On Thursday, October 19, a couple members of the class of 2026 took the new and refined PSAT. 

The now-seniors were shocked when they heard about the new digital PSAT the sophomores were taking. The formats are all different, with the writing and reading sections mashed together and a supposedly greater time given per question.

A general question surrounding this topic is: Why do people even take the PSAT during their sophomore year? The school has stressed the optionality of the test, yet some 10th graders chose to spend their money and take the grueling 3 hour test.  “Why not take it?” Nigel, a junior, said when asked why he took PSAT last year, “I mean, you get some experience and you can see where you are in terms of reading/writing/math before the actual SAT”. 

Sonia Chu, another junior, has very different views: “taking the PSAT during sophomore year is useless, why waste $25 to take a practice test at school when you can do it for free at home?”

Both sides of the coin have practical arguments and neither regret their decision. In actuality, the trend of PSAT takers at BHS has decreased significantly from last year to this year’s sophomore class. “Class of 2025 is highly competitive, that’s why last year a whole lotta sophomores took it,” a junior stated, trying to explain the gap between this year and the last. 

For people who took the PSAT, and for future takers, Nigel offers some last piece of advice: “It’s just a test of durability and focus, you sit for three hours and do the best you can. Just remember to focus in the end.”