D21 has been struggling with the ACT. Got her second test back and got English up to 33, Reading to 31, but Science is 24 and Math 27. She’s really hoping to get to a 31/32 and has already studied so much. We were ready to get a tutor but, before I bit that bullet, I wanted to giver her an SAT.
Back in the summer when we were deciding which test was better, she got a 580EW/550 Math on a practice SAT and I was like yeah no. Today, she got a 700EW/670 Math. That’s a 30. Only twenty more points to a 31 equivalent and 50 more to a 32. So, she is switching. Next offered SAT in mid-March so she has a lot of time. I’m going to have her do some SAT math prep in the book S19 used and just do practice tests of EW over the next month and see how it goes before we bring in a tutor.
She’s got the March test and then an in-school SAT mid-April. We would skip the May 2nd test and have her do June if she wants or even wait until Aug.
She’s feeling much better. Non over-confident but really glad she doesn’t have to deal with ACT science and she is thrilled about the time per question on the SAT.
That is great news, good luck to her on the SAT. Do you mind sharing which book you used for Math prep? S is hoping to improve his Math score when the school gives everyone the SAT in April, I think.
I did buy him an ACT prep book so he could review over the break to see if he wants to take it and he has yet to open the book.
That’s great news, @homerdog. My d also decided just to focus on the SAT, maybe not take the ACT at all since she had a similar dramatic jump between the PSAT and first SAT. And you’re right that just getting that mood/ego boost of a good result goes a long way to motivate them and give confidence for the long haul. I know my D performs better when she feels she has some reason for optimism.
@Aguadecoco and @homerdog , FWIW, I ordered the PWN SAT math guide after looking at a few reviews on Amazon. I know lots of books have their followers. Some seem to swear by SAT Panda, while others don’t like it at all, not as much middle ground. Reviewers for PWN said it’s a good book for students who have already achieved 600+. People consistently said they liked the author’s conversational tone in the book…not too dry. (That’s really why I ordered it…I figured any book more likely to hold D’s interest is going to be the best book). He does a lot with testing strategies particular to the SAT and time-saving shortcuts. D has done around 40 pages already (some pages go fast, as they are explanatory, while others are denser, with practice questions). I’m sure she’ll slow down when the math gets tougher later in the book. I asked her if she finds it more helpful than Khan Academy, and she said that Khan was good (it helped her score go up a lot in the month that she used it) but she likes how the book gives her new ways to work out problems (plus the shortcuts). So if she finishes the book well before the March test she can polish with more Khan exercises and practice tests, I guess. Also have Erica Meltzer for ERW. Hoping for 40-60 more points on math and call it a day (as she only has to maintain ERW).
BTW, the PWN book also has online videos that you can access by using a code that you get upon ordering the book. I forgot about that, as D hasn’t watched the videos yet.
@homerdog that is great news! Glad you finally got her scores back and were able to use them to figure out a plan going forward that you’re all comfortable with and that gives your D some confidence/optimism for all of this testing.
@inthegarden I’m glad your D has bounced back with some Downton Abbey therapy. This, that you wrote, resonates so much with me: “I don’t know whether to be more exasperated with her ( a little) for not being more systematic in her studying, or with her teacher for not designing a fairer assessment, or just philosophical, as in ‘life can be disappointing and hard sometimes and better to learn that now.’”
And thank you for the description of the PWN book…it’s helpful to get an idea of the kind of student it would be best for.
S21 is taking the SAT for a second time in March (no ACT for him - he is in the 3rd percentile for processing speed and has pretty extreme ADHD so the timing on the ACT would be a killer for him. Honestly I’m not even sure about the ACT for D23 who doesn’t have any of those same challenges but just simply struggles with speed on quant…I think she’ll do a practice test this summer to see. In S21’s case we’re only hoping for a 1300 (and would actually be pretty thrilled with a 1300), so if he somehow manages to superscore to that in March, he’s done. His current from the one SAT he took in Oct is a 660 EW/570 Math. My guess is he’ll take it a 3rd time, though, since I’m not sure he can hit that 1300 mark in March. He’ll need to wait until August to do so since he is doing an SAT subject test on the May SAT date and another on the June SAT date. We had to schedule the two subject tests on different dates because the Latin SAT is only given in June (and December) but we wanted him to do the other (US History) in May since that is when it will be freshest in his mind as a result of being prepped for the AP US History test. I think that’s it for him - the 2 SAT subject tests, 2 AP tests, and the general SAT 2 or 3 times. He is not a high stats kid, so this is plenty of standardized testing for him given his processing speed challenges.
