Best Time to take the SAT

<p>Hey guys, when would u guys recommend to take the SAT? Is it better to take it at the beginning of a school year or Jan/march after one receives the psat results?</p>

<p>I'm probably going to take it in march. any input?</p>

<p>i guess march sounds good... because may/june tend to be crammed with finals and APs and junk.</p>

<p>i'm taking mine the next october..</p>

<p>October first for some practice...i'd suggest</p>

<p>Is it a good idea to take it in Oct. and then again later in the year? That's what I want to do, but I'm just not sure.....</p>

<p>are you guys all rising juniors?</p>

<p>I think all wait till january to get practice with psat and with studying. I think I might take ACT earlier</p>

<p>yes...well I am going to be a junior at least...I don't know about the others</p>

<p>this is probably what I'll do.
take the PSAT first . jan SAT. march SAT again. and if need be, october of senior year</p>

<p>rising senior... i feel pathetic for not having taken the SAT yet -_-</p>

<p>I think 9:30 is the perfect time to take the SAT. Late enough that you're not getting up too early and asleep taking the test, but early enough to be out in time for lunch.</p>

<p>Nice...</p>

<p>I'm taking it in November - just after the PSAT - and again in January if need be. For me at least, the SAT isn't the end of the world; I still have AP's, SAT II's, and schoolwork afterwards. Not in that order, of course.</p>

<p>Basically, I'm starting to study right now (my books arrived today! Or... yesterday, I guess?) and I'll focus on that until January, then it's all AP's from there. My SAT II's are extensions of my AP's since they're the same subjects.</p>

<p>Why would you wait until March, putting yourself through months of agonizing review during the school year? And if you don't do so hot, you'll take it again later on Junior year or Senior year? Sounds inconvenient to me.</p>

<p>EDIT: About the PSAT thing. How much will they reveal about your scores? Will they influence your studying that much? You probably already know your strong and weak areas. Proving them again won't do anything productive. Speaking of productive, you won't be doing anything from October all the way to December! And if you're thinking of studying from September (pre-PSAT) until March, that's a full 7 MONTHS of studying for one test!</p>

<p>The PSAT's can tell you where you area at, and if you do well you can be a NMS. They should reveal studying, because they are essentially an SAT lite. Most don't study for the PSAT, all I did was complete the practice test they give you when you register.</p>

<p>Take it in March, so you have May to take the SATII w/ AP's, and June for a retake (if needed)</p>

<p>In researching this question myself for my kids, there sure seem to be some varying opinions on the matter.</p>

<p>One school of thought is to take them early & often, particularly if you prep over the summer (when you have the most stress-less time) so the material is fresh for test-taking in the fall. IMO, this approach is probably appropriate for many of the frequenters of this forum....largely smart kids at the top end of the over-achiever category and very self-aware. One of the other benefits of taking SAT1's early is to get the stress over with. If one can score fairly well early, that allows more time to be spent on what's important....doing well in school & having a fun and rewarding time.</p>

<p>Conventional wisdom is to wait until the spring of your junior year so you've had more of the math if you need it & further developed your verbal & writing skills. This wisdom seems appropriate for most of the test takers out there IMO.</p>

<p>The question is, where do you fit? My S's school (private w/ strong college placement) has a hybrid approach. They discourage taking the SAT 1 in junior fall, but encourage the first test taking for January IF results for PSATs are good, i.e., >>180ish. They suggest waiting until the spring for the first test (to allow more development) if PSAT's are not so hot.</p>

<p>Of course, how busy one is also should play a large role. I am hoping my S will fit the January test-taking category because he has a very busy spring with sports, for instance.</p>

<p>Take everything when you're ready. I took my first SAT in Jan. (junior year), was tested out from exams and didn't do that great. The second time I took the SATs, I took them in June of the same year and did well b/c I was well rested. </p>

<p>(Take SAT IIs though if you need them, after the course. Ex. take bio after you finish AP Bio so everything is fresh in your find.)</p>