<p>My son plans to take the SAT for the first time this October, with the PSAT two weeks later. His high school GCs suggest taking the SAT for the first time in January of Jr year. I assume that part of their reasoning is that only Juniors will be taking the test by then, but January is a busy time for him with a winter HS sport. Also, first semester exams end one week before the Jan SAT date, and could end later if we end up with multiple snow days.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any insight as to how much steeper the curve is for the Oct SAT when compared to the Jan, March or May exams? Will the Dec exam consist only of Juniors or could there still be seniors taking the Dec test? Is any one test date 'easier' than another or is there just too much variability to give an informed response?</p>
<p>Our thought was to have him take the test in Oct & Dec before the winter sport kicked into high gear. If he wasn't happy with his scores, he could regroup for the May exam. Any thoughts from those who have already been through this process? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>October is a great time to take the SAT since it will help act as a warm up to the PSAT, especially if he is aiming for NMF. I believe the SAT curve is pre-determined by the test difficulty so there really is no “better time” to take the test in my opinion. I believe “erik the red” compiles SAT curve info so you might want to check it out. S took the Oct sitting last year and did very well. It helped ease his mind all of Junior year and allowed him to focus on other things (like SAT IIs, AP’s and sports/ec’s) that are also very important. I think your Oct/Dec test date strategy is ideal.</p>
<p>if you take the sat in oct, will colleges look at your scores compared with the older classmen, such as seniors? or do they look at how you did compared to your fellow calssmen( juniors)</p>
<p>Absolutely let him take it in October or November. My students do it all the time. If he’s prepping for PSAT, why let that work go to waste? The curves theoretically even out the tests. As far as being compared by class, that doesn’t happen. His score is his score, but he can take it again. He should look at his results for direction as to where he needs to brush-up on his skills.</p>
<p>Thanks bublubu! I haven’t come across other parents following the same strategy so I wanted to see if anyone else had tried it. He is not yet sixteen so will also need to learn to drive during this school year so I am trying to clear the schedule as much as possible. </p>
<p>I would never have considered NMF, except that he has performed surprisingly well on the practice tests he took at home this summer. We shall see. CT’s cut-off score is fairly high. Did your son ‘study’ for the PSAT other than studying for the SAT? I haven’t come across a College Board book for the PSAT so he is just working out of the Blue Book for the SAT.</p>
<p>I still don’t fully understand the curve of the scoring. It just seems as though the presence of seniors in the test-taking population should result in more perfect scores, and that the College Board wouldn’t want an excess of perfect scores. Are some tests simply more difficult than others? I am completely new to this process (other than when I took the test many moons ago!) so I would love to hear anything you know.</p>
<p>I have heard parents mention that the Math II SAT subject test is more forgiving than the SAT I subject test. I have never seen this in print anywhere, so the parents I spoke to may not have known either. I will look for erik the red’s posts and see if I can understand this.</p>
<p>Loriyacht–your reply came in while I was still typing. Thank you also. He actually hadn’t been prepping for PSAT as I didn’t think NMF was even a possibility, and I am still not planning on it but now think that there is a chance. I also chose the Oct test so that he could receive a copy of his exam to use in studying for the Dec test.</p>
<p>First of all, good luck to your son. It is really wise of him to be getting a head start right at the beginning of junior year. Just as others said, I believe the October test date
should be fine. I had some thoughts though… since the PSAT is meant to be prep for the SAT, don’t you think it would be better for him to do the PSAT before the SAT?</p>
<p>He can do the PSAT in October, and then do the SAT in December (since he’s busy in January)…</p>
<p>As for prep material, Barron’s has a good book specifically for the PSAT.</p>
<p>Of course the best course of action for you would be to look at a summary of curves. Nevertheless, people are right when they say the subject tests are more forgiving than the SAT Reasoning Test. I have taken both tests. To secure an 800 on the reasoning test, you probably at most will miss three questions. On some subject tests (depending on the curve), you can still miss 6 or 7 questions and get an 800.</p>
<p>quick question, is the October SAT easier because all the desperate seniors are taking it, so the College Board might think those people are stupid, so they make it easier? And then there won’t be as many perfect scores because they are so stupid? I’m going to be a senior and try to raise my score from 1900 to 2200. And then January and May are tougher because those are months when the best students take it? Just a thought. And have some BB tests with ranges only come out yet and have scores attached?</p>
<p>StayMotivated–I finally read the endless discussions about the curves. (Not all of them; there are quite a few including several explanations including Stats!) My conclusion is that no one really knows and to just take the test when you feel prepared/have the time. I had been trying to second-guess who would be taking the test which month and how the other test takers would influence the curve. My readings now seem to indicate that the ‘equalizer’ section removes that variability. (I should have copied the explanation as it made sense when I read it earlier this evening!) </p>
<p>The SAT will function as practice for the PSAT for my son. He will take the SAT the first w/e in Oct, the PSAT two weeks later, await the SAT results and then retake SAT in December, assuming that is needed. The Dec test is one week after Thanksgiving break so that will allow a little time for cramming. If this approach doesn’t work, he can regroup for March or May.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion of the Barron’s book. I had read mixed comments about Barron’s SAT book, but will take a look at the PSAT book.</p>
<p>Did your son take a SAT practice test and if his scores are within a 100-200 range of where he wants to be, he should go ahead take the October one.</p>
<p>He should be taking a weekly full test as part of his study plan, until Oct 6. He should not need to study separately for PSAT…it just skips the essay section, it is more or less a smaller version of the SAT.</p>
