<p>“My D flat out refused to study for any of the standardized tests. Claimed she didn’t want to go to a college that judged her based on a 3 hr. test and would not play into the corporate game.”</p>
<p>Oh my goodness runningmom, my son must have a twin out there! Hahaha crack me up she sounds just like him </p>
<p>My son also did not study for the ACT or SAT and scored really well on both tests. He took the ACT once as a freshman, as a sophomore and then as a junior and I was surprised at how much his score increased each time. Then, he took the SAT at the end of junior year (for NMSF purposes) and on his one and only shot scored really well. With the ACT being more of a knowledge based test its not surprising that the score would go up as they take advance through high school. I think she’s a smart girl to know how to properly balance everything.</p>
<p>I agree with Xiggi’s advice - your daughter probably needs very little prep, if at all, but going over a test or two might improve her scores quite a bit. I am also pretty sure that her score can be much higher than ACT 32 equivalent.</p>
<p>Stratospheric scores can be important for merit aid (which might be relevant at UChicago - I am not sure…)</p>
<p>Swarthmore has a very good (and very friendly) Linguistic department, btw.</p>
<p>ClassicRockerDad–finally, a chance to give back a little info after all the comp sci help you’ve given me (& son)!</p>
<p>Son did well on the ACT (no prep) and every single school he applied to took it, w/out his SAT score (somewhat lower so we didn’t even send it). So if she does retake the ACT and does even better, she can forego the whole SAT prep thing. </p>
<p>If she does plan to take the SAT, as mentioned, she should at least do some preliminary prep because schools that need the SAT II tests will automatically get her SAT score also.</p>
<p>However, as xiggi said, this does not have to be all that arduous. If she’s got a good grasp of the subject matter, she can 1) at the very least review the strategy sections of the Collegeboard or even Princeton Review books or (2) with just a bit more effort, take a test to see where her weaknesses are and hone in just on those sections.</p>
<p>If she doesn’t have the impetus to do it on her own, she can make 1-2 appts w/a private tutor (easily obtainable on Craig’s List–teachers earning extra money, etc.–just meet in public place). She can do an assessment test, then work (w/the tutor or on her own) focusing on these areas via the “10 Real SATs” book. </p>
<p>At the most minimal–she should read the strategy sections of a review book on how to answer questions for the PSAT. NMF is nice to have and a few points can make all the difference.</p>
<p>I’m amused that your D is drawn to Chicago and MIT and not to the “power schools” such as Harvard. I think those two schools are just as intense, maybe more so, than Harvard. But if she is interested in linguistics, there are better schools than Harvard and MIT.</p>
<p>Anyway, your D is only a junior? And she already has 2 perfect SAT Subjects? Terrific. If that is the case, she can take the SAT at the end of her junior year, plus one more SAT in case she wants to apply to some schools that ask for 3 (yeah, Harvard!). Plenty of time.</p>
<p>My S applied the xiggi method in that he bought the 10RealSATs (that was before the new SAT) looked at some of the tests and test strategies. He may have devoted 15 minutes each time to reading those over maybe a couple of weeks. There is no need for a student as good as your D to spend a lot of time prepping, but it’s good to know the tricks.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is a big deal for you D, given what you have shown one way or the other. At best she might do a little review on her own an take a practice test or two. On the other hand, you don’t want her to burn out. I don’t think you have a problem, or said otherwise, many would like your problem.</p>
<p>There is room for improvement but jiminy, I guess “much higher” is a matter of interpretation. </p>
<p>Now, I’ll confess my D re-took a 32 but it was because she lost all her points on one section of the science (a dew point graph she just flat couldn’t decipher that day). </p>
<p>My advice is to spend some time determining what few she missed and why she missed them. If she is a strong science student and made a 26 (for example) the answer as to what to do may be pretty obvious. Good luck to her.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the great responses on ways to at least do minimal prep. Maybe that’s what she has in mind after all anyway. She put a lot of effort into preparing for all of her other exams. I’d be surprised if she’s doesn’t at least do some practice SATs the week before PSATs. </p>
<p>She was hoping to do some prep this past summer, but with all of the AP summer homework, there really wasn’t enough time. I was blown away by how much work she had. Sometimes I feel like our kids are being robbed of their childhood, but then I remember that school means a lot to her. But even she was quite overwhelmed this past summer. I have a younger daughter who I think would be miserable with such a workload. </p>
<p>To those who recommended an additional SAT II, she plans to take Bio in May just before the AP and Latin in June after the AP. The SAT I will be either January or March. </p>
<p>hmom5: agree with you about Stanford, but what can I say. The woman at the college fair left a pretty good impression on her and so did the intensity of Stanford’s EPGY Physics. </p>
<p>Xiggi: reading the exams and the answers is an excellent idea. I’m not sure she would buy the idea unless I tell her it’s from you :-). She does like your method in principle, but hasn’t put it to practice yet. I’ve also corresponded numerous times with Kyledavid. Thanks.</p>
