<p>Hi. As a rising junior, I’ve realized that I’ll have to take many tests. Please suggest a plan/dates for me.</p>
<li>PSAT-early in year, but I don’t know which date.</li>
<li>SAT I- I’m not sure when the best time to take this is, as there are many dates and people seem to take the SAT I 1-3 times throughout their junior year (help me out!).</li>
<li>ACT- Living in New England, I don’t hear much about the ACT, but what are the the most popular dates, taking the suggested SAT I dates into account?</li>
<li>SATII- Physics, Math II, and either Spanish or Literature (help me on this one (I have a 730 Chem but a 640 Bio :(, and I’ll be taking Spanish IV Honors this upcoming year) I think June is good, but which tests to take?</li>
<li>AP- Physics B and maybe Spanish (I have a 5 Bio). I guess May is the only date.</li>
</ol>
<p>You have no choice with the PSAT date. It is only given in October and there are two test dates – a Wednesday and a Saturday. (This year the dates are 10/15 and 10/18.) Each high school picks which of the two dates they want to administer the test.</p>
<ol>
<li>PSAT – Don’t have any choice, but do some review to work toward National Merit awards.</li>
<li>SAT – We ditched the SAT I. (See 3)</li>
<li>ACT – the sooner the better. Take it but don’t send school codes. DS took it cold end of 10th grade for a baseline and scored 34. Since PSAT predicted 2100 on SAT, he decided not to take SAT I. Some kids need a few times taking the ACT to get the pacing right.</li>
<li>SAT II – June seems to work well following AP tests in May. Take subject tests in areas you are completing your highest level of study.</li>
<li>AP – Don’t have a lot of choice here, except for adding self study. 640 Bio SAT II with a 5 AP? Seems odd. Did you take the SAT II prematurely?</li>
</ol>
<p>I’m a rising junior also and I’m planning on doing this: </p>
<p>PSAT: October 15th 2008(administered by the school)
SAT 2 Math II: November 2008(missed the June date after taking precal )
SAT 1 Reasoning: January or March 2009 (after I get my PSAT back and depending on how prepared I am)
SAT 2 US history and Chem. or Physics - June 2009 after I complete those classes
AP: In May
ACT: Probably beginning of my senior year</p>
<p>PSAT: October (no choice, as others have pointed out before me)</p>
<p>SAT Reasoning: October–though after reading my explanation for taking it then, I’m kind of leaning toward December or January instead because my reason is pretty awful compared to arguments against taking it in October. December or January will give you time to review your PSAT-discovered weaknesses and also time after it for a retake if you deign it necessary.</p>
<p>SAT Subjects: I’m taking my last in May, but June is good too, of course. You should definitely take Math Level 2 because some colleges require it. You might want to consider taking a humanities (history/language/literature, whichever your strongest subject is) too because you have plenty of science scores to choose from already.</p>
<p>ACT: I’m not planning to take it–after all, if you do well on the SAT, that’s that, isn’t it? I don’t want to take another standardized test…</p>
<p>No choice on PSAT or AP. Take the SAT2 at the end of your courses (generally May or June). That leaves fall, January, March/April for SAT/ACT test dates. Since you will have score choice with both the SAT and ACT, try taking one or the other this fall to see where you stand.</p>
<p>Well I am a rising junior as well (first post yay :)) and here is the game plan for me:</p>
<p>PSAT - october, no choice as others have pointed out
SAT - either november or december, because i’m pretty sure i’ll have time throughout the fall to study, whereas winter is always really busy for me
ACT - april
AP’S - Bio, Lang, US history - may, obviously
SAT II’s - US history, Bio, probably something else - june, so that i’ll be done w/ everything else</p>
<p>Ive been wishing I planned my testing schedule out better, good for you for taking the initiative :)</p>
<p>SAT, I would take it semi early once. January I think is popular. I would leave enough time after the first test date to be able to have enough time to study ore and take it one more time junior year.</p>
<p>ACT, same as SAT. I’m not sure when SAT is changing its grade reporting policy, but because you (currently) can report what ever ACT scores you want, I would take this earlier than the SAT. </p>
<p>Basically I would have, myself, ideally taken the ACT pretty early, then SAT maybe in december. Then, if needed, I would take the ACT then SAT again before summer.
Im not super thrilled about having to take the SAT and ACT again senior year, especially because I might not be able to retake again.</p>
<p>SATII: June!!! After AP tests, and all subject material. At least at my shool, stuff is winding down, so you can do some quick reviewing for the tests.</p>
<p>SAT I - January - I live in Wisconsin, and the only test center within a hundred miles only offers the SAT/Subject Tests in January and June. Thus, I have one chance to confirm National Merit.</p>
<p>ACT - Already aced it :)</p>
<p>SAT II - June - Taking Biology and retaking Math IIC.</p>
<p>APs - no choice.</p>
<p>My testing schedule is very intense around 4 dates, but relaxed the rest of the year. I need to brush up on my cramming skills .</p>
<p>Take the SAT I slightly earlier in the year (maybe Nov. or Dec.), just in case you need to retake it. For SAT II’s, I’d say schedule subjects around May/June.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for the wonderful advice. I have only three more (relevant) questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is January 24, 2008 a good/practical SAT I date, taking into account the possibility of retaking it as well as conflicts with AP/SATII studying?</p></li>
<li><p>What score on the SAT I should warrant me taking the ACT? Is it worth dabbling in, or should I not bother and just focus on SAT I?</p></li>
<li><p>If I do take the ACT, is April a good/practical date?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hey Gus, I do think you should give ACT a go. Some students (my DS included) do much better on it … just a learning, test taking style thing. He is National Merit Commended (we’re assuming he won’t be semi, knowing our state) and didn’t even bother with the SAT because he did so well on the ACT. Just fit the ACT in where you can. Bonus points for doing some practice tests or prep because the word on the street is that the ACT is all about timing. (He did SAT 2s, though, as some schools require 2-3.)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Yes. I took it in January myself, and it leaves options open for retaking.</p></li>
<li><p>I’d say take the SAT I twice, and if you don’t get a score you’re happy with and in accordance to your college’s requirements, take the ACT.</p></li>
<li><p>No idea.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’m a rising junior too. I took one SAT II already so I would take another in next June. I basically agree with other people here but I wouldn’t take one SAT on Jan.24 because that’s when I have our midterms. So I might take it in November/December and/or March. I didn’t study for ACT at all so I would MIGHT take it sernior year given that I can study next summer. No choice for PSAT and Aps.</p>
<p>If you are taking the same AP and SAT II subjects at the end of the year, e.g., Bio and US History, consider whether you might benefit from taking both in May instead of taking the AP in May and delaying the SAT II until June. The AP tests are administered during the school week. The SAT II tests will be on that first Saturday, May 2, 2009. The obvious question is, Knowing your personal study habits and your school/extracurriculars schedule April / May / June, will you really take advantage of that extra study month? For many, it is actually more productive to take advantage of that April test prep and just make it count twice, get all those tests out of the way in May.</p>
but a 640 Bio :(, and I’ll be taking Spanish IV Honors this upcoming year) I think June is good, but which tests to take?</li>
)
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