<p>So. I'm in 8th grade ( soon 9th) and I'm curious about this whole SAT thing. Some people have said that they've taken it young. Does this hurt or help when it comes to college applications? Am I best of just waiting for the middle of Junior year?</p>
<p>Taking the SAT at your age allows you to apply to such programs as the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP), for gifted students. (Johns Hopkins has a similar program)</p>
<p>In any case, it is my feeling that taking the exam at your age can only help you, because you get experience taking the exam.</p>
<p>My son took the SAT many times when he was young, and wound up getting a 2300 at the end of the process.</p>
<p>However, taking the exam now will not actually help you directly into getting into college.</p>
<p>To a certain extent, however, it will be hard for you to get too high a score, because the test includes subjects you might not even have taken yet in school.</p>
<p>in terms of college admissions, it probably won’t do anything at all. colleges won’t care much about a score you got all the way back in 8th grade.</p>
<p>I would just wait. you’ll do better after some more years of education anyways</p>
<p>Some students take it young to qualify for talent search programs (CTY, Duke TIPS, Midwest Academic Talent Search, etc). IMHO there is no other reason to take it at a young age unless you intend to enter college early (very unusual, doesn’t sound like you will be doing that). Middle school scores usually get wiped out anyway so colleges do not see them. Regarding high school, I would give this advice:</p>
<ul>
<li>Take the PSAT in fall of your junior year. Some schools also have sophomores do it, which you should do if that is part of your school’s program.<br></li>
<li>Study before the Junior PSAT if you think you might do well on the SAT. That could help you get national merit standing in your senior year.<br></li>
<li>Plan to take the SAT midway through your junior year (January?). That leaves time to study and a retake if you are not happy with your scores. I don’t think you should take it prior to your junior year. A few schools want to see all scores from high school, and you likely will do a bit better as a junior with more coursework behind you.</li>
<li>You might consider also taking the ACT. Some students do better on it. My kid did both, had very good scores on both. She just sent her SATs in, as they were slightly higher in comparison.</li>
<li>If you plan to apply to colleges that require SAT subject tests, look carefully at the calendar for your junior year for when they are offered. It takes up a lot of Saturdays to take the SAT twice, the ACT, and subject tests. And every subject test is not offered every SAT test date, so you have to check that. If you end up retaking subject tests for higher scores, that is yet another Saturday. Your goal should be to get most of your testing done junior year. My D did retake one subject test fall of her senior year. But you don’t want to be sweating getting your test scores back while working on your applications in the fall. It can be complicated to plan with extra curricular activities, so layout a plan ahead of time.</li>
</ul>
<p>Take it the end of sophomore to early junior.</p>
<p>Prior to high school, it only makes sense for a student to take the SAT as part of a “talent search” for gifted students…or if the student intends to skip high school altogether. I took the SAT when I was in 7th grade as part of the Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth program. As far as I know, the colleges didn’t even see that particular score, so I don’t think it helped or hurt my application chances.</p>
<p>You should take the SAT when you feel ready for it…preferably some time during your junior year. By that time, your reading comprehension and writing skills have developed sufficiently…and you’ve taken all the math that’s tested on the SAT. I’ve helped certain bright, highly-motivated students prepare for the test during their freshman and/or sophomore years in high school. The thinking behind taking the test earlier than usual was to post a great score to free up more time for the demands of multiple AP classes and varsity sports in the junior and senior years. <em>shrug</em></p>
<p>I think it depends on the student. Yes, most people who take the SAT or ACT before high school do so as part of a “talent search.” I think my child benefited from doing that because it made the SAT and ACT familiar, non-threatening entities when it was time to take the tests “for real.”</p>
<p>I do not think it makes sense for you to take the SAT right now, since the next test date is Saturday and then there are none until fall, when you will be in high school. I think taking the PSAT in tenth grade as well as eleventh grade makes sense, if you have that opportunity. If you do well, you can feel confident, and if you do not do well you will have a year to improve and your score will not count against you.</p>
