@silversmith My offspring’s high school alma mater–a NYC selective public high school–discourages everyone from taking the SAT until March of junior year. The standard procedure is SAT in March, AP and subject matter tests in May and June–often in the same subjects.
But the lack of a PSAT score means that she’s ineligible for a LOT of merit scholarships because many are based on being a National Merit Finalist.
Being a legacy will give your D a slight boost in terms of the odds of being admitted; it doesn’t increase the amount of financial aid one bit. I know nothing about Haverford’s practices, but my understanding is that you only get a legacy boost at Cornell if you apply ED. If you need to compare fin aid offers, that’s not a smart move.
Haverford does not offer any merit awards. Its website clearly says
Now if you run a few of the cost calculators and you qualify for enough financial aid to make it doable, then fine. But if your D really isn’t interested in your alma maters, let it go.