<p>Mom, you may have a point there about waiting until the fall to take the SAT with prepping. I also agree with you that outside of CC, most kids don't prep. In fact, my daughter was SHOCKED when 99% of her friends said they were only planning on taking the SAT once and many said they weren't really preparing for Saturday. Then again, she said they looked at her like she had horns growing out of her head when she said she would definitely be taking it at least once more, no matter what her score is on the first go round. I think for her, knowing that there will be another chance is comforting and relieves some test anxiety.</p>
<p>The math sections are probably the easiest to prep for. My daughter raised her math score 70 points by using some practice tests the night before the test. She took the tests and then made a list of what questions she had missed. She then was able to focus more narrowly. This type of prep helps avoid stupid errors which unfortunately the better students are prone to make. They are taking upper level math while the test is on a more elementary level.</p>
<p>My daughter will also be there bright and early Saturday morning. She's been doing some of the College Board's online course, but she doesn't seem to be too worried about it. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that she does well enough on it this time (she did take it this time last year and did well). The May test is during AP testing, and she plans to do SATIIs at the June testing.</p>
<p>When are the scores available online? Is it 4 weeks after the testing?</p>
<p>Xiggi,</p>
<p>Most of the prepping my kids have done has indeed been in small doses. I do think, however, that it is helpful to take at least one test under simulated conditions if prepping is one's style, especially given the current time frame of the test. Both of my kids took the old SAT in 8th grade, one took the PSAT once, one twice ... and I believe they both like the new format better. Most of their friends agree that the critical reading session is now the most difficult. It becomes quite tedious as there are now so many passages to plow through, despite one's reading comprehension aptitude. This test is waaaay long. </p>
<p>Anyhow, please cross your fingers for no snow in the northeast on Saturday!</p>
<p>I can't wait for the stink that comes up once they start outsourcing the scoring of these essays to India :-)</p>
<p>Patuxent, the scoring of the writing test is already an example of outsourcing. Your dollars flow to Pearsons, PLC of England. In turn,Pearsons hired the cheapest labor available, right here in the good old U.S.of A.</p>
<p>MomofWildChild, I understand your position. I still would recommend your son to, at least, check the format of questions that might cause wasting some time.</p>
<p>As far as the the test being a big unknown ... that is simply not so! This was true in the summer of 2004 when all the prep companies jockeyed to be the first to get a book about the new SAT published. I am not really sure why they bothered because they have always been unable to predict SAT questions, even with an identical format for ten years. Anyway, the veil of secrecy was lifted last August when The College Board started to distribute the new SAT Guide and introduced their online site with all the explanations. </p>
<p>While it is important for anyone to familiarize him- or herself with the new format, there should not be any surprises on Saturday.</p>
<p>I had thought that my son would be following a normal pattern with taking the March and June SAT but after reading a couple of posts here about taking tests in May and even the fall, I'm wondering if he's doing the right dates.</p>
<p>My thinking was that in March he should have had enough time to prep and then we'll find out his scores in April, he'll get a wake up call, study more and because he'll also be studying for finals at school will be good to go in June. What is reason to take them in May or the fall? The fall to me is the time to send in applications. What am I missing?</p>
<p>Kathie, there are no right dates. March and June are good too. Just that some kids don't want to mess with SATs in the middle of finals in June. Others would like more prep time that is not filled with busy school work. Do what works for your kid. Will he get enough of sleep the night before the SAT in June?</p>
<p>October is not too late to take the SAT, as the scores will be sent on time for EA and ED in November. </p>
<p>My daughter took the SAT in Jan. of her Junior year (2004) and was done. When my son is a Junior, he will probably do March and October 2006. This way he will have summer to prep (yeah, right)</p>
<p>Xiggi,</p>
<p>I definitely agree. We are not expecting any surprises or unknown variables to pop up on Saturday. </p>
<p>Kathiep,</p>
<p>My kids hope to get in two SAT sittings and wish to be done well before fall. Though May will be filled with AP exams, they are not planning on prepping much if at all for the second SAT sitting that month. Once APs are over, they will do some minimal review for SAT IIs in June. Most of that material will have already been reviewed when they studied for AP exams.</p>
<p>They will not study at all over the summer - summer is strictly for fun in their opinions and I agree. The academic work and testing year is just too intense!</p>
