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Getting a 1300 in 10th grade is excellent, so I donât really see any reason for spending money on prep. That is exactly the score that one would expect, based on what he has studied so far and lack of familiarity with the test.
However, he should take some practice tests, and if your school administers PSAT 10 this spring, have him take it, as well as the PSAT/NMSQT. It provides more practice in test taking, even if he doesnât make NMSF. That practice, along with what he will learn in the meantime, should be enough for an SAT score which is good enough for any college. If his scores donât improve between the PSATs, it would be worth looking at prep.
As others have written, SAT scores are helpful in getting merit awards, and as such are worthwhile pursuing, even if they are les useful in admissions than usual.
While the highest ranked colleges do not, as a rule, have merit scholarships, your kid is just a sophomore, and many things can happen. Moreover, acceptance rates to so many of these places are getting so low, that even a very high achieving student can be rejected from every single âeliteâ college to which they apply.
So having qualifications for getting merit funding at colleges which have less financial aid is worth your kidâs while.
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Someone above said to let him prep and if he does better, and with the free Khan academy he is bound to, you can see his progression and go from there. My D self prepped and was able to improve. Sheâs international, so I was looking for it to prove her ability compared to others from the US. She enjoyed it as a personal challenge. Taking the test though was toughâŠ.had to fly her home to the US after a last minute cancellation. So she was exhausted, but still did very well.
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He didnt get a 1300 as a sophomore, that was my completely uneducated guess as to what he would get if he took an SAT at the end of this summer with no prep
The true number is probably even lower since there is always some overlap.
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Perhaps but if you scored better in one than the other, you wouldnât submit both - but itâs probably true in some cases. You have some high end schools with even higher TO #s.
D23 is taking SAT to be considered for merit scholarships. We do not qualify for need based financial aid. She is taking one test in March and will be taking one in June, if she does not hit her goal the first time around. She is doing test prep now, two months of tutoring - as her baseline score from freshman year was only about 100 points off her goal. She is considering applying as a music major or minor, which requires pre-screening, so basically admissions cycle starts earlier with the audition prep, leaving very little time for multiple test taking. I do not think test is really optional for the next yearâs majority applicants to selective colleges or honors programs. Hoping it will go away soon, as test prep and even taking the test itself is a luxury for a lot of families.
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When I was prepping for the SAT (2005-2007), the only materials that I used were the College Board Official SAT Study Guide and the limited amount of practice tests (the early administrations of the then new 2400-point scale SAT) that I could get my hands on. SAT prep classes are great because you get insight from people who have mastered the test. I did extremely well on the CR/W (Verbal) section of the SAT and have taught the Verbal in its previous form and current EBRW form on and off as an avocation for the past seven years. I know the particular strategies and skills needed to get an 800 in the EBRW section, and the market for said knowledge is always in demand. Additionally, there are so many international students who take the SAT and have the potential to do incredibly well on the Math section, but desperately need help with EBRW, especially if English isnât their native language.
When you donât take prep classes, you lose out on the opportunity to learn from people who are expertly skilled in English and/or Math and can help you overcome whatever barriers or fallacious line of thinking is preventing you from maximizing your score. Whether the classes are worth the money you have to pay for them is the subject of much debate, but if you feel that you canât break through on your own, then I think that itâs money well spent, and at the very least youâll learn the analytical skills necessary to do well in college, grad school, and become a leader as an adult.
Why is the SAT an unfair test?
You have parents that are full pay, those that can afford to send kids to feeder private schools, kids that go to schools that give inflated grades, legacies, athletic recruits, and so on.
Standardized tests are âstandardizedâ for a good reason. I agree that not every kid will do well on these but the vast majority can with some effort.
Also, anyone with a computer has access to free test prep for SAT through Khan Academy. You can also avail of very high quality online prep for $50 per month or so.
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Because colleges generally look at a studentâs GPA relative to the schoolâs grading system, while they look at SAT as though it were absolute. A student with a GPA of 3.9 at a high school with the average GPA of 3.6 will not be regarded as the same way as a student with a 3.9 at a high schools with an average GPA of 3.1. However, a student with mild ADHD who is growing up in a poor family, as therefore does not have a place to study, no prep at all, no PSATs, only taking the SAT once, etc, will have their SAT scores compared on the same scale as a kid growing up in a wealthy household, who has had a nice quiet place to prep, and some help as well, has taken three PSATs, multiple timed practice tests, and has a time accommodations which they donât actually need. If they both get a 1380 on the SAT, they will be considered to be at âthe same levelâ.
@hebegebe Made a good point above, that the only time that SAT scores are predictive is when they are controlled for SES. However, in that case, they add little to what can be learned from the studentâs GPA, when taken in context of a studentâs high school and SES.
I think that colleges should be truly test-optional, since, for some students, the SAT or ACT could help with a âborderlineâ case, or in a case in which a student had a bad year for reasons which are out of their control. But a student whose GPA is 3.95 doesnât need an SAT score to indicate that they will do well with their college classes at any college, and getting a 1580 on the SAT does not indicate that a kid with a HSGPA of 3.3 (which doesnât change much from year to year) will do well in a college where the average HSGPA of an incoming class is 3.9.
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Where do you live that a kid with a 3.95 hs gpa would do well in any college class? That is below average at our local public school, and most of those kids wouldnât survive at our state flagship.
? 3.95 is below average ??
Yes and that group of parents can be spending thousands of dollars on test prep for their children to give them an edge. That is who the kid that family canât afford test prep are competing against.
Yes there is free and low cost way to prepare, but you get what you pay for.
The data shows the higher the family income the better the test scores are as a whole.
The argument can be made the test is bias, the counter argument is poor school districts are not preparing the students and itâs not the tests fault. This is a whole other debate.
https://www.sp2.upenn.edu/discover/press/rich-students-get-better-sat-scores-heres-why/
Bottom line
If you are planning on a school that considers test scores for admission or merit, consider it an investment.
Find out if he would do better online or in person for test prep. Private or group. and how much you are willing to spend.
Remember you are competing against kids that have the extra tutoring test prep.
My D23 is currently doing a test prep course for March test
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At our local public high school, yes, 3.95 is in the bottom 50% of the class of 1200 students. Explains a lot about why gpa is often not all that useful in college admissions
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3.95 unweighted is maybe 2 or 3 Bâs in 4 years. If taking AP or other advance classes they will be fine at any State school
Curious which school are you referencing they wouldnât survive at
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If you think he can score well I would definitely recommend to take it or at least to try it once. As others said depends on the schools you are targeting. What I noticed in the 2021 admissions cycle having high SAT/ACT definitely still made a big difference for top 20 admissions. In our high school I havenât heard anyone that was admitted to a top school with a score not in the 1500s.
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Wow! At my Dâs magnet high school, thatâs probably the top 10-15% of the class.
This is why collegeâs have to recalculate GPAs for themselves. Every HS uses a different yard stick.
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Many 3.95 students are not taking ap or advanced classes, just grade level classes. That wonât work for admission or survival at UT-Austin, unless one is an athlete with special tutoring built in
Not to argue but a 3.95 wonât survive UT
but a 3.96-4.0 Will
Just doesnât add up
UT Austin does not list GPA in Student Profile but 3rd party sites are showing 3.84 unweighted
That is insane, if kids are getting all As in non honors classes then they are in the wrong classes.