FAQ
Questions about the PSAT
Everything students ask us about the PSAT/NMSQT and about how our practice tests work.
- How long is the PSAT/NMSQT?
- 98 questions in 134 minutes of testing — two hours and fourteen minutes — plus a 10-minute break between the Reading and Writing section and the Math section. It is split into four modules, each with its own clock. When a module's time runs out it closes, finished or not. Our practice tests are timed exactly the same way.
- Is the PSAT the same as the SAT?
- Almost. Since the move to digital testing, the PSAT/NMSQT and the SAT have the same structure — four adaptive modules, 98 questions, 134 minutes — the same question types, the same calculator and reference sheet, and the same Bluebook app. The differences are the score scale (320–1520 instead of 400–1600), a slightly lower difficulty ceiling, and the National Merit Selection Index that only the PSAT/NMSQT produces. Practice for one is practice for the other.
- Do I get a score and a Selection Index?
- Yes — estimated ones. The moment you finish you see an estimated total from 320 to 1520, a 160–760 estimate for each section with a likely range, and the National Merit Selection Index those section scores give: Reading and Writing twice, plus Math, divided by ten, on a 48–228 scale. Only College Board can produce an official score for a real test form, so treat ours as a close estimate for tracking progress, not a guarantee.
- What score do I need for National Merit?
- National Merit is decided by the Selection Index, not the total, and only on the PSAT/NMSQT taken in eleventh grade. Commended Student recognition has needed an index in the low-to-mid 200s in recent years, and the Semifinalist cut-off is set state by state, usually somewhere from the low 200s to the low 220s. National Merit Scholarship Corporation publishes the exact figures each year. Our National Merit page explains how it works.
- Are your practice tests adaptive like the real PSAT?
- Yes. Every test has two versions of each Module 2, a harder one and an easier one, just like the real PSAT/NMSQT. How you do on Module 1 of a section decides which one you get, and you are not told which while you are testing. Your estimated score then reflects the route: the harder module is the only way to the top of the scale. College Board does not publish exactly where it draws the line between the two, so ours is an estimate from its official practice tests.
- Can I use a calculator?
- Yes, on both Math modules, just like the real test. Ours is a graphing calculator with a scientific keypad: graph equations, find where lines cross, read a vertex or a zero, and do arithmetic, powers, roots and trig. The Math reference sheet is one click away too.
- What kinds of questions are included?
- Every kind the PSAT/NMSQT uses. Reading and Writing has words in context, text structure and purpose, paired texts, central ideas, textual and quantitative evidence (with data tables), inferences, punctuation and grammar, transitions and rhetorical synthesis from notes. Math has multiple choice and student-produced responses, where you type your own answer, across algebra, advanced math, data analysis and geometry and trigonometry.
- What happens when I finish a test?
- You get your estimated score and Selection Index straight away, a breakdown by module and by each of the eight content domains College Board reports on, and how long you spent. Then a question-by-question review shows your answer, the correct answer, a written explanation, the reason each wrong option is wrong, and a strategy tip.
- Can I pause a test and come back to it?
- Your answers save automatically, so closing the tab loses nothing — but the module clock keeps running, exactly as on test day. That is deliberate: practicing under real time pressure is most of the value. Start a test when you have about two and a half hours clear.
- How many times can I take each test?
- As many times as you like. A test you have bought stays yours, with unlimited retakes. Retaking a test after studying its explanations is a good way to check the lesson stuck — just remember a second attempt at the same questions will score higher than a fresh paper would.
- Which PSAT is this for?
- The PSAT/NMSQT, taken in the fall by most tenth and eleventh graders, and the PSAT 10, taken in the spring. They are the same test with the same timing and scale; only the PSAT/NMSQT taken in eleventh grade counts for National Merit. The PSAT 8/9 is a shorter test on a different scale, and these tests are harder than it.
- What is a good PSAT score?
- For an eleventh grader, a total a little under 1000 is about average, 1100 puts you in roughly the top quarter, and 1300 or more in the top 5%. If you are aiming at National Merit, watch your Selection Index rather than your total — and because the PSAT and SAT share a scale, your PSAT score is a good early read on your SAT.
- Can I get a refund?
- No. All sales are final. You receive every question, answer and explanation the instant you pay, and digital material cannot be handed back — a refund would simply be a free copy of the product. That is why we give away a free practice quiz and answer any question before you buy. Subscriptions can be canceled at any time and access runs to the end of the period you have paid for, but payments already taken are not refunded.
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. Everything runs in your browser on a laptop, tablet or phone, and your answers save automatically. For the real exam you will use College Board's Bluebook app, which you install separately before test day.