If I were in this situation and my kid really wanted to have test results in hand by when the fall application opens for Pitt, I would have her start now on an SAT prep schedule using Khan. She has 2.5 months until the May test date, which is enough time to make significant improvements, especially since she will be able to concentrate mostly on the math section.
She could take a test every other week, then go through it thoroughly, spending 30ish minutes a day except test days.
Do a 30 day intense plan in May (1 hour a day), take again in June, and then call it one way or the other (TO or SAT).
When we toured Pitt, they were very clear that applying early is important. I wouldn’t want to hold off on applying on the really small chance that the August SAT would make a difference.
Has your D taken any form of ACT? If she hasn’t, I wouldn’t want to switch formats at this point, and I don’t think there is a Khan equivalent for the ACT. D24’s school had them take both the pre-SAT and pre-ACT so she knew she preferred the format of the SAT before investing a lot of time (the science section on the ACT definitely adds another study component).
It really feels like test optional would be the easier option, but If she really wants to have a good test score, now is her chance to prove it!
D24 is prepping now for her last go at it, and I will be so happy to have it in the rear view mirror even if she ends up test optional (like your D, she would prefer to be able to send scores).
This. My kids both took the SAT in May or June junior year…and both retook in the fall.
For our second kid…the retake in the fall was supposed to be released in time for the EA applications…but the CB had some sort of issue that year. It was delayed by at least six weeks. I’m not making this up. But it didn’t matter because that kid’s score didn’t increase…at.all. Yes, she got accepted to the EA and rolling schools.
I would try to do the prep now. Take the test in May…and see how it goes.
For Pitt- I would apply the second she knows her senior schedule and can enter those classes on the SRAR, and if that’s before she can take an SAT or ACT I wouldn’t worry about it. Grab those early spots.
Film is not super big at Pitt yet as someone mentioned and her chances are probably good without scores.
and applying early really is a boost.
First, request the extended time now for both SAT and ACT.
ACT science has nothing to do with science! It is focused on data interpretation. All one has to do is become familiar with the ways in which they present the data, which can be accomplished by just doing the practice sections in The Official Guide to the ACT (an older year’s book is fine, too).
Have her download and try an ACT practice test, from their website. She will then tell you how she feels about it vs the SAT. For my kid, ACT was better. The English is a bit easier, the science is easy to prep for. The hard part is the math prep, and the fact that there’s not enough time to do all the problems - but since you can get her extended time, problem solved.
I would pay the late registration fee and have her take the March 11th SAT. She can do prep if she has time, but don’t stress the prep at this point. The purpose of taking this particular sitting is to give her a feel for the test and a baseline score. Also register her for the next ACT test. Get that baseline. She may surprise both of you and score better than anticipated on one or both tests. If not, she has experienced both tests and can decided whether she’d rather put the effort into prepping for the June (or July for ACT) sitting of her preferred test OR she’s done testing and will apply test optional.
Although the subjects are covered you don’t have to know anything outside of the ACT science test section to do well. It’s really a reading comprehension test. Why wait till fall? It should be offered several times before then. I would start the spring and use Khan Academy to study, linking it to her college board account.
Why don’t you have her do a full-length practice SAT and a full-length practice ACT. Do them under test conditions. That way she can get a sense for what each test is like.