10 Last – Minute PSAT Cramming Tips

Suppose you have registered yourself for a sports activity. Would you go there without proper practice? No, right? So, how can you attempt the PSAT without preparing for it?

While PSAT cannot help you with college admissions, it can help you in preparing for the SAT and ACT. Most importantly, PSAT can let you win a National Merit Scholarship. So, it does not affect your SAT or ACT scores but your college expenses and portfolio.

What are the best tips for PSAT? How to prepare it in a few days? What are cramming PSAT tips for 2021? Do you want to know the answer to these?

Read this section to get answers to your questions till the end.

Some PSAT Tips

The PSAT is held once a year, and this makes students nervous. As it is concerned with their future studies, they try their best to get success in it. However, some smart PSAT tips can make their journey quite smooth. Some cramming PSAT tips for 2021 are given below:

1. Familiarizing with the Test:

The PSAT is similar to a standardized test. Now, you can imagine its level of difficulty. And this seems more difficult if you are a freshman or attempting it for the first time. So, please read all the instructions, know how to fill bubbles correctly, know the pattern of the paper and the number of questions, and many other details related to the PSAT.

By looking at the practice papers, you will build up your confidence. That is to say, familiarizing yourself with the PSAT before preparing for it is necessary.

2. Gather all Related Material:

Having study material and practice papers makes the preparation journey easy. These will help you learn concepts and strategies to score high on the PSAT. You can easily get all the study material online and visit the College Board website to get practice papers.

You ask your peers, friends, tutors, and teachers for help when you are stuck with any query. Many online channels and sites can also greatly help you during your PSAT preparation.

3. Solve Practice Papers:

Taking full-length PSAT practice papers will familiarize you with the exam strategies and pattern of questions. You will learn about your reading speed and how many questions you can attempt in the given duration.

The most valuable point is you get to know the types of questions you will encounter in the PSAT. Also, practice papers help you tackle which parts are your weak spots in the exam. When you solve more and more practice papers, you will find an upper hand over all these issues. This way, you can score higher on your PSAT.

4. Go Through your Answers:

It would be very helpful for you if, after solving the practice test paper, you could verify your answers. It not only lets you see your mistakes but also helps you understand where you are lacking with preparation. Analyzing yourself helps you identify your weaknesses and strengths.

The PSAT is a lengthy exam, and mastering each section is not real for every student. So, reviewing your answers and checking where you need polishing will be best.

The College Board website has many PSAT practice papers with solutions for students. You can also learn the difficulty level of the PSAT from there.

5. Practice a Lot:

Practice is necessary to achieve success. Nothing can be achieved without practice. It goes with success in PSAT also. To achieve the National Merit Scholarship goal, you must practice day and night diligently.

Regular practicing helps you get scholarships, build your portfolio, and learn various skills necessary for the PSAT.

6. Read as Much as Possible:

Evidence-based Reading is the very first section of the PSAT. After this, you will find another section on Writing and Language. Both these sections required a lot of reading work. And if you cannot work on your reading speed, you can not complete these sections within the time.

This way, you will be short of time for other sections, and it will ultimately drop your scores. Spend your extra time reading literature. Learn some reading skills. Even accommodation for reading unfamiliar text will be very helpful for you during these last minutes before PSAT.

7. Get Comfortable with the Mathematics:

During the last few minutes before the PSAT, revise all the formulas, equations, and geometrical theorems. Try to memorize them. After memorizing, write them in a notebook to check how much you have remembered.

Try to solve as many mathematics problems as you can in this period. Practice rearranging equations and other algebra sections. Make sure not to depend on the calculator too much.

8. Do not Feel Panic:

During the last moment, feeling panic is very normal. Attempting a higher level exam and fighting for the National Merit Scholarship with so many students is not so easy. Above all, you need to win this fight with other aspirants.

These all make you panic and doubt your preparations. So, do not let negativity wander around you during these moments of PSAT. Even when you attempt the PSAT, do not get nervous. Otherwise, it will affect your performance. Take a deep breath and stay calm. All you need to do is not suspect yourself and think positively.

9. Pack your Bag:

Collect all the necessary things you require for the PSAT and put them in your bag. It is a good idea to pack all your belongings before the exam night. Otherwise, there are high chances you’ll forget many important things in a hurry.

Remember to put in your admission ticket, photo ID, pencils, eraser, sharpener, watch, small water bottle, calculator, and some snacks for break time. You must not bring your highlighter, ruler, cell phone, and other electronic items to the exam hall.

10. Have a Sound Sleep and a Good Breakfast:

Having ample sleep and a good breakfast makes your mind refreshed and healthy. It lets you easily answer the questions and focus during the PSAT hours. Though these things seem unimportant, they have many advantages and an impact on your grade.

Sleep plays a critical role in relaxing your mind and retrieving your memory. As a result, it all affects your academic performance. Eat a balanced and nutritious meal and take plenty of sleep before the day of PSAT. However, please do not take too much sleep as it will make it hard for you to fall asleep.

Conclusion

Taking the PSAT is normal for students before SAT preparation and college admissions. Though you cannot get admission into a college with the aid of the PSAT, it can let you procure the National Merit Scholarship and ultimately help you with your college tuition.

The PSAT is used to determine the eligibility of students for college scholarships. If you want to make your resume better and stand out among other students during college admissions, PSAT is crucial for you. It also aids in boosting the confidence of students. The tips for PSAT can help you in governing the standardized tests.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is better to guess or to leave the question in the PSAT?

The College Board made some changes to the PSAT format in 2016. Among the few changes, one is made with the change in the negative marking scheme pattern. So, from 2016 onwards, the PSAT paper does not include any penalty or negative marking for the wrong answer.

As there is no penalty, it would be best if you could mark the answers for those questions you do not know based on your guesswork. Remember not to leave any answer blank and select a single letter to mark for all the guess answers.

2. How can I improve my PSAT scores?

Many ways can help you in improving your PSAT scores. Some tips for PSAT are given below:

• Work on your reading speed. Managing the time is very important for scoring high on the PSAT.
• Make a balance between skimming and deep reading.
• While practicing for the Reading section, ensure to read higher-level texts.
• Take notes while preparing for any PSAT section.
• Focus on those areas where you are quite weak.
• Do not forget to solve PSAT practice papers as much as possible.

3. What tips for PSAT should I use to manage my time wisely?

The duration of the PSAT is 2 hours and 45 minutes. It will be best to manage this duration wisely to earn high scores. Some tips for PSAT to manage time are given below:

• Start your paper with the simple and easiest questions.
• If you are stuck on a question for more than 2 minutes, leave it as soon as possible. It will only waste your time.
• If you do not understand the answer to any question, look for the incorrect options using the hit-and-trial method.
• Practice such questions more, which you see as time-consuming. This way, you can handle them in no time during a real PSAT test.
• Save as much time as you can to answer the difficult questions.