“Five minutes left!”

Every year these are the words that have PSAT takers scrambling to fill in their remaining blank bubbles, but there will be no frantic bubble-filling this year.

For the first time, BHS is administrating the PSAT digitally, and not every student is happy about it. Tatum Carrington, a junior, is one of them.

“I think my score’s going to be a lot worse than last year because it’s online,” Carrington said.

Carrington shared concerns that it will be harder to focus on computers and worries students will not “perform as well as they want us to” due to the change. Some of her concerns are for students with ADHD and light sensitivity issues, but the new test-taking method will also interfere with Carrington’s regular testing routines.

“I like to work backwards and I label all my questions with a star or a plus and a minus based on how well I think I did on it so I can go back and view it later,” said Carrington.

However, despite her displeasure with the new system, Carrington also said that some people are “really excited” about the change. Junior Maya Taylor is one of those people.

“Personally, the PSAT being online is much more convenient for me,” said Taylor, “because I’m a slow test-taker and being on a computer makes me feel more organized. It will also be quicker to just pick an answer rather than worrying about filling in the scantron.”

Going digital can have its technological issues, and Taylor said that there could always be problems with bad Wi-Fi or a computer acting up. However, she reminded us that the paper version had its flaws as well.

“Scantrons and having to fill them out and erase them is the biggest issue,” said Taylor. “If you decide to change your answer you have to take time to erase it and make sure there’s no marks. Computer allows you to easily change it.”

Maya hopes the new system will go “smoothly” and allow her to go “quicker” to get a better score, and she thinks other students will also see the change positively.

“I think most people will think the change is more convenient and allows for faster test taking which takes away some built up stress,” Taylor said.

Taylor is looking forward to the new version of the test and she hopes “the change is good for everyone.”