<p>I also would advise taking subject tests in ninth and/or tenth grade, if you are prepared for them. The general rule is to take the subject test right as you are finishing the corresponding class, of course.</p>
<p>If you are wondering, would your scores help or hurt, I would make the following comments:</p>
<p>1) Your scores from eighth and ninth grade are part of your record with ACT or the College Board. When you tell the College Board to “send all scores,” they all go. Students younger than thirteen will not have their scores retained unless they send a written request, but I assume you already are older than thirteen.</p>
<p>2) I would not assume that colleges will cut you some slack for disappointing scores just because you took a test in ninth grade. So, before you register to take any exam, do some practice tests and see if you are ready to do your best.</p>
<p>There is something to be said for gaining experience early. Knowing what the test looks like, not only in a practice situation but on an actual test day, might be helpful for you as you study for future tests. I started taking the ACT in 7th grade for the Duke TIP program, but that gave me my first taste of how my future, more important tests would feel. I retook the ACT in the spring of freshman and sophomore years, the latter being my highest score (when I took it senior year, my score went down - mostly due to lack of sleep and preparation amidst applications and school clubs/sports). Only took the SAT once, though (scoring higher than all of my ACTs), the spring after after my singular PSAT in the fall of junior year, which got me National Merit standing and a ton of money at the college I’m now attending.</p>
<p>So yes, try early and often, so long as you can afford it. Try both tests, and definitely don’t forget to do the PSAT your junior year.</p>
<p>Remember to enjoy high school along the way, too. 
Best of luck!</p>
<p>I would hold off taking the SATs. Take the PSAT in sophomore year and see how you do. If you do really well, then try some SAT practice tests. If you score well, then I would take the SAT for the first time near the end of sophomore year. Or take them at the BEGINNING of junior year. I don’t really recommend taking it at the end of junior year because you’re going to be swamped with APs and SAT IIS (take those at the end of junior year, possibly in sophomore year if there’s a subject you’re REALLY familiar with), and you’ll be rushing to get your tests done if you want to retake.</p>
<p>I found the main issue with taking the SAT early was the essay. You develop better essay writing skills as you do school work. The writing MC was basically just knowing some rules, and the math didn’t have many “advanced” concepts like trig (I not saying that it was easy; it makes you apply basic math skills to complex problems). CR might also be a bit easier when you’re older.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help:) I’ll probably take the PSATs the end of sophomore year, and the SATs in the middle of Junior year. My parents would die before sending me of to college early.</p>
<p>The PSAT is offered only once per year, in early October. Your high school probably will make announcements about it in September. </p>
<p>And you can get an early start on testing without going off to college early; spring of junior year and fall of senior year will be crazy, so if you can get some of your testing out of the way before then, so much the better for you.</p>
<p>IMO Taking the sat young helps you indirectly by getting you involved in the talent search programs thus making you more focused on being a higher achiever.</p>
Colleges won’t see your scores from 8th grade. But you will know them, and some students suffer a lot of needless anxiety about them for several years after. I personally don’t see much point in taking a test if you haven’t learned the material yet, unless you need the score for some program.
My 7th grade daughter took the January SAT to qualify for JHU CTY, Duke TIP, etc. My understanding is that the scores are expunged after 2 years by the CB unless you request otherwise in writing.
She did a practice test to familiarize herself with the format and content. We reviewed the incorrect answers and then that was it with respect to her test prep. Her results on the actual test were consistent with the practice test, within expected variances. It wasn’t particularly stressful, although she was tired at the end after nearly 4 hours.
I don’t think it really matters. My son took it in 7th grade and then not again until the 11th grade. My daughter didn’t take it until high school. If you do well you can be accepted to programs run for gifted young people through places such as John Hopkins. I don’t see how it can hurt you to take it.
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The Original Poster asked this question 2 years ago. I highly doubt s/he still needs comments. Closing thread.