<p>We all know the PSAT is going to be different next year, as is the SAT. My kids have been taking the PSAT for several years now, and this year my 10th grade son got a 195 and my 9th grade daughter got a 190. This is obviously within striking range. But now the test is changing, and who knows how they will score.</p>
<p>How bad does it look to take the SAT multiple times? I was thinking about having both of my kids take it in March and then again in late summer if possible, just so they can get a feel for what the new test is like. These two "practice" tests may mean both of my kids will end up taking the SAT three or four times.</p>
I had my daughter take the June SAT in 10th grade as practice for the fall PSAT in 11th. It was great for her. The studying helped get her primed for PSAT studying over the summer/fall, and her SAT score was high enough (2100) on the SAT that she already had the “qualifying SAT score” nailed before taking the PSAT, so no worries about that later to qualify for NMSF/NMF. (Check the acceptable dates for SAT scores before scheduling . . . I know June of 10th grade worked for my dd, but I’m not certain exactly how far back the cut off was.) I don’t know how bad it looks. Seems like it would look fine to me, but I’m not an admissions counselor. I will have my next kid (10th grade this year) do the same this spring . . . (although he’ll be part of the guinea pig generation taking the new PSAT in the fall, so it won’t be as perfect a practice as my older daughter’s was.)
For John Hopkins Talent Search, qualified kids who have scored in the top 5% in standardized tests can take the SAT in 7th & 8th grades. My kids took them then. They do not appear in any record. From 9th grade on, I believe the scores will show up for the Us you sent the SAT scores to. My kids just too the SAT in 7th & 8th grades and their school took the PSAT for 9-11th grades.
You can ask the GCounselor at the HS about what s/he thinks about taking the actual SAT as practice for the PSAT and whether that has any implications for college apps. Our kids found the Real SAT book fairly helpful for the SAT (especially if you time it as it is during the actual test to get a sense of how long you can spend on each question and area), as well as reviewing the quesions they found difficult on the PSAT to bone up on those ones that caused problems. The biggest problem S had was careless errors in both the PSAT and SAT. S was a NMF; D was not.
Both scored high enough on the SAT in 8th grade to meet the median SAT score at our instate flagship.