PSAT,The Preliminary SAT (PSAT)

PSAT/NMSQT Testing and Evaluation
Test Overview
The Preliminary SAT (PSAT) is cosponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and is also referred to as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT).
It's a College Board test to help prepare you for the SAT and can also help in winning scholarships . High School sophomores and juniors most commonly take the test.
The test combines your knowledge of past high school teachings and general reading, math, and comprehension which is evaluated and scored.
Registration
Contact your school guidance office or principal for PSAT registration forms. If you live outside the United States, then you need an English-speaking assistance to help you sign up and administer the test. If you are a student temporarily outside the U.S, you will have to put down your school code and address in a section on the answer sheet.
The test is administered in October and requires a small fee, usually around $12. There normally only two test dates, so plan ahead.
Home-school students can also take the PSAT by contacting a local high school and making arrangements. You are advised to do this as early as you can to be familiar with the guidance office and their school code.
The Use of Calculators
The use of calculators is permitted and encouraged as part of the test. Take a calculator you are used to working with. Do not buy a new one just for the test since you may run into problems and waste your valuable test time. Acceptable calculators include:
?four-function
?graphic
?scientific
All others will most likely not be allowed, so keep it simple.
Scholarship Opportunities
Since the National Merit Scholarship Corporation sponsors the test, they use the scores to find student who are worthy candidates for college scholarships. These are not regular scholarships as we commonly refer to them, but act more like scholarship referral organizations. They give colleges lists of students who high excelled and who should be given extra consideration when the college hands out scholarship funds. Hispanic and African American students benefit from this service.
Adding up and Comparing Your Scores
Critical reading, math, and writing skills are all scored together and also separated for better analysis. Each subsection score ranges fro 0 to 80. The Selection Index is the sum of all sections, and ranges from 60 to 240. The average score for high school juniors is around 147.

Need to Take a SAT Subject Test?
The Difference between the Regular Reasoning Test
The Reasoning Test, commonly known plainly as The SAT, covers many topics. Topic specific tests are the SAT Subject Tests. Here is a list of the subject areas for the tests:
Science
- Biology E/M
- Chemistry
- Physics
Mathematics
- Mathematics Level I
- Mathematics Level II
History and Social Studies
- U.S. History
- World History
English
- Literature
Languages
- Chinese with Listening
- French
- French with Listening
- German
- German with Listening
- Spanish
- Spanish with Listening
- Modern Hebrew
- Italian
- Latin
- Japanese with Listening
- Korean with Listening

Some tests require certain tools. It's understood that you can bring a calculator to a math subject test and a portable CD player with headphones for a language listening test.
Which One to Take?
Contact the college or university that you want to attend and find out if they require any subject tests dealing with your chosen major. If you need to test, choose your high school courses that relate to the Subject Test. It's wise to take the test a soon as you have completed your related high school course so the information is still fresh in your head.
Each test consists of multiple choice questions and the time limit is one hour. If your college does not require any Subject Testing, it only helps to show your knowledge on a particular subject which may help your admission status and course placement.
Tips for the Language Tests
The test administrators advise only to take a language test if you have had at least two years of study at a high school level. Naturally, you should perform better with more experience. It's up to you to decide on which type of test to take; listening or reading. Listening tests usually require more skill and may be seen as the more prestigious of the two.