# Is it too early for me to start studying for the SAT?

**URL:** <https://experthub.prepscholar.com/t/is-it-too-early-for-me-to-start-studying-for-the-sat/7642>\
**Category:** Answers\
**Tags:** psat, sophomore, junior, nmsqt, satprep, sat\
**Created:** [March 11, 2016, 5:56am UTC](https://experthub.prepscholar.com/t/is-it-too-early-for-me-to-start-studying-for-the-sat/7642 "2016-03-11T05:56:31Z")\
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**Author:** ![sam\_prepscholar](https://experthub.prepscholar.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@sam\_prepscholar](https://experthub.prepscholar.com/u/sam_prepscholar)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 6:34am UTC](https://experthub.prepscholar.com/t/is-it-too-early-for-me-to-start-studying-for-the-sat/7642/2 "2016-03-11T06:34:13Z")

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**If you're hoping to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship through your PSAT scores, it would be wise to start studying over the summer.** You should [take a PSAT practice test](https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/practice/full-length-practice-test) first to assess your current score level. You can use the results to decide how much time you want to devote to studying.

If you're below [the qualifying threshold for the National Merit Scholarship](http://collegeadmissions.testmasters.com/psat-scores-cut-national-merit-2016/), work on understanding your mistakes and doing practice questions in your weak areas before taking any more practice tests. If you're already scoring very high, you can just take a few additional practice tests over the summer to get more familiar with the format before you take the real test in October. **The PSAT is similar to the SAT content-wise, so you should be able to make a smooth transition into preparing for the slightly longer test in the time between October and January/March.**

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