<p>Mom of wild child: I had two kids like yours: their feelings were that the tests are what they are, and would show what they'd show. They had no interest in demonstrating what they could learn from studying for them. I agree with Xiggi that knowing the format of questions is important, but beyond that, both of them utterly rejected any idea of prepping, tutoring, etc. D took it once and was satisfied with her score. S took it first time, decided he'd had a bad day (M was lower than PSAT), so he took it again and resolved to pay more attention. Was then satisfied with result, and was finished.</p>
<p>I don't see anything wrong with a different approach, but this one was the only sane one for our family.</p>
<p>Carolyn, my son is taking this Saturday's test (as are most of his friends) also. Our plan is to have him take a SATII in May (probably Math) and another in June (when the subjects are fresh in his mind.) If he wants to he can retake the SAT next fall.</p>
<p>I just want to clarify one point. </p>
<p>I've posted at length about the need to prepare for the SAT. I've, however, also stated that there are no universal solutions. That is why I recognize that it may be wise for some students to take the SAT multiple times -until they reach the score they want or need. Yet, I do not believe that students HAVE to take it multiple times in an official setting. Also, I have always been AGAINST organized SAT classes a la Princeton Review and Kaplan. I do not believe in extensive preparation, but I believe in smart preparation. For instance, I've been a staunch opponent to the study of wordlists. Yet, I recognize that for selected candidates, the study of vocabulary is essential. The number of hours that a student needs to prepare for the SAT is actually pretty small, when knowing WHAT to do and foregoing a mystical quest for a Holy Grail of amazing techniques and magical shortcuts. </p>
<p>I think that the SAT causes enormous misconceptions, ranging from its relative difficulty to its use in college admissions. I think that it is a rather simple test: anyone should earn a score that reflects his or her TRUE potential, be it 1500, 2000 or 2400. However, to get there, one needs to respect the set of simple rules that makes the SAT such a different animal.</p>
<p>Let's all compare notes about our kids reactions on Saturday. My daughter says that about 80% of her friends are taking the Saturday SAT and everyone is really nervous. Apparently lots of rumors are flying about the grading curve. Luckily, my daughter seems fairly confident (even though she's not expecting much from math) but she has told me that Saturday afternoon she expects major pampering after the test. :)</p>
<p>This may seem really simple, but I advise all parents to help their kids taking the test to a solid breakfast. I suspect that the length of the test is going to prove to be an unanticipated issue (at least to the CB). That 4th hour is not going to produce optimum scores...</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Xiggi, they're not really hiring the "cheapest labor available," at least not by most people's standards. While I did turn down their contract offer because it would have meant cutting back on my CTY kids, whom I love, the pay range wasn't that bad for relatively uncommitted work. It's not particularly pleasant work--"sweatshop scoring," my best friend and I called it when we did it for the Florida CLAST exam years ago--but it's not done by minimum-wage-slaves with minimal degrees and experience, either.</p>
<p>ctymom - lets see what happens when they have to score 1.5 million of them a year. I will bet this will be starting to move to India before the end of 2006. They already know they cannot get consistency in the scoring and it is the randomness of it that the UC's actually wanted. Throw a little random number generater in there to try and level the playing field.</p>
<p>Carolyn - my dau and most of her friends will be taking the new SAT tomorrow. Many took the old test, but dau was not able to since she had Mock Trial practice. Unfortunately, our high school is on a field trip all day 5:45 am - 9:30+ pm and w/ other pressing matters, my dau thought she should w/draw. I told her since she has not had a chance to study, nor to take a class, nor to buy a book to review ... she should look at it as just a practice and not worry about her score! I hope I didn't advise her poorly.... any thoughts?</p>
<p>klc:</p>
<p>There are those extremely rarest of RARE children that can show up and ace anything. But, IMO a kid should only take either SAT or ACT when they are ready (whatever that means for them). If my S had no time to even look at the format, will not be getting a good night's sleep due to other externalities....I would not waste the 4 hours or money. Taking it 'for practice' or 'fun' is of no value, again, IMO. I've known several kids who took the SAT "to see what its like" and bombed it -- thus, the pressure on the retake is phenomenal. If she just wants to practice, purchase the CB guide to SAT's and have her sit down for 4 hours and take a practice test.</p>
<p>btw: Even tho you registered, you can cal CB and pay a small date transfer fee.</p>
<p>Thanx Bluebayou - as my dau registered herself ... I didn't realize you could get your $$ back! I guess I'll let her cancel! She'll probably be thrilled to sleep in!</p>
<p>well you can't get a refund, but you can tranfer the reg to a different date -- oops, sorry, I spoke too soon. To change to a diff date, you need to call 2 weeks in advance.</p>