Students who took the PSAT/NMSQT are awaiting the release of their scores on the College Board website Tuesday. With college admissions becoming harder each year, it has also impacted the qualifying score for the NMSQT.

“There is a specific index calculated from the score components (English and Math) that is used to determine if a student qualifies for National Merit,” Testing Coordinator Rebecca Matoska said.

Despite this being Matoska’s first year as the testing coordinator, the expectations for students qualifying for the NMSQT remain the same.

“I [expect] to see a similar number of students with scores likely to make them semi-finalists for the NMSQT Anywhere from five to 10 kids,” she said.

Junior Anjani Sharma said she doesn’t feel like she was able to perform at her best.

“I wish I studied more, especially since I am a junior,” Sharma said. “But I did study for the SAT over the summer. I would have studied more, but the first quarter was really busy for me.”

Sharma said she thinks the PSAT is getting increasingly competitive, especially considering West Shore’s rigor.

“More people want to get the National Merit [scholarship] so there’s more emphasis to do as well as we can,” she said. “It’s good to prioritize the PSAT so you can do well on the SAT.”

Sophomore Allison Gunnel also pointed out the competitiveness surrounding the test.

“This school puts so much pressure on their students to do things such as the PSAT and do well where it can definitely be stressful and competitive,” Gunnel said. “I think as the years go on, more and more people are hoping to gain this scholarship because of the pressure put upon them by West Shore, so it definitely is more competitive than before.”

By Sophia Fetouh