<p>Oops, I didn’t realize since I’m international!</p>
<p>In any case, I’d still recommend getting testing done by the end of junior year.</p>
<p>I’m in 10th grade and just took the ACT test. I got 34 composite score and 9 on writing. Can I use it for college or I need to take it again in junior year?</p>
<p>@123PSAT that is an excellent score! you definitely do not need to retake it, any college will accept that score. 10th grade scores are still valid. Whether you want to retake it later to increase that score is up to you.</p>
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<p>Someone who has completed a greater amount of high school is likely to have learned and/or practiced more vocabulary, reading, math, and writing skills than the same person a semester or year earlier.</p>
<p>Thanks for your kind words and advice! I’m a little disappointed with my low writing score. Well, I’m going to move on to the SAT test. I’m in the class 2017 and can’t decide if I should take the old SAT or the new one. Any comment?</p>
<p>a little off topic- for the ACT it says no electronic devices, including cell phones are allowed. Can you turn it off and leave it in a backpack or are you not allowed to have it with you at all while testing? Thanks.</p>
<p>The reason some tests are so hard is because of the curve. When you have a bunch of SAT summer camp students taking the test in October, you’re bound to have a hard time scoring your average score.</p>
<p>Although @UpnorthAK recommends not taking the SAT in October, I do recommend it as it is good practice to help you qualify for National Merit through the PSAT.</p>
<p>I will taking the PSAT in only an hour! I am excited! Would someone mind giving me a comparison of the PSAT and SAT in terms of difficulty, length, or scoring?</p>
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<p>Prepping for the PSAT and SAT at the same time worked pretty well for D. </p>
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<p>The PSAT has no essay, and the SAT is longer.</p>
<p>Except that next year, the PSAT will be the new PSAT and the Oct. SAT will be the old SAT. So, prepping for the two would be different (if they release materials that can be used to prep for the new PSAT…).</p>
<p>There are a lot of factors that should determine when to take the test and that can be a little different for each person, so I don’t want to wade into that (and it will be even more complicated with the new SAT rollout and the fact that some may want to get the test done before March of 2016). But I did just want to comment on the misinformation in some of the earlier posts on this thread. The SAT is curved because of the slight difference in difficulty of each test, but that DOES NOT have anything to do with the students who take that test and what the score distribution is like. The curve just helps ensure that a 700 on one test would be equivalent to a 700 on another test, even if the level of difficulty of the questions is slightly different. But one should NOT base their decision about when to take the test based on the pool of students taking that test or the relative difficulty of the test (neither of which could really be known in advance anyway). In fact, the very existence of the curve is meant to ensure that no matter when you take the test, the same performance will result in the same score!</p>
<p>@OHMomof2 Thanks, but everyone knows that the SAT is longer and has an essay component. I was expecting a better answer… Anyway, I meant: how does the difficulty compare between the PSAT and SAT? Do I have to answer more questions in less time for the SAT than the PSAT? In other terms, where I would HYPOTHETICALLY answer 90 questions in an hour on the PSAT, how many questions would I need to answer within an hour on the SAT? Also, how does scoring differ? Do they give different curves?</p>
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<p>Well, good luck with that.</p>
<p>Take the test as many times as you can. Test 3 or 4 times. It’s a pain, but in the long run its better. A lot of the time the way you perceive the test is has more to do with the pressure and stress you feel than the difficulty of the test. Ex) W/ a flustered, nervous student, one question can completely freak them out. When you are relaxed, you don’t panic over a difficult vocab word or tricky math problem. Many students score better the second time they test because they feel more comfortable and confident. Every time i took it, at least one of my scores increased --> high super score! </p>
<p>@Nurseonthelake I second this! I normally took it at a completely different location compared to my friends and they never understood my reasoning.</p>
<p>One of the best ways to know what you might score on the SAT is use the SAT Scoring Rubric from the Blue Book. It is the almost accurate and it gives one an idea. For each section, have a goal of answering a number of questions. This really works for me. </p>
<p>I personally feel like you should take the ACT, depending upon the “path” which you are on in your curriculum. For example, at my school, there are 3 general “paths”:
•General Studies
•College Prep
•Advanced College Prep</p>
<p>I believe that you should really aim for your highest scores during the middle or end of the year which you take Math Analysis (Trigonometry and Pre-Calc). This will put you in the best shape to take the math section. The year in which you take this math course is generally pretty parallel to the recommended year for your other subjects as well…</p>
<p>But of course, it’s much better to start early! If you take the ACT often, you will be much more comfortable during testing, which reduces anxiety and improves scores. :)</p>
@ObitoSigma basically PSAT is just a short version of SAT so just treat them the same except reduced number of questions. And the point of PSAT is National Merit Scholar, which you can only get if you get 1 or 2 questions wrong max. And no, the timing is adjusted, so it is around the same-you don’t answer more questions in less time.
Not sure if it matters, but I heard if you take it on a Sunday, the SAT is always recycled from old years