Preparing for the SAT at 11 years old

We are likely applying for several scholarships/ special programs next year that require the SAT. My son will be newly minted 12yo when he takes it. Any advice about preparing for the exam with a young child? He is very bright but doesn’t have a lot of experience with timed tests. He is very bright but pokey. He did respond to practice/tutoring and scored very highly on ISEE with practice. Very high scores/perfect otherwise on non-timed tests. But… sadly the schools here are poor, we got zippo financial aid for private schools, and I have poor prospects for high school. We got into an excellent public program for middle school but no such program exists for HS.

I can’t even wrap myself around the challenge. He was really crushed by the private school application process (touring, expectations raised, working very hard to study, so much studying, performing extremely well, not being accepted, watching far less accomplished kids accepted).

So? How to prepare? Argh. This feels so awful but I know practice will really really help. Tutor? khan? He is just so young I wonder if I really need a tutor.

Are you sure they require the SAT, and not the SSAT instead, which is more age appropriate? If he is already in a good middle school, wouldn’t you wait a year or two before looking at high school or boarding options?

Some CTY and similar programs do require an SAT score. Prep schools require the SSAT.

But I’m also confused. Was your son applying to private day schools or boarding schools?

Regardless…there are SAT test prep things you can buy like practice tests.

But if he is stressed…why are you doing this? Are there no other activities he can enjoy for next summer where the SAT isn’t required? Actually…I KNOW there are plenty of summer things that don’t require the SAT.

And he knows this? How? there is NO way he knows all of what was in other student applications. No way.

As an aside, you may wish to reconsider your strategy here. There are not that many generous financial aid options for private high schools, competition can be fierce, and schools have institutional needs which must be considered in admittance. I would never count on receiving a generous scholarship. If the public schools are poor, are there local charter schools, religious based schools, or magnet programs to consider? There must be at least some good students at the public school, and maybe there are special programs possible there.

If it is for the CTY program, you could consider not having your son study for the SAT. They only have to meet the threshold, it doesn’t matter what the score is beyond that. So no benefit to scoring 100 points (or whatever) over the threshold. If he gets a high enough score, great. If not, figure out something else to do over the summer. I would not put a lot of pressure on an 11 year old for this. It’s just not that important.

Thank you. He already qualifies for CTY with high honors. And we have already been unsuccessful with private school financial aid. So I’m thinking about scholarship programs.

@JudiAU

Scholarship programs for what? This is an 11 year old, right? Do you really want this kid to start competing for scholarships at the age of 11?

If this is for a summer program, look for less costly options.

He didn’t get accepted to the private schools…so you don’t need scholarship money for those…are you under the (wrong) impression that if he gets scholarships, the private’s might change their minds and admit him?

Are you thinking he can earn scholarships NOW for when he applies to private high school? Wrong there too.

I’m happy for the success of all the other children and I’m sure they are bringing their unique diversity and talents to their schools. But no, we’ve known the kids and families for 7+ years and he is the academic standout and that is what I was clumsily referencing.

Get sample SAT tests (just 2 should suffice) so that your child becomes familiar with the test format & type of questions.

Allow him to share which questions seem too hard for him.

Then ask a teacher for recommendations regarding how to proceed with preparing for the SAT.

@JudiAU

Schools are not just looking for academic standouts. If your goal is to have your 11 year old be an academic standout…with precious little else to offer a school…be prepared for some more disappointments along the way. Many programs, schools and colleges are looking for kids who have other things on their applications beside JUST academic standout.

And you didn’t answer my question…why are you looking for scholarships…now? What will your son use them for?

If he qualified for CTY with high honors, then he already has a standout SAT score for a young child. If he needs the SSAT, a child who already did well on the SAT will do well on that. Just get a prep book with practice tests, so he can become familiar with the test format, and try not to make a big deal about it. He’ll do fine.

And also…make sure he gets to do 11 year old things…how about camp, swimming lessons, baseball or some other sport, summer music lessons…something in addition to his academic building.

Just a reality check-if he didn’t get financial aid offers, it would also seem unlikely he would get the very few more competitive scholarships out there. Not sure this is a productive use of time, but it is your summer.

Also, you are assuming he didn’t get accepted because he needed financial aid…but there is NO WAY for you to know that. None. Prep school financial aid is often more generous than college financial aid. We know kids who got full rides to places like Choate and Miss Porters who didn’t get money from colleges.

Please…please don’t assume that the financial aid was the only reason your 11 year old didn’t get accepted to a tippy top day school.

Slight, but very relevant tangent: cream rises to the top. If your son has talent (and absolutely, it seems he does), it will be recognized. Whether he goes to this or that school, or wins, or doesn’t win, an award, if he works hard and pursues things that interest him, he will be recognized. It will be ok.

