During their junior year of high school, AAPS students are required to take the SAT, a standardized test used for college admissions, to graduate. However, before you take the test, you have to take three different Preliminary SAT tests during your freshman and sophomore years, as well as at the beginning of junior year. Recently, Community’s juniors took their final PSAT before they take the real test next spring.

Students seem to think the test is very helpful for preparing for the SAT, or for their next PSAT.

“I thought it went better for me than it did last year,” junior Molly Maloy said.

In fact, scores from the PSAT specify which questions were incorrect; this can be used to study for certain parts of the SAT.

“You can link your scores to Khan Academy, so I think that’s something I’ll definitely utilize for math,” junior Morgan Fitzgerald said.

Unlike the SAT, students don’t get particularly stressed about studying for or taking the PSAT.

“I wasn’t too stressed out about studying for it, because it’s just the practice SAT, so it’s not really that important,” Maloy said.

While the PSAT is just a practice test, earning a good score on the SAT requires a good amount of studying.

“I’m definitely gonna study at least a little bit, just because it does matter in life, rather than just the PSAT,” junior Eli Shavit said.

However, there are a few changes that students wish they could make to the PSAT.

“I would really like it if they could just make it later in the day so I don’t have to get up super early,” Shavit said.

A common complaint among students is feeling tired throughout the school day due to having to wake up early.

“I almost fell asleep during one of the reading sections, but I finished early for most of them, so I got really tiny naps in between,” Fitzgerald said.