4.2 Connections for 9th Graders

Score delivery and Connections™ are easy to mix up because both can show up around the same Bluebook screens. They are not the same program. Scores exist whether or not a student opts into Connections. Connections is a free, voluntary College Board program that, when it is offered, sends 9th graders information about certain nonprofit colleges, scholarship providers, and government education agencies. This independent OpenExamPrep section restates the 2026–27 Student Guide and the PSAT 8/9 Testing Rules in student language. It is not a sign-up form, and OpenExamPrep does not operate Connections.

The grade rule that matters most

The Student Guide is blunt: 9th graders taking the PSAT 8/9 may have access to Connections; it is not available to 8th graders taking the test. That is the rule families need before rumors start in the hallway.

• An 8th grader who takes PSAT 8/9 still gets a score report, still may use BigFuture School if age 13+ in the United States, and still may see Career Insights Snapshot. That student cannot opt into Connections on this test.
• A 9th grader who takes PSAT 8/9 may see an opt-in during Bluebook exam setup if the school, district, or state has not turned the program off.
• If the Connections screen does not appear, treat that as the live answer for that sitting. Testing Rules say opt-in is available only if the program is available in the student's state, district, and/or school and the student is in 9th grade.

College Board's educator materials currently also note that Connections is not available in New York. Elsewhere, a school, district, or state can still disable it. Do not assume a cousin's school in another state has the same screen.

Optional means optional

Nothing about receiving a PSAT 8/9 score requires joining Connections. The Testing Rules call it free and voluntary. A 9th grader can:

• Skip the opt-in on test day and still receive scores
• Opt in during Bluebook setup
• Opt in later in the BigFuture School app if the program is available
• Opt out later even after opting in

Opt-out routes listed in the Student Guide and Testing Rules:

• Bluebook during exam setup (including an opt-out if the student is already in Connections)
• An opt-out feature in the BigFuture School app
• College Board customer service at 866-630-9305

Students can also keep Connections on while turning off a single channel (for example, in-app content or mail) using the app's notification controls, an unsubscribe link in Connections emails, or the same customer-service number. Stopping BigFuture School texts with STOP is a different switch from leaving Connections entirely—read the screen before tapping.

Which organizations can appear

The Student Guide limits Connections content to organizations that meet one of these criteria:

For-profit colleges, random employers, and unaccredited programs are not in that list. If a message looks like a commercial sales pitch from a company that does not match the table, it is not what College Board describes as Connections content.

The Student Guide also warns that content from these organizations is not written, edited, or approved by College Board. Read each message as the organization's own words, delivered by College Board, not as an official ranking of colleges.

Privacy: matching without handing over the file

This is the sentence families quote correctly: College Board says it will never share personal information with any organizations as part of Connections. Matching happens on College Board's side. Messages are delivered by College Board (app, and email or mail if the student provided those optional channels). The student decides if and when to contact an organization directly. Raising a hand—sharing a name or email with a college—is a later, separate choice.

Testing Rules describe the information College Board may use internally to make a match when a student opts in:

• Information the student and the school, district, or state provide as part of the PSAT 8/9
• Information the student shares in BigFuture School, including educational and career interests and preferences the student controls
• Academic participation in AP classes only if the student is also participating in Connections through a specific AP Classroom experience
• Score ranges on past and future SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, PSAT 8/9, and AP Exams
• Demographics and characteristics of students in which eligible organizations are interested

College Board may give organizations reports about use of Connections, but the Student Guide says those reports do not include the student's personal information. Testing Rules add that analytics to eligible organizations are in de-identified and aggregated form.

Worked example: what opting in does and does not do

Jordan is in 9th grade, age 14, testing at a U.S. school that offers Connections. During Bluebook setup Jordan opts in. Weeks later, BigFuture School shows a message College Board delivered about a nonprofit state university's application timeline and a 501(c)(3) scholarship with a deadline. The university does not receive Jordan's phone number, home address, or PSAT 8/9 item responses from Connections. If Jordan wants that university to know who they are, Jordan contacts the university. If Jordan is tired of messages, Jordan opts out in the app or calls 866-630-9305. Jordan's PSAT 8/9 scores remain on the report either way.

Sam is in 8th grade in the same building. Sam never sees a Connections opt-in. Sam still gets a PDF and, if age 13+, can still use BigFuture School for scores and Career Insights Snapshot. Sam is not "behind" on scholarships; National Merit is a different program in a later year.

What messages might say—and what they cannot promise

Testing Rules say matched messages can include colleges that could be a good fit, scholarships a student might be eligible for, college-access advice, and preliminary offers of admission. For those preliminary offers, College Board states that only SAT score ranges may be used, race and ethnicity will not be used, and there is no guarantee of admissions, scholarships, or financial aid. Any preliminary offer may require extra enrollment steps and confirmation of information the college relied on.

For a 9th grader, treat even an exciting message as early information, not a seat in a freshman class. Connections is not an application, not a deposit, and not a substitute for the college's own admissions process years later.

Connections is not National Merit

Two programs, two owners, two calendars:

• Connections is optional College Board messaging for eligible 9th graders (and, on later tests, other in-school testers where offered).
• The National Merit Scholarship Program is run by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). College Board states that students need the PSAT/NMSQT, usually in the junior / 11th-grade year, to enter. PSAT 8/9 and PSAT 10 scores do not qualify.

A high PSAT 8/9 score does not open a National Merit file. Opting into Connections does not open one either. Section 4.3 returns to this when comparing the SAT Suite tests.

Practical checklist for 9th-grade families

1. Confirm grade level: 9th grade on this sitting, not 8th.
2. Watch Bluebook: if Connections appears, read the screen before choosing.
3. Remember privacy: College Board delivers messages; personal information is not shared with organizations as part of Connections.
4. Know the exits: Bluebook, BigFuture School, 866-630-9305.
5. Ask the counselor whether the school, district, or state disabled the program.
6. Do not confuse opting in with applying, depositing, or entering National Merit.

/practice/psat-89Practice questions with detailed explanations