<p>For those of you familiar with both tests, I would appreciate your comments...</p>
<p>1) Is it beneficial, detrimental or really doesn't matter if one is studying for both the SAT and ACT (primarily through practice tests) at the same time? In other words, is it better to focus on the SAT through that test date and then shift to the ACT through that test date or visa versa? My son typically does not have big problems with time constraints, so getting ready for the different format isn't really an issue, I am more curious about the substance of the test, i.e. will studying math for the SAT help performance on the ACT and visa versa?</p>
<p>2) What are your thoughts as to which to take first, or again does it really doesn't matter? He has taken the SAT a couple of times previously in middle school, he is now a junior.</p>
<p>3) Is there a best time, ie. middle of junior year to allow for multiple re-tests, later in junior year to have had more AP class time behind him, etc?</p>
<p>Thanks for any advice you might offer. I have posted on the ACT board as well.</p>
<p>1) I think your son should pick which of the two tests is easier for him, and ditch the other. There’s really no point in taking both unless he’s trying to figure out which would be better for him: If schools receive scores from both the ACT and the SAT, they will consider only those of one of the tests–the test with the best score(s)–I believe (I’m not 100% sure of this). Even though there is, certainly, an overlap in material between the SAT and the ACT, it will overall take more time to study for both than to study for just one.</p>
<p>If you or your son insists on taking both the ACT and the SAT, then I recommend that you study for both at the same time but focus more on the one that’s coming up. This is because you need to dedicate a lot of time to either test, not spend the last two weeks before the test cramming, and focusing a little more on the test nearer in the future is recommendable for obvious reasons. Even if there are topics on the ACT that aren’t tested at all in the SAT, and vice-versa, he should still have time to study for both at least to a small extent, since he’s still a junior. The key to such a plan to take both tests is to start early.</p>
<p>2) It probably won’t matter much which test he takes first. Taking the test is one form of studying (i.e., for the retake), though, so if he feels that he might do better on the SAT than on the ACT by the end of the road, then it might help a little to take the SAT as early as possible in order to get a feel for it. But if that were exactly the case then I don’t see why he would take the ACT in-between when he could be studying for the SAT full-time.</p>
<p>3) Well, AP exams and finals roll in around late-May and June, so good testing dates would be March and/or May (there is no April test date for the SAT) for the SAT and April for the ACT (…but there is one for the ACT). Then he can retake the ACT in September and the SAT in October, November, and December.</p>
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<li><p>Speaking from experience, I think it’s better to focus on one test. I signed up for the October SAT and ACT. While I did do well on both, I definitely think I would’ve done even better had I focused on only one of them. Since your son is only a junior, I think he should prepare for one of them during this year. And also, take the test as early as possible. So for example, have him take the Jan. and/or March SAT. Or you can switch this with the ACT. And then if he’s not satisfied with his scores, switch to the other test in the spring. By the time senior year comes, he’ll at least have some scores and be able to determine which test he can focus/improve even more on. Again, I am only telling you this from what I should have done. I had to rush my preparation, and it was a risky/bad idea.
It’s not hard to switch from one test to the other. But you’ll get more returns if you invest more time on one thing.</p></li>
<li><p>It doesn’t really matter which test he takes first. He’s still basically going to study for both of them. But since he’s been exposed to the SAT already, it might be easier to prepare for it first. </p></li>
<li><p>I think retakes should be done in senior year. This is because your son wants both the SAT and ACT. May is a good month for subject tests because any AP tests he’s studying for can also be used for the subject tests. So that leaves April and June for ACT (assuming he took the SAT in Jan and/or March). That means 2 ACTs and SATs are done in junior year. Over the summer going into senior year, compare the 2 ACTs and SATs scores. Whichever he did best on, he should study more for that one.</p></li>
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