It’s that time of year when juniors are preparing (or not!) to take the PSAT, a test which can can lead to National Merit scholarships. Read on if you’d like tips from some of this year’s National Merit Semifinalists from St. Paul Academy and Summit School. They’ll address standardized testing, the college application process, and studying from their experiences in high school thus far.

On Standardized Tests:

“When taking a test, trust your instincts. Questioning is good, but over-thinking is not.” -Brian Heilig

“Reading throughout my childhood and adolescence helped me learn new words or at least, understand how to determine a word’s meaning from its roots. Taking practice tests helped me get a feel for the timing of the test, and my own pace for answering the questions.” -Julia Hansen

“Do lots of practice tests! Every time you do, you improve your efficiency and start to recognize similar questions.”- Sandhya Ramachandran

“Study, but don’t study at the last minute and don’t drown yourself in studying. Study for say 15 minutes to half an hour everyday for two weeks before the test and you should be golden.”-Ian Sussna

On College Applications:

“GET GOING ON YOUR ESSAY EARLY. All the deadlines sneak up on you during senior year!!” Emmeline Prozinski

On Studying:

“Whenever you are stuck on something or confused, there are resources everywhere, including your teachers, your classmates and the internet (Bozeman Biology, Khan Academy, and Crash Course are particularly helpful). Use them to stay on top of and understand things throughout the year, instead of cramming for every test.” -Neerja Thakkar.

“ It really pays to stay well-organized and have access to all of your old class notes and assignments. Studying from class material works much better than only referring back to the textbook.” -Thomas Toghramadjian

“Two things that you can do to prepare for standardized tests are read for enjoyment and study language intently.” Eva Perez Greene