<p>He can do a sample PSAT from the booklet they give out in the school when they enroll for the PSAT.</p>
<p>I have advised many people to take the SAT in October of one’s junior year so that the prep for the PSAT and SAT can be done at the same time.</p>
<p>My D took the October SAT, didn’t score as high as we had hoped, but got the highest grade in her school on the PSAT and was a NM Scholar.</p>
<p>My S took the October SAT and will be a NM Commended Scholar.</p>
<p>I have no way of knowing whether these things would have happened if they hadn’t taken the October SAT, but it makes sense to use time efficiently, particularly as your child plays a winter sport.</p>
<p>Fall2016parent is mistaken in believing that all scores all reported to the colleges. Some colleges require all scores to be reported, but the vast majority do not, and a very small minority requires the SAT to be reported even if the ACT is higher.</p>
<p>Thank you Fall2016 & Schokolade—my son was studying with a tutor this summer (along with another boy to defray the cost). I have been very pleasantly surprised at how much the tutor (or the practice) has helped. I only hired the tutor to work on Math & CR so now I am having my son go back and complete the skipped Writing sections on his own. The challenge is getting him to study now that school has started. He is not a self-starter but I know that he wants to succeed at this. I have seen some fall-off in scores since the tutoring ended at the end of July.</p>
<p>To answer your question Fall2016, yes, I do think his practice scores have been within 100 or so points of where he will end up. It is difficult to carve out a four hour block for the practice tests. I realize that 30 min here and 45 min there does not simulate testing conditions, so at this point, I am just trying to keep him engaged daily. He mentioned that the Trig they are covering in his pre-calc class is material he studied for the SAT this summer, so perhaps math class will help reinforce concepts.</p>
<p>One problem I am encountering is that the tutor used random questions throughout the blue book when instructing the boys this summer. There aren’t too many ‘clean’ tests left for him to complete.</p>
<p>Schokolad–I think I may have mentioned above that I hadn’t given the PSAT a second thought b/c his 10th grade PSAT scores were far from the commended cut-off level. This summer’s practice scores lead me to believe that he should enjoy the same success as your S but perhaps not as your daughter.</p>
<p>I started this thread to see if there was one test date that was more beneficial than another. I have learned so much more helpful info along the way, so THANK YOU to all who have written.</p>
<p>Glad to see other parents with same issue! This is my second go-round with college process. First kid did what her (boarding) High School recommended and didn’t take SAT until Jan of Junior Year. Her score was low–even though she had taken some basic prep during the previous summer. So we switched and had her take the ACT in April–with no prep–which she did much better on. We then scrambled to shove in ACT prep into her already busy Junior Year schedule and she retook the test in Oct and Nov of Senior year. By then she was crazed with a heavy senior classwork load, ED app, Overnight recruiting trips (she’s an athlete), etc. etc. In all of this, I kicked myself for not dealing with the testing issue earlier–and to blindly listening to what the boarding school college counselor as she recommended taking the test in Jan.</p>
<p>Fast forward to Kid #2. Different boarding school–but same advice from college counseling: don’t take the SAT till Jan of the Junior Year (they’re emphatic about it!). Son has been doing SAT prep for latter half of summer. He begins his Junior Year this Fall. I’m thinking he should take the Oct test while it is all fresh in his head–and before his regular schoolwork starts heating up (he goes to a very rigorous BSchool). He would need to take the SAT 2 with listening for his language in Nov (listening only given once per year), and by December, studying for finals will be well underway so I know he would not be focusing on SAT prep (regardless of what he would be telling me). </p>
<p>So we’ve registered for the Oct test today but now I’m having second thoughts. He HAS to take the PSAT in Nov–and we would get results in Dec. Which would give him time to brush up over Christmas for the SAT in Jan. So why risk mucking up his testing profile with a low first score in October? He too is questioning why he’s taking it so early when his college counseling office is recommending January. At the same time, he could do well in October and be done and over with it once and for all. </p>
<p>Does anyone know why boarding schools stick to their guns on January for the first test? I’m thinking they do it to to stave off the stress of Junior Year till January when scores start coming in! Thoughts anyone?</p>
<p>The one advantage to the January test date is the availability of the Question and Answer service - well worth the money (under $20). With that they mail you a copy of the test booklet, and a report showing the correct answer, his answer, the difficulty level, and an explanation.</p>
<p>The Oct test date also allows one to order a copy of the exam, the Q&A service. I know there are three test dates that offer this but do not know the third.</p>
<p>intlprepmom–my son’s public, but rigorous/college-prep, high school also suggests that all students take the SAT for the first time Jan of Jr year. They offer the PSAT in 10th & 11th grades, but do not encourage anyone to think of the SAT prior to Jan. </p>
<p>Our HS holds midterm exams during the second week of Jan, a week to ten days prior to the Jan SAT. The students are usually fairly burned out by the end of midterms, so the Jan test date strikes me as less than ideal. Having said that, I started this thread because I wondered if there were some advantage in the scoring/curve of the scoring for the Jan test date since only Juniors would sit for that test date. </p>
<p>My thought process was similar to the one you sketched out above. Since my son studied this summer, why not get the exam out of the way while the info is still fresh and before he becomes too bogged down in his course work? Also, the Oct SAT is only two weeks before the PSAT so the SAT studying may pay off on the PSAT score. You mentioned a Nov PSAT date but I think it is only offered Oct 17th & 20th. </p>
<p>I don’t have an answer to your question of why the boarding school GCs are so adamant that Jrs not take the test until Jan, but I do think your own logic is sound (because it is the same as my own!), and that your son should proceed with the schedule you outlined.</p>