The 2020 PSAT is this Thursday, conducted physically at Herndon High School. Here are some simple tips to get the highest score possible!
Starting off, work through all the easiest questions that don’t require too much thought. It’s perfectly okay to skip over questions that are difficult or way too time consuming. Once you’ve got the easy ones out of the way, go back and work through the questions that are doable, but time consuming. Then, lastly, tackle the hardest ones. Don’t waste valuable time on one hard question.
There’s no rule that says you have to do the questions in order. Your main goal when taking the test shouldn’t be to finish the test in order, but to score as many points as possible. Importantly however, you cannot work on a section other than the one you’ve been instructed to work on.
When working on a specific problem, eliminate the options that you know aren’t right. Determining the outlier boosts your chances of getting the right answer.
Don’t worry about colleges using PSAT scores to make admission decisions. A high PSAT score can help you get noticed by colleges, but a terrible score won’t have a negative effect on decisions. Remember that there’s not a wrong-answer penalty on the PSAT. Meaning, there’s no reason to leave an answer blank. Even if you have to guess, there’s still a chance you could get it right. The PSAT isn’t the same as any other test in school. The main emphasis of the PSAT is for students to work through problems quickly and efficiently. The Reading and Math Sections last for fifty minutes each, and the Writing Section lasts for thirty.