On the morning of October 10th, roughly twenty Haldane seniors took the SAT. At the same time, the sophomore and junior classes took a shorter, introductory version called the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualification Test, or the PSAT/NMSQT.
Both exams were held at the school. Specifically, the SAT was held in Room 211 at the High School. The PSAT was held in the small gym/auditorium and several rooms in the High School. Some of the school’s faculty proctored at the testing locations.
Both of these tests are very prominent, especially the SAT (which currently does not stand for anything). According to a 2025 report by the College Board, which conducts the two exams, more than two million students who graduated in 2025 took the SAT. In New York state, about 127,000 of those students took the exam.
However, according to FairTest, more than 2,000 U.S. colleges are test-optional, meaning that SAT or ACT scores are not required for admission. So, why do we still take the SAT?
Guidance Counselor Amanda Cotchen gave a couple of reasons. “Especially for students who are looking at those more competitive schools, it’s incredibly important,” she emphasized. Many of those schools are requiring test scores again, after becoming test-optional during the pandemic.
SAT scores aren’t limited to only college admissions. “Even if the school is test-optional, scholarships may require it,” Cotchen explained.
With low-acceptance schools and scholarship programs requiring the SAT, it remains relevant to perform well on it. This year, seniors Seth Lunin-Pack and William O’Hara scored higher than 1500 (the maximum score being 1600), and they explained how they studied for the exam.
Practice tests played a significant role in their studying. O’Hara’s rationale was “to make sure I was used to the formatting,” since the exam became fully digital in March 2024.
Lunin-Pack added that practice exams helped pinpoint his weaknesses. “I looked at the specific areas I need to improve on, and looked into what that meant, what kind of problems would be in that, and tried to familiarize myself more with that topic,” he said.
The two took their practice exams on Bluebook, the official application used to take the SAT and PSAT.
Overall, the SAT is a crucial aspect of college admissions, but the PSAT is a slightly different assessment.
Cotchen explains the PSAT is a practice SAT, meaning “it’s designed for 10th and 11th graders.” However, for 11th graders in particular, the exam also serves as a National Merit Scholarship Qualification Test. Hence, the full name of the test, PSAT/NMSQT.
“It is to determine eligibility for the national merit scholarship,” Cotchen says. Based on a student’s score, they can be a Commended Scholar, meaning they aren’t eligible but are still recognized for scoring high on the exam, or they can be a Semi-Finalist, who then applies to the National Merit Program.
There are three types of awards: the one-time National Merit $2,500 scholarships; the Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, where Finalists receive a one-time payment of $2,500 to $10,000 or a four-year renewable award from $500 to $10,000 per year by a sponsored corporation; and College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, where Finalists receive a four-year renewable award from $500 to $2,000 by a sponsored college.
