This week, our 10th and 11th grade students took the PSAT (which stands for “Preliminary SAT”) on Wednesday morning. The main reason students take this test is to have a “warm up” for the SAT. The PSAT is considered to be slightly shorter and easier than the SAT, but it can give students a good idea of what categories they will need to work on before the real deal.  

This test usually lasts 2 hours and 45 minutes and has three sections. The first section allots 60 minutes for reading, the second section has 35 minutes for writing and language, and the last section gives students 70 minutes for math. The PSAT is scored from a 320-1520, with the average score being around 959 for sophomores and 1044 for juniors. 

Another reason students choose to take this test is for the NMSQT, which stands for “National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.” Students have the opportunity to potentially be eligible for one of 3 different forms of scholarships. First is the National Merit $2,500 Scholarship. College admission officers and high school counselors determine the winners, who receive a one-time payment of $2,500. Second are around 1,000 corporate-sponsored merit and special scholarships, which are decided by the graders themselves. This means that large companies can review students’ PSAT scores and choose to support their education if those students are from the same area where the business is based, are interested in going into the same industry those companies represent, or simply have parents who work for those companies. The amount varies but can go up to $10,000. Finally, there are around 4,000 renewable college-sponsored merit scholarships, with winners decided by the individual colleges and amounts ranging from $500 to $2,000 a year.

Earning one of these scholarships is not an easy feat. More than 2 million students take the PSAT, but out of this, only 7,500 were chosen for the merit scholarship this past year. Rocky Mount Academy, however, has had several students earn scholarship money through the NMSQT. Most recently, the school announced that senior Ezra Moore was chosen for this particular scholarship, who said “I had to wait a very long time to hear back about the results. The anticipation was killing me, so when I finally got the letter, it was incredibly exciting”. We are so proud of you Ezra, and this was very deserved!