Observations that may help if you do take the SAT or ACT for programs as a middle school student. Our kiddo took a test for CTY that had several components - was alone in a room at a university that administered the test. For Duke TIP, Kiddo took the ACT (I think this was at the end of 6th or beginning of 7th) at a local high school. A few kids we knew took the SAT. The folks at the high school placed the younger kids taking the ACT for Duke TIP in their own area of the larger room where the test was given. It was a bit intimidating for kiddo to walk up, wait in line and get looks from much older kids. Then when we saw there was a teacher in charge of the younger kids for the test, it felt better. The folks whose kids took the SAT at another school saw a larger crowd.

Initial thoughts - What is the desired end result of this? To be able to attend $$$ enrichment classes? To attend a better high school? to attend an ivy vs a normal good school? if you are this stressed, your kid will pick up on and feed off of your stress. Don’t. Whatever happens, it will be OK. At the very most, I would buy a SAT book and let him study if he wants. Have you talked to him about what he wants? Part of being a successful accelerated student involves being able to handle more adult situations. You shouldn’t have to prep for that. If he’s not the type to handle that well, do him a favor and don’t put him in that situation. Let him be a kid and develop socially in a normal fashion. Social skills are just as important as academic ones.

Background -prior to their poor & rough high school experience, we put our kids in a local private K-8 school that is roughly on par with a mediocre-good suburban public school in a better area. In 1st grade the teachers and principals identified my older S as “gifted” and wanted to accelerate him, especially in math. They took the lead in most everything, but we had MANY discussions with them, ourselves, and especially our S to figure out how to proceed. While he had to do things above most kids his age, at the time it just seemed normal. Looking back now, I am amazed he did it. When he took the CTY test in 2nd grade, we had to drive an hour and he had to go into a cube farm where everyone else was an adult, mostly taking nursing exams. On his 12th bday, he went to the local cc and took the entrance exam. He took pre-cal/applied calc in 7th grade with the college kids. (side note - We got him his first cell phone because the prior year there were 3 lock downs of armed intruders on campus.) In 8th, he did calc with the college kids at the local uni. The principal would shuttle him back & forth. In 9th, the class schedule didn’t fit, so the generous professor taught him 1 on 1 on the side. However, he would have 2 days to prepare a 3-5 page paper and present it to a class of strange college kids.

I am more blown away that he was able to handle this without any obvious stress than I ever was at his As in the math classes. Long story short - the academic portion of accelerating a kid should not be so stressful. If it is, back off. Let them be a kid. Whatever he gets on the SAT and wherever that places him, that’s where he was meant to be. The other non-academic issues should be what you monitor. Involve your kid. We had many talks about why he wanted to do this and if he did, he would have to act like an adult doing all of the talking with the professor. We would not step in and be involved except for registration & $$$.

There are also plenty of enrichment camps and activities that don’t involve a lot of $$$. You just have to hunt for them or even create your own. They might not be prestigious. They might not help your kid get into an ivy league. But does that matter? Is that the end goal? Or to have a happy, well rounded, properly challenged, but not stressed out kid that turns into a productive citizen?

Good luck. I know it is hard to figure out what is the “right” thing to do with unusual kids. All I wanted was a crystal ball or someone to tell me it would turn out all right in the end.

You’ve received a lot of important questions to ponder and consider with your S. No one can answer them but you and him.

Our kids were identified as very gifted from very young ages. Our kids’ pediatrician urged that they be given time so we actually had them do JR K instead of going to K where they’d be among the youngest in the class due to Nov birthdates.

They were asked at various points along the way if they wanted to do research or extra assignments but they opted to decline and instead follow their own interests, wherever it lead them and cultivate other interests and friendships. No regrets.

I believe S opted to spend a short while reading a paperback we borrowed from the library called “Tooth and Nail,” I believe that was a story built around SAT vocabulary words. D declined to even look at it. They otherwise didn’t prep as far as I remember their jr high SAT testing nearly two decades ago.

My kids went into the SAT with some of their friends when they were in middle school, but they weren’t segregated from the older kids. If anything I think the older kids were intimidated by them. They were far less stressed that the high school kids. There are a few perks for kids scoring over 700 before they are in high school, and some of the CTY programs fill themselves up with the highest scorers first, but for the most part the threshold is what really matters. I can’t really tell you about studying because my kids did very little besides take the practice test they send you. I think taking a few practice test sections under timed conditions may help him get the sense of how fast he needs to go, and when to guess and move on.

I, too, am pretty baffled by what the OP hopes to accomplish with a high SAT score. High schools generally don’t have gifted programs the way some elementary or middle schools do, because they offer honors and AP courses that serve the needs of most advanced students. Even a high school with low average SAT scores (I think ours are under 500 per section) may still do well by their advanced students. Our hs sends lots of kids to very selective schools every year. It has great arts programs, great sports, and many extra curriculuar offerings as well.

@judiAU The only HS scholarship programs I know are Jack Kent Cooke (need+merit) and Caroline Bradley (merit) and I am pretty sure that a CTY High Honors score should meet the eligibility requirements to apply for both. Is he looking towards Davidson SET, by any chance, as the threshold is 700 in either the Math or CRW section of the SAT?