Every fall, high school juniors have the opportunity to partake in the PSAT/NMSQT tests in order to qualify for National Merit Scholarships. By performing exceptionally well, students can be selected as National Merit Scholars—a title that grants them a $2,500 scholarship for college and a high-status achievement on their applications. The process to become a finalist is extensive, requiring you to score in the top 50,000 test takers, submit an application, and be selected among applicants to receive the official title. Westmont High School is fortunate enough to have five semifinalists in our 2027 graduating class: Kristin Anthony, Ayaan Raza, Eleni Sismani, Peihan Yu, and Ellie Zhou.
Questions:
- How does this feel?
- Did you feel prepared going into the test? Were you surprised at your score?
- What did you do to study? Any advice for juniors going into the PSAT?
- What do you plan to do after high school?
Kristin Anthony:
- I feel like nothing has really changed. I don’t know, I don’t really feel accomplished. The PSAT has a lot of luck involved, and I know people more qualified than me that didn’t get it.
- I guess prepared, I did fine on the SAT before, and the PSAT was supposed to be easier. It was chill.
- Lot’s of practice questions; all the College Board questions bank questions. The only way to improve is practice questions.
- I don’t know. Get super rich!
Ayaan Raza:
- It was very interesting. I did not expect 1500 to be qualifying in California.
- I was pretty prepared, and I wasn’t too surprised at my score.
- For math, drill Desmos. For English, learn the patterns and questions; they all follow the same format.
- I plan to become a researcher at any research institute.
Eleni Sismani:
- It’s cool! I like how a lot of people who got it were my friends. I got more confident in my test taking ability, and I appreciate the academic scholarships that come with it.
- I was prepared. I’d taken the SAT 2-3 times beforehand, and I’d taken the PSAT in sophomore year, too. I don’t usually get test anxiety, but it was cool because it was in a school environment and I was around people I knew.
- I would say I would review the Khan Academy punctuation rules because the rules are always the same. It’s something you can rely on and are basically free points. The PSAT/National Merit values English more than math, so I would just prioritize English. For math, you don’t have to go too hardcore into Desmos, as long as you can use your pattern recognition.
- I want to major in mechanical engineering and get a bachelors. Specifically, I like manufacturing stuff.
Peihan Yu:
- Very happy, very surprised.
- I was very surprised. I didn’t study for it. I got a satisfied SAT score before this so I didn’t think of this as a big deal.
- I guess just don’t feel too stressed. Take it more like an experience.
- I’m probably gonna go to college. Depends on future career goals, so I will see if I will go to a master program or just work.
Ellie Zhou:
- I’m also very happy.
- I guess I felt pretty prepared, but the test was surprising, so I wasn’t expecting it after I came out of the test.
- Do practice problems. When you’re actually taking the test don’t stress out, just be in the zone.
- Probably go to college and go to work after that. Something engineering or computer related.