When do you recommend taking your SAT and/or ACTs?

[Mary•Poppins]

Hi ... I am a mom here and my oldest son is a junior this year. We told him that we will pay for him to take the SAT (or ACT) 2x ... 3 at the most.

So, the other day he comes home and tells me that I need to sign him up to take the test in Nov. (because a friend has signed up for this date). Now ... he is very busy during this time of the school year ... he is in marching band and soccer along with having a really hard academic schedule. I told him he should wait until after winter break since he will have more time and can focus on taking the test.

So, if anyone who is currently attending college could offer me their suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it!

And, if you have any hints or suggestions that you think helped when you took the test ....

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[newdrama12]

I took my SATs twice. One in the spring of my Junior year and again in the fall of my senior year since I wasn't happy with my score the first time around. Also, by me taking it twice, I scored higher due to knowing what kind of math problems that I needed to work on. So I would recommend taking them at least twice.

If he knows what colleges he plans on applying to, make sure that he knows whether he has to take both. I went to college in Indiana and the schools that I applied to didn't require me to take the ACTs, so I didn't spend the money to take them.

 

[glendalais]

It's been a while, but if I remember correctly, I wrote my SATs and ACTs during the latter half of my Grade 11 year, and my SAT Subject Tests (formerly SAT II) the first half of my Grade 12 year.

As mentioned, you don't necessarily have to write both. I wrote the ACT partially because I had a hunch (which proved to be right) that I would do better, and the schools I applied to accepted both exams.

You should certainly pay attention to what schools he's looking at. Depending on your region of the country, schools might be more amenable to one type of exam over the other. In addition, an increasing number of schools (particularly liberal arts colleges) are making submission of standardized tests results optional.

 

[kmg148]

I took the SAT three times. Once in fall (I think November too) of Junior year, once in the spring and then again in the fall of Senior year. They combined the highest of the verbal and math scores, so it was worth taking them three times. I did the best in the verbal the last time and the best in the math the second time!

 

[WishAndDream]

I think it's best to take the test twice. I only took the ACT (most schools I applied to would accept either the ACT or SAT; none absolutely required one over the other). If he wants to take it in November, I say let him (with the stipulation that he take it again in the spring/summer/fall). People almost always do better the second time they take it because they are familiar with the format and types of questions. He might not do quite as well on the test in November as he would if he took his first one in the spring or fall just because by the later test date, he'll have had several months more of school (this actually makes a difference... once of the key concepts in the math portion of the ACT was covered in my math class the week after we took the ACT ), but this way by the second time he takes it he'll know what to expect.

I got an ACT prep book (from Princeton Review, I believe; it was ~$20) and I thought it really helped.

 

[Mary•Poppins]

Thank you for your help!!

 

[mollay]

I would definitely wait. I found that a lot of the stuff I had learned my junior year (namely Algebra II) showed up on the SAT and I wouldn't have known anything if I had taken the test at the beginning of the school year. Same goes for Writing.

I took the SAT in March of my junior year, did pretty well, but still wanted to bring all of my scores up, especially math. My algebra tutor helped me with SAT tutoring and I ended up bringing my math score up by about 100 points :

My mom wanted me to consider taking them again in July/August but I was very happy with my score and didn't want to spend my summer being tutored anyway... so it's definitely better to get it over with during your junior school year because you won't be in the same mindset once summer starts!

P.S. According to my advisor, a good goal to have it to get at least a 600 in every section of the SAT. She said that when the admissions offices for colleges are looking at your scores, seeing that 6 makes a very strong impression. But of course it's different for everyone, and a strong GPA and extracurriculars will certainly outweigh it! It's just something to think about if you're wondering whether or not to take the test again.

Good luck to your son!

 

[r1009t]

Also, I would reccomend taking either test on a day where you have the option to buy the released questions and your answers to them, so you can see what your son got wrong and practice them so he's more prepared on the next test. It cost about $18 I think? but it was well worth the price for me!

 

[TinkStitch]

I took the ACT in June, at the end of my junior year. Have your son check with the schools he's applying to & find out if he needs to take the writing portion (ACT writing is optional to take, some schools require it, some don't.) The schools I applied to didn't need it, so I didn't take it. I don't think there was any difference in price, but I didn't have to sit there for another few hours to write an essay. I only took it once (I got a 30 on it my first try), but by taking it earlier, he has the option to retake it.