I'm taking the psat's for the first time next month. can anyone who has already taken a psat give me some advice?
(what to expect? best way to prepare? how to not be nervous? anything else you wish you would have known)

in advanced : )

I took my PSATs in November. I recommend buying several books related to the PSAT. On the reading test, read the questions first and then read the passage. Be confident in yourself. DEFINITELY STUDY YOUR VOCAB! I cannot stress this enough. For the grammar/writing portion, to study for it, make a list of errors, this way you will learn what to look for. If you can afford it, I would suggest going to a PSAT learning center, because this is what I did a year before my PSAT and my scores were pretty good. Know the format, and practice a couple weeks before as if it were the actual test. Always guesss if you don't know since there is no negative marking.When reading think about main ideas, and don't overcomplicate things by focusing on details. Learn certain words that will never be right, and how to be certain when to choose other.

The paced decision model is a tool that can be used in a variety of situationsit should clarify one's alternative and criteriapaced decision-making processused to solve problems in a rational, systematic way- state the problem- list the alternatives- identify criteria- evaluate alternatives- make a decisionstep 1 - problem: the first step is to state the problem. what car should i buy? step 2 - alternatives: list some likely alternativesstep 3 - criteria: the next step is to establish criteria - what is the most important to you. (these criteria need to be state din positive terms, i.e., stated as you what you want.) ex costs less than $4000; gets at least 25 mpg,; seats at least 4; has ac;   step 4 - evaluate each alternative by comparing it to criterion. if an alternative meets a criterion, pus a + in that box - if not put a -. at the end look to see which alternative meets your most important criteria. (some criteria will be more important than others. those may be given greater weight. and, if an alternative costs more than $4000, it probably won't matter if there is a + in all the other boxes.)step 5 - decide: based on the insights gained, make a choice. be sure to explain that it won't always be the one with the most +'s - since some criteria count more than othersthe strength of this tool lies in the ability of each student to determine their own criteria for evaluation