then comes the mental section. It is like running on the beach and then crashing into a hard wall of complicated formulas and things not learned since 9th grade. First thing to do look at the front of the section, where there are all of the formulas one must use in the section. Everything else depends upon how well one retained math lessons from years passed. The questions are not as straightforward compared to the other math sections. One must think about it for a while before jumping straight into it, to avoid a lot of erasing and the time running out.

Now after having bulldozed one’s way through the math, the end is so close that the light on the other side is visible, right over that mountain called Critical Reading Part Three. Be prepared to read a lot more in this section, about things which do not necessarily interest any of the students: such as birds, mountains, and even the occasional philosophy of an artist. With all that reading comes a little more strained time management. Read carefully the first time so that reading it once doesn’t turn into reading four times.

After the student has completed the above material, the test is over and students can take a breath of relief.