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.

Alien
aren’t we all ; )