Uni juniors and sophomores will take the PSAT Wednesday morning. Many students around the country, not just at Uni, look on the PSAT as a make-or-break test. But really, how important is it?

By Andrea Park
Gargoyle assistant editor
Posted Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2006, The OG, opinions

[Note: This column has been cross-posted as an entry in the Gargoyle staff blog. Click here for the entry.]

I don't understand why there is so much pressure to do well on the PSAT. So yeah, I guess if you do well on the test you get to include the flashy title of “National Merit Semifinalist” or “National Merit Scholar” on your resume, but that's about it. Only a small percentage of National Merit Scholars actually receive scholarships, and semifinalists don't receive anything except the chance to advance to finalist status.

The reason why being a National Merit Scholar or Semifinalist is hyped up so much is because students and parents alike believe that this title will be one of the major determining factors in college admissions. Also, the “projected score” is suppose to predict the outcome of our real SATs (and thus give us a range of colleges we can look at).

I, however, don't think that being a National Merit Scholar or Semifinalist will make or break your application. Think about it. Not even the SATs can define how good a student (or applicant) you are.

Certainly the PSATs should matter less. There are so many more qualities that you possess and things you have done that carry much more weight than doing well on a PRACTICE test. I'll say it again: Neither the PSATs nor SATs say anything about how good a student, applicant, or person you are!

Also, if you happen to not do well on the PSAT (God forbid), don't let that predicted score stifle your ambitions. By that I mean don't listen to your predicted score if it says that “there is no chance that you will be accepted to that awesome dream school of yours, so you might as well forget about it completely.” Gosh, we have just started junior year, and we haven't had much time to prepare, get used to, and do well on the test. There is much more room for improvement after the PSAT.

I propose that we all take a chill pill and stop stressing out about the PSAT. If you do well, great! If you don't do well, so what!