Students will begin testing on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Freshmen will take the PSAT, while sophomores and juniors will take the PSAT/NMSQT. Seniors will attend school as normal.
“As a junior, the PSAT/NMSQT is huge,” Ms. Gross said. “This could mean thousands of dollars in scholarship money to certain universities.”
The National Merit Scholar Qualifying Test student take their junior year make them eligible for thousands of dollars of scholarship money if they make a certain score. Freshmen and sophomores who are taking the PSAT prepare for the test they take their junior year. Taking it early gives students a better idea of their weaknesses, helping them know what concepts to improve so they can score high their junior year.
“This is money in your pocket,” Ms. Gross said. “If you score high enough to qualify to become a National Merit Scholar, you can really go almost anywhere of your choice with some scholarship opportunity.”
Legacy offers a PSAT Team class to juniors as a half local credit class. Students were invited into the class based on their sophomore year PSAT score. After working during summer to prepare, students attend the elective class to help prepare for the PSAT in October. Once the PSAT over, the class focuses on the SAT and ACT. Students can also purchase books to help study for the SAT and ACT.
“It’s scary because a lot of pressure is put on me to do good on the test,” sophomore Raegan Guerrero said, “but I know this is a good opportunity for me to get the scholarship money I need.”
