Was I suppose to take the PSAT?

Okay, I'm freaking out. Right now I'm in the eleventh grade, junior, but in a few weeks I'm going to be in the twelfth grade, senior, and I'm do my school work via private school correspondence, through the internet. I've heard my friends that go to public school talking, and they said they took this this test called PSAT, either in their sopre year or early junior year, and I've NEVER taken it. I talked to the people in the main office at my on school campus, and they say that I don't need to take it to graduate high school, but what I'm really worried about is do I need it to get into college. I took college planner, and I thought I had everything planned out, but this has totally ruined everything? Now I'm just plain confused. Can you help reexplain this whole process to me? Thanks