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important is going to be subconsciously influenced by this number. It categorizes your application in the admissions officer’s mind as “smart kid” or “dumb kid.” It has an impact on the way an admissions officer interprets virtually everything else on your application.
    A long time ago, we asked Jim Wroth, then a sophomore at Yale, what his combined math and verbal scores were on the SAT. He said 1760. When we responded that it’s impossible to score above 1600 (because it was at the time), he explained that he has Yale relatives who date back to the year 1760, so it didn’t really matter what his scores were.
What about the PSAT?
    If you’ve already taken the PSAT and you didn’t study for it, don’t read this. It will only depress you.
    The PSAT follows a format similar to the SAT, but it supposedly contains fewer of the most difficult questions, and it’s only two hours and ten minutes instead of three hours and 45 minutes. As in the SAT, you’ll see math (two 25-minute sections), critical reading (two 25-minute sections), and writing (one 30-minute section). Quantitative comparisons and analogies from the old PSAT have been eliminated and short reading passages have been added. You won’t, however, see any of the third-year college preparatory math that will be on the SAT (though some of the questions will require higher-level skills than the old PSAT did). The PSAT’s writing section will mirror the SAT’s writing section, but the ETS is reserving the real torture and pain for the actual SAT:
There is no official essay on the PSAT
. They are
too
kind! Another difference is that, while SAT does not have a
P
as its first letter, PSAT does. Here’s why ...
    The
P
in PSAT stands for three things. The first is easy—
P
reliminary. The PSAT is a preliminary look at the real SAT. It’s a sneak preview of what the real thing is going to be like and a good chance to practice (which also begins with a P . . .). In fact, your PSAT score report will come with your test book and a computer printout telling you, for each question, the correct answer, your answer, and the level of difficulty of the question. You can use this information to help prepare for the SAT.
    A good score on the PSAT makes you eligible for all sorts of scholarship programs, the most famous of which is the National Merit Scholarship Program.
    But the PSAT is more than just a chance to practice. The second thing the
P
stands for is
P
rograms, as in scholarshi
p
s and special
p
rograms. A good score on the PSAT makes you eligible for all sorts of scholarship programs, the most famous of which is the National Merit Scholarship Program. The National Merit Scholarship is based on your
selection index
, which is your math score plus your critical reading score plus your writing score. Recognition by the National Merit Program is a big plus on your college applications and it can even win you some money. The top 50,000 scorers are recognized by the Merit Program. The top 16,000 scorers become semifinalists, and 15,000 of
them
become finalists. About 8,200 of the finalists get big bucks toward college.Sometimes, even if you don’t become a finalist, or you’re not one of the finalists to receive a scholarship from the National Merit Corporation, you still may be eligible to get money from one of your parents’ companies. Also, if you score well on the PSAT but don’t make the final cut, some colleges still might offer you scholarships to attend their school—they can get bragging rights to educating the greatest number of National Merit semifinalists or finalists, and you get your college education for less than you planned on spending—sometimes for free. This program is described in depth in the “PSAT/NMSQT Student Bulletin,” which also lists the corporate and college sponsors of the program. You can pick up a copy in any guidance counselor’s office.
    The third thing the
P
stands for is A
pp
lications. The ETS says the PSAT is not used