By Kara Parker

Staff Writer

    High school comes with so many new and important choices to make, placing a lot of pressure on us. Some of the biggest decisions are about college and our futures. In the past months, many tests have been administered, and I overheard many conversations revolving around what grade someone got, or how someone feels like the PSAT and PreACT are pointless, but I’ll tell you, they have plenty of value. 

    It’s important to start off by noting the big key differences between the PSAT and PreACT. The PreACT has a science section that tests students on their ability to read and interpret data; however, the PSAT has no such section. The PSAT is a good opportunity for students to get scholarships, like the National Merit Scholarship given out by the College Board. The PreACT gives students deep feedback about how to improve and even makes suggestions for possible career options. 

    “The PreACT is a practice ACT, and because you get such a detailed printout of scores, of the questions you missed, recommendations of resources for you to study for the ACT: I think that helps,” Melanie Langley, the assistant principal at R.J. Reynolds High School in charge of testing, said. 

    The next important information to note is that the PSAT is optional, whereas the PreACT is required, not by the school, but by the state. Because of this, students don’t have to take both if they don’t want to; however, I believe that if you plan on going to college, taking both practice exams can be crucial to success. 

    Imagine you take the PreACT during your sophomore year, and after comparing your score to other students’ scores, you discover that it leaves much to be desired. During junior year, you don’t take the PSAT, but take the ACT, again discovering that your scores are below average. Now, though, since you are in your junior year, it’s too late to take the PSAT, leaving you without the option to see what the SAT would be like. By doing this, you could’ve just thrown away your whole college admission process and all because you didn’t want to take one little test. 

     “If [students] are trying to get into some of the more competitive schools, I would take both [tests] and then if I had a choice of which one to report, I would go with my highest,” Langley said. 

    If you plan on attending college after high school, especially if you want to go to a more competitive school, it is important to take multiple tests to have the greatest possible chance of getting into your choice school. 

    If you’re not sure what the best thing to do is, here’s a good prescription to follow. First, take the PreACT and PSAT in the fall of sophomore year; then, take the ACT in the spring of Junior year. Finally, after looking at your scores, you can decide if you’ve taken the best test for you. If you haven’t and think the SAT might be better, then you should take it and be done with your college application testing journey.  This way, you can do the best possible thing for yourself and set yourself up for a great college application process.