All Segerstrom students took the PSAT or SAT this past Wednesday, October 16, 2025. Like many school-wide tests, the students would take it with their homeroom teacher, though locations may have changed for certain homerooms. For that day, Segerstrom had a half day, due to the amount of time alone the test took. Though, students have the beneficial opportunity of being able to take these tests for free, when PSAT and SAT tests are generally sixty-eight dollars.
The question remains: what value lies in taking the PSAT or SAT, and is it important to do well on either? This question often arises for Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors, since the PSATs are not considered in college applications. While, yes, the PSATs are not added to college applications, they still prepare students for the SAT and can give the student a chance to earn a scholarship. The PSAT is structured like the SAT to give students the best chance to succeed on the final test their senior year, having a module on reading and writing, as well as a module on math. There are 54 questions for the former, and 44 on the latter, with the English section being 64 minutes long, and the math section being 70 minutes long. This design is the same for the SAT. Given their shared structure, students can prepare mentally for the testing environment the SAT will offer, as well as get an idea of what will be tested on the SAT.
Additionally, there are scholarship opportunities. For high scoring students, there’s the possibility to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship, a corporation that details its mission as wishing to support academically talented students, and promote and support the pursuit of education. This scholarship is based on PSAT or NMSQT scores, with them generally regarding students who receive a near perfect score, 1600 or by a margin less, on the PSAT for the scholarship. Given this high bar, the National Merit Scholarship is an extremely exclusive opportunity, with around 7 thousand students out of the 3.5 million being given the financial aid. It is difficult to qualify, but considering that students who receive National Merit can qualify for full-ride scholarships at specific schools, it’s highly encouraged for students to do their best.
This outlines the importance of the PSAT, but then students question why the SAT is still necessary. Many colleges in California, including the UC system, no longer require students to report their scores on standardized tests post 2020. And, even if scores are reported, they are no longer a focus of college admissions officers.
Even with these changes, it’s still very valuable to report SAT scores, whether they’re average or not. Typically, UCs like to see SAT scores that are around 1300 or higher, as seen from the SAT average score in UC Irvine. This can seem to be a high bar to reach, but it’s also important to consider the fact that colleges often compare students’ scores with other students in their area rather than specifically looking for that 1300. In Santa Ana, the SAT average is 1040, so scores surpassing this one could aid a senior with making their college application more competitive.
With PSAT and SAT testing done for Segerstrom high school students, many have made comments related to the test. However, it’s important to remember that, as a part of the SAT testing rules that students agree to prior to the test, discussion about any College Board tests or questions that have not been explicitly made public is prohibited and could lead to the cancellation of scores. So, even if the urge to discuss the test with friends and family may be large, students must refrain from this type of talk.
PSAT and SAT scores are released around two to four weeks after the test, so expect scores around late October to mid November. While tests like these cause students a lot of stress and grief, now that it’s over there’s nothing more that can be done except to wait for scores to be released.
