Wednesday, October 12th could be described as Preuss students’ most stressful or uneventful day, depending on how well prepared the students were. From 8:55 AM to 12:30 PM, grades 8, 9, 10, and 11 headed to their advisory class and awaited their teacher’s directions in order to begin taking the test. When the clock struck 12:30 pm, student’s time to take the test was up and were dismissed for lunch.

A week prior to taking the PSAT, advisory teachers gave their students a heads up as to what to expect on this day. Teachers had provided their students with a preparation packet that worked as a study guide. This was the first time something like this was readily available to Preuss students, which made taking the PSAT that much simpler.

“This was my first time taking the PSATs at Preuss and I was pretty well prepared. Some questions were hard, but I got through it,” admitted Eliel Jimenez (26’).

Like most ninth graders even outside Preuss, this was the first time Jimenez had taken a full standardized exam since most high schools don’t offer this opportunity to their students. If these high school freshmen were well prepared for the practice SAT, then we can imagine that they will be much better prepared for the real thing.

“What was going through my head while I was taking the test was ‘oh, I know this’,” Jimenez said (26’). “Ms. Chovy did a good job preparing us; it honestly felt like any other test.”

Despite the long hours and short breaks, students felt confident when taking the test. Many even finished early and focused on doing other work for other classes, or used their free time to go to the bathroom and get a drink of water.

“I feel that the SATs are very necessary; it opens up so many more opportunities for our students,” Art teacher Ms. Tamima Noorzay said.

As of March in 2022, the majority of American colleges and universities no longer require SAT scores or consider them for admission. However, some colleges, like Harvard and Columbia, do take in the scores into account should applicants choose to submit them. People who don’t submit them won’t be at a disadvantage, but they do help with placement and it is more likely that students who include their SAT score are accepted.

“I think the best part about preparing for the PSAT was looking through the study guide, that’s probably the only reason they handled it so well,” joked Ms. Noorzay.

Students give their thanks to their advisory teachers—and study guide—for how well they were prepared for the test. Tenth graders admit that they had an easier time answering the questions than they did in ninth grade, and are overall confident that they will do an even better job with the SAT’s.