<p>runningmom: Reed didn’t seem to float her boat. I’m not sure why not. She received a catalog in the mail and thought it was too small. </p>
<p>Marite: I don’t know where she gets this stuff from. I think she wants to go away to college, so Harvard and MIT would not fit the bill. MIT was where she learned the linguistics in their High School studies program and she seems to be more willing to tolerate it because of the students she met who taught the class. We’ve got a long way to go, so we’ll see if her views change as she learns more.</p>
<p>I forget you’re from the Boston area. Yes, going away is a good thing (say I, whose kid goes to school about a mile from where home is :)) I’d recommend Chicago and Swarthmore. </p>
<p>Some kids thrive with summer study programs. I know one of my Ss did, the other did not like the idea.</p>
<p>My D sounds similar to your D. She has a 4.0 u.w., all honors or AP, with six AP’s done so far, including AP Bio, APUSH, AP World, AP Lang, AP art history, and AP Chem. She’s scored all 5’s and 4’s. She has 5 more AP’s this year. She took the SAT’s cold, essentially, as she used a review book for a couple of nights just to read over a few questions. She’s a lousy writer, when it’s timed and she can’t re-write, so we didn’t expect much on the writing portion, and she didn’t disappoint. <g> Anyway, she got a 740 on the math, and a 700 on the English (English is the subject she has to work very hard in, as it’s not intuitive at all like math and science). She also took two subject tests: Math II - 770 and Chem - 740. She scored a 35/36 on the ACT, again without anymore prep that looking over the questions on the website. She’s a studious kid with a fantastic memory, which probably explains why she did better on the ACT.</g></p>
<p>Don’t know if this helps … but that was her experience without major prepping.</p>
<p>Your daughter will be taking the PSAT in October, right? (Make sure that she does for Nat. Merit consideration) Why don’t you just wait and see how she does on that. If she needs help in one section more than the other, you can arrange for some tutoring in just that one particular area rather than going through a review course that covers everything.</p>
<p>Yep. That makes sense. Like 1500/1600, 2200/2400. O.K. got it. I guess I just assumed everyone knew the ACT was out of 36 and I was making it too hard.</p>
<p>D2 toolk the SAT with zero preparation and was disappointed with her score. It wasn’t in line with her ambitions. That motivated her to study for the retake. Still didn’t knock herself out with studying, but she used the Xiggi method for the studying she did do. She raised her score on the retake by 260 points. She is now in the ballpark for her reach schools and much happier for it.</p>
<p>So rather than nagging a procrastinating student to study, maybe it’s okay to let them go in with no prep. A mediocre score may get them motivated for the retake, or maybe they’ll do great even with no prep and won’t need a retake.</p>
<p>CRDad, Since your daughter is just starting her junior year she’ll have time to take the SATI more than once. If she does well enough (for her, that is) on the first try then fine. If she feels she could have done better she could then do some prep work – either on her own or with a service.</p>
<p>Sometimes just familiarity with the test and the process boosts scores the second time around. My son’s scores went up 100 points, with no discernible effort between session #1 and sesison #2. </p>
<p>I don’t think that there’s any stigma involved with taking the SATI more than once. Most colleges will use combined scores in admission. Higher scores make them look better too!</p>
<p>She is clearly the kind of person who only needs a few practice tests to familiarize herself with the test. Take the PSAT in October, and then set aside four hours on the two or three weekends before a chosen test date to take full length practice tests. As long as they are in the 2150-2250 range, she will do perfectly fine on the real SAT.</p>
<p>There is no real reason to take any SAT prep courses, in this instance. My D was similar to yours, as well. She had 4.0 GPA (highest possible in our school). 2280 SATs, 34 ACT, 770 (Eng lit), 730 (Math 1), 670 (Fr w/listening) SAT IIs. 4 APs (4,4,4, 3). Great ECs, great rec letters, etc. Didn’t prepare much for any standardized tests. That is, she only looked over past tests to get the format. Didn’t crack any AP study guide books, though (I guess that kind of shows…). She’s a soph at Ivy League school and had her choice of other great schools. SAT is cumulative, and if she knows the format, she’ll be fine. It’s really hard to study. In my opinion, the best reason to take a prep course is if your kid is disorganized, very nervous, or wants the extra support. Doesn’t sound like your child.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t think she even needs to take the SAT, but if there is no risk because she is in the class of 2010 or later, let her take it as is and see what happens. Then if she is trying for Ivy, she could retake either the ACT or the SAT if she wanted to try.</p>
<p>An easy and “not too time consuming” way for a top student to prep for the SAT is to take a formal but free SAT practice test shortly before SAT day. Check your local Princeton Review office and local libraries’ teen programming. This will let her get a feel for the amount of time she has for each section of the test and the way the questions are asked.</p>
<p>^it is much easier (and just as effective) to find half an hour here and there to do one section of the test at a time, than to devote half a day to a “practice test”.</p>
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