I am a current high school sophomore who needs to take my standardized tests. I got a 1300/1500 on the PSAT, so I’m assuming I’ll do fairly well on the SAT. However, I have taken a liking to the ACT, and am doing better on both the reading and math section on the ACT than the SAT practice questions. When should I take each test to make sure I have time to retake one of them if my scores aren’t up to par? I also want to apply early action/decision as a senior, so I want to get these tests out of the way by the end of junior year. Thanks!
You should study for the PSAT in october, and then take the SAT in November or December since you’ll be prepared. I would say to take the SAT two times and if you aren’t that happy with your score, take the ACT. You can take the ACT in February, April, and June, so that should be enough time. You should also fit in SAT Subject tests in either May or June. Don’t feel pressured to take the SAT and the ACT, though. If you like the ACT more, you can just focus on that and aim for a 34+. Also, if you’re going to be taking Algebra 2 junior year, you should try to delay the tests as much as possible so you learn the needed concepts for the tests. AP English helps a lot with your reading score on the SAT. Good luck!
@Dartmouth_21 Thanks for your reply 
I’ll be taking AP Calc AB and AP English Lang junior year, so hopefully those will help!
If you’re taking Calc next year you should look into taking the math 2 sat subject test this year! it’s a precalculus test basically
@Dartmouth_21 I thought math 2 included some calc as well? Hmm… maybe I’ll take it this year then. Also, another quick question: should I take the chem subject test if I’ve taken honors chem, or should I take it only after taking AP chem? Thanks.
If your school offers AP Chem then yes definitely after AP chem. people only take the subject tests without taking AP if their school doesn’t offer it–it’d require a ton of extra studying. and it depends on your precalc curriculum, but precalc should cover 99% of the topics