The Latin SAT test is only given at a smaller number of testing centers…plus he tests with some accommodations and those types of seats fill up fast, so he is going to end up taking these 4 different SATs (Oct 2019 SAT, March 2020 SAT, May 2020 SAT Hist, June 2020 SAT Latin) at 3 different high schools, none of which are his own school…so much for any sort of consistency/familiarity with the testing center…I had thought that having him do one this past October, even if the score wasn’t what he wanted, would give him some familiarity with the testing center and alleviate some of that basic anxiety for the next time around. Apparently not.
One of his schools requires the writing portion of the SAT as well…so if he really wants to apply to that school, he’ll need to take the SAT again in August anyway since we’re not adding the writing portion for March. He has testing accommodations so even without the writing portion, he was at the testing center in October from 7:30 until about 2:00…I think with the writing portion it would go to 3:30 or 4:00…ugh. I’m not tied to him applying to that particular school, but I think he really wants to - we’ll see if he wants to enough to do the writing portion on the SAT, I guess!
@nichols51 Just a reminder on the SAT essay to check that college’s website for updates, especially over this summer, to see if that requirement or recommendation gets dropped. The only top schools I’m aware of that still need the SAT essay are UCs and Duke. Virtually all others either changed to optional or don’t even mention it anymore.
@evergreen5 thank you for that tip! He isn’t applying to the most selective schools (mostly CTCL type schools plus 2 or 3 others). I just checked the school on his list that had been requiring the writing section (earlier in 2019 when I checked), and I don’t see it mentioned there anymore. I’m going to contact them directly to confirm (especially as he is a homeschooler and often schools have more testing requirements for homeschoolers), but I am cautiously optimistic that they have dropped the requirement. Thank you!!
@homerdog Glad the scores finally came through and good luck with the SAT! My D21 also preferred it over the ACT. What does PWN stand for?
@inthegarden I’m happy your daughter is feeling better. I can’t imagine how frustrated she must have felt with a narrowly-defined, high stakes test like that. Who knows, she may have done better than she thought?
@nichols51 If your kid does need to take the SAT with essay, it doesn’t extend the time that much because then you don’t need to take the “experimental” extra section. However, it sounds like he might not have to do it at all. As @evergreen5 has stated, schools continue to drop the essay requirement.
Hi All, I am looking for suggestions for online classes for physics and Environmental science for my DD. We looked at the local community colleges but they are full already. Also, I would preferred self paced as 2nd semester tends to become crazy in May. I am thinking Honors physics CTY and AP environmental science UC scout. Anybody has input about both? Thanks in advance
I have noticed the same about the SAT essay, but some schools still have it listed as “recommended”. I haven’t figured out the deal with subject tests either. At this point, as D21 is not looking at engineering, ivy or Tufts, it doesn’t look like they are required. I will have to check UCLA and UT again regarding the specific school she’d want. The June test date is the same day as graduation and she’d like to play with the orchestra. She missed last year because she took the Math2 subject test. Anyone with thoughts?
@mm5678 Check the language directly on the college’s website. As far as I’ve seen (besides UCs requiring), only Duke “recommends” and everyone else either changed their language to “optional” or “not required” or dropped any mention that it even exists. No Ivy requires/recommends the essay, nor does Tufts. UT explicitly says they do not require.
However, the essay is currently required for all UCs, including UCLA. At present, they will only consider a single-sitting test score with essay and they do not superscore. There has been talk of the UCs going test-optional, but it’s anyone’s guess when that might happen, if it ever does. (Most out-of-staters wouldn’t take the essay just for UCs, as they are not a great value, 65k no aid.)
Thanks. She did one sitting with the essay already and UCLA is a long shot. I was asking more about the subject tests. Looking at most of the websites after I posted, it looks like they are mostly required for engineering, homeschoolers and non-US grads. I will be happy when the testing portion of all this is done!
@mm5678 whoops, sorry I somehow missed your mention of subject tests.
@Darcy123 Good to know that your D was accepted without essay - congrats! In spite of the “optional” language under the Standardized Tests tab, it still says “We recommend, but do not require, the optional essay” under the ACT tab and also “For the SAT, we recommend, but do not require, both subject tests and the optional essay section” under the SAT tab. Confusing!
