Difference Between PSAT and SAT: Taking a Deeper Look

• SAT questions have higher difficulty levels. They are taken mainly before undergraduate college application deadlines, or you can appear for them in the 11th or 12th grade. 
• PSAT questions have comparatively lower difficulty levels since they are preparatory. 

• SAT  scores have a range of 400-1600
• PSAT scores have a range of 320-1520

• SAT is an examination spread over almost four hours, including the optional essay section. The SAT Essay is 50 minutes and the SAT is 180 minutes long. The PSAT takes 2 hours and 45 minutes. 
• SAT has more questions than PSAT. It has 154 questions as compared to 139 for the PSAT. 
• The SAT comes with an optional Essay section, which is absent from the PSAT. 
• The no-calculator portion of the SAT Math exam has 20 questions (15 multiple-choice and 5 grid-in questions) to be completed in 25 minutes. The PSAT has 17 questions (13 multiple-choice and 4 grid-in questions) with a 25 minutes timeline. 

• SAT helps in evaluating readiness for undergraduate admissions. Universities and colleges use it for admission decisions. 
• PSAT is not used for any admission decisions. It offers an idea of how the student will fare on the SAT and is used as the foundation for the national merit scholarship qualifying test for U.S. citizens. 

• Both examinations use the paper and pencil format. However, the College Board is on its way to making a digital transition. The SAT and PSAT will become digital tests for March 2023 and Fall 2023, respectively. The entire SAT suite will be digital from spring 2024. 
• Both examinations have Reading, Writing and Language, and Math sections. 
• Both examinations have no-calculator questions in the Math section. 

• The Reading sections in both examinations have passages from world literature, U.S. founding document or a Great Global Conversation text, social sciences (economics, psychology, or sociology), and science (works that investigate foundational aspects in biology, earth sciences, physics, or chemistry). 
• The Writing sections in both examinations have a mix of narrative and argumentative passages. 
• The Math sections in both examinations focus on Algebra, Data Analysis and Problem Solving, and Advanced Mathematics with complex equations. 

• The composite score (the total of the Evidence-based Reading and Writing, and Math sections) is generated in both exams.  

• Wrong answers do not bear any penalties for both examinations. 

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