Information Regarding Some Of The Better Known PSAT Study Guides

Official PSAT Study Guides

Amidst all the chaos and activity of a student’s school-life, he/she is also expected to have a clear thought process on his/her future plans. This involves a plan and a step-by-step execution of the plan. Often a student begins with deciding what they want to be or what colleges they want to get into based on their interests and inclinations. These colleges and universities require students to appear for nationalized competitive examinationss like SAT or ACT and when in school, students take the PSAT to get a proper idea of what competitive exams are all about.

PSAT is the kind of exam that gives students a fair idea of where they stand in terms of the skills they have learnt at school and how well they apply these. The next obvious step is – preparation! To get help, students often lookout for the best guide. Although, it would be incorrect to deem any one guide as the best and therefore here is a list of the top 3 study guides to help students make an informed decision while selecting a guide.

1. Princeton Review’s Cracking the PSAT/NMSQTAvailable to students on Princeton Review’s website, Cracking the PSAT/NMSQT 2012 Edition has a lot of preparatory material for the test-takers. This book has two full-length practice tests for the students, along with individual reviews of all the three components of the test, namely, math, critical reading and writing skills. Detailed explanations and all the information about the National Merit Scholarship Program are also available in this guide. To help improve the vocabulary of the students, this book has an exclusive “Hit Parade” of key vocabulary words. At less than $15, this book is trusted not only by test takers but also by academicians and school teachers who help train students.
2. Gruber’s Complete PSAT/NMSQT Guide 2014This book is written by Dr. Gary Gruber who is renowned for having devised a model to help students prepare for the PSAT in an efficient manner. This book consists of a number of tips and strategies that will help you excel in the examination. It consists of 3 full-length mock tests, which you can take under conditions similar to the actual  test. Other than that, this book also consists of 101 questions on various concepts of Mathematics. The answer key of this book consists of elaborate explanations and not just the correct answer. The book is priced at $11.07 and can be purchased from Amazon.
3. Barron’s PSAT/NMSQTSpread over six sections, this book is available to students from Barron’s online store at under $ 16. Providing all kinds of information to the students, this guide has relevant data on the NMSC programs, a diagnostic test to help the test-taker see his/her weaknesses and correct them, three separate sections on Writing skills, Math and Critical Reading and 4 practice tests. It also has a small section called ‘After PSAT/NMSQT’ which is important for an applicant from the point of view of college applications and admissions, as this is often the next step an applicant takes after taking the test.

While purchasing a book, an applicant must keep in mind what he/she needs from it. Not all study guides offer all the help needed for a test. Relevant information regarding the NMSC, targeted practice on individual components of the test and plenty of practice tests are elements of a good book. Additional nuggets of information like college application aid, essay writing tips, vocabulary help and how to learn math formulas quickly are also good aspects of a study guide. Therefore, an applicant should keep all these in mind while buying a book.