<p>My D took the SAT in March and is unhappy with her 2020. She was unable to take it again in May and will be on a vacation in June, so she'll have to take the SAT I again in October and IIs in December. Was your S still able to apply EA?</p>
<p>Apologies if this is misplaced here or has been addressed elsewhere. The many helpful observations on this thread make me wonder whether parents can suggest a sensible overall timetable for SATs and SATIIs that would offer a fairly early look, preserve options (EA, ED), and be humane? D2 is a rising junior and the standard route at her school seems to be PSATs fall of junior year, SAT I's in spring; SAT IIs and repeat SAT I's in fall of senior year. That seems 'late' to me, without much room for retakes, if necessary. ACT is not on GC's radar, apparently.</p>
<p>So, if you could design a timetable from scratch, what would it look like?</p>
<p>PSAT fall of junior year: mandatory because that's the only time that students can take the test and be in contention for various national scholarship programs.</p>
<p>SAT I in Nov. or Dec. This particularly is a good time if the student studied or had tutoring for the PSAT, something that I strongly recommend for students who are excellent test takers. That's because those are the students who might qualify for National Merit (top 1% of all student), National Achievement (top black students), or National Hispanic (top Hispanic students) scholarships, which can open doors for college admissions, and also may help the students get full tuition.</p>
<p>If the student does wonderfully on the Nov., Dec. test, they may not wish to take the SAT I again. If they feel there's room for improvement, I suggest taking SAT I in May.</p>
<p>If students plan to apply to schools like HPYS, which require SAT IIs, then they should have started taking the SAT IIs right after they finished their course work in subject areas related to those tests. For students taking APs as sophomores, that could have been in May or June of soph year. </p>
<p>For many juniors who are planning to apply to schools requiring the SAT IIs, the best time to take them is June of junior year, which woudl be right at the end of the school year -- when the material is still fresh in their minds.</p>
<p>Unless the student will continue that course work in the fall (such as if a student has taken IB Chemistry II as a junior and will take IB Chemistry III as a senior), it's a bad idea to wait until fall to take the SAT IIs.</p>
<p>If the subject matter is new, the student will not have had enough instruction by Nov. or Dec. to do very well on the test. If the test is on a subject that the student studied soph or junior year, the student probably will have forgotten most of the information.</p>
<p>For students planning to apply ED or EA, I think they need to have completed their testing by Nov.</p>
<p>Waiting until Jan. or Feb. to take tests can be a problem particularly for students in the north, where weather can cause problems with having testing done and received in a timely way.</p>
<p>In addition, if students don't take their tests until the last possible time for whatever kind of admissions they are applying, emergencies -- sickness, etc. -- could cause them to miss the test, and then not to make their admission deadline.</p>
<p>My older son had his SAT I, SAT II testing completely done by June of his senior year younger S, a junior is now finished with his SAT I testing, and will take his SAT II tests next fall.</p>
<p>Here is our school's current timetable (S is also a rising Junior)</p>
<p>October PSAT
December SAT II (if appropriate -- for subjects completed in Sophomore year, S probably won't take any)
April SAT
April ACT
May APs and SAT IIs
June SAT
June ACT
October Senior Year SAT (if a third sitting is desired) OR SAT IIs</p>
<p>While the timing of this for ED purposes seems fine, I'm not sure how "humane" it is. April-June in particular seems pretty rough, not even counting that HS finals will be taking place in June. Currently S is planning on taking the April SAT and ACT, but after that will probably only re-sit for one of the tests, depending on which one he feels more comfortable with.</p>
<p>"December SAT II (if appropriate -- for subjects completed in Sophomore year"</p>
<p>Wow! That is too late. The material will have long been forgotten. Students also wouldn't even have time to review the material since Dec. is exam period and also is a time heavy with recitials, holidays, etc. Those SATs should be taken in May, June of soph year.</p>
<p>NSM, I'm not going to disagree with you. S' school really doesn't provide much information AT ALL about SAT IIs. I suppose if a student takes a course Sophomore year and then carries it over into Junior year (biology to advanced biology, algebra II to pre-calc, etc.) then taking the test in December might make sense. Bear in mind that we're talking about a school where the vast majority of students who attend college just go to the local flagship U or similar schools in the area where SAT IIs aren't required or even recommended. A lot of self-education is required for those who want to think outside the box. </p>
<p>As an example, at the most recent Parent Advisory Council Meeting, a parent (not me, but sounded like somebody who had also discovered the CC Parents Forum!) asked how he could get a list of the colleges that recent grads have applied and/or been accepted to, plus the grades and test scores that they had -- the head GC said that the school didn't keep any records like that, but it sounded like a good idea and they would look into it.</p>