PSAT- Pay for prep or not?

Talking with other parents of teens, reviewing the information from school- I feel overwhelmed- and wonder if we are heading in the right direction for my daughter's college life?
Now in the tenth grade some of her friends are enrolled in prep programs for ACT, SAT, and PSAT that are costly and time consuming. Are they worth it? One of the news channels had a show on this topic; I decided that No they are not worth it for us.
A free one day program- maybe- or even minimal cost.
The PSAT is offered in a month, some suggest she take it this year, others next year; I wonder both?

I have made sure she learned good study habits from kindergarten; I checked homework, made sure she understood assignments throughout her grade school years, and into middle school. Last year I realized the parenting had paid off. She has activities she enjoys, she volunteers at the church, and has good grades. The most telling sign is her own desire to be the best in her class. Cassie wants to do well for herself.

When listening to kids who have done well on the ACT(yea Hannah- with a 35) and SAT. They have not taken the classes, but instead took practices tests at home, and focused on understanding their schoolwork. Hannah's(friend) scholarships allow her to be a full time student and have spending money. These students have taken college credit classes in their high school years, and felt that was enough preparation. Cassie is taking her first college credit class this; and will take the CLEP test this spring.

School volunteer work-

I always viewed school volunteer work as helping the school system, never really considered how it could help my kids or me.

I have been volunteering this year partly due to more free time and partly after talking with other more experienced parents.

I first volunteered a week before school started and was able to work with parents of seniors. Moms had all types of advice on preparing for college, thru clubs, and which classes they felt most helped their kids advance for scholarships. One mom- now on her fourth teenager, explained the best clubs and hobbies(all her children received full scholarhsips to various colleges) Her youngest is a senior and has received a scholarship in the area of engineering. I learned so much from her.
Cassie is now a member of Beta(which I knew nothing about two months ago) she joined Spanish honor society; and will be volunteering at Red cross events. Of course she is in a few others- like drama club. Getting into clubs that offer volunteer opportunities is a must for a good looking college application; particularly in this tightened economy- there may be less scholarships offered than in previous years.

The moral of the story learn from others- and then pass it on- we need all the help we can get.