My daughter (junior) took the SAT this Sept and scored a 1500. She then took the exam again in Oct and scored 1480 and was disappointed but her superscore is 1510. She goes to a rigorous school. GPA is 4.6 and she has 4 APs this year. Considering re-taking the SAT this December or switching to the ACT. I wonder if it is even worth it considering the time spent in prepping. SAT was self study if she will re-take it in Dec then thinking of enrolling in some prep class. She wants a score of 1550. Alternatively, should she give the ACT a try instead?
Has she taken sample ACTs that indicate she will perform better on the ACT? If not, I see no reason to switch. But it also won’t hurt anything if she’s maxed out the SAT (though I wouldn’t count on any substantive difference).
If a “prep class” indicates some type of group teaching, I’ve found they don’t cater to 1500+ scorers, unless it’s some type of “high performer” class. Individual tutoring would be an option, but I wouldn’t count on a lot of gains if she substantially prepared previously. If she hasn’t used the Black Book for preparation, I’d suggest trying it.
Thanks! She did take the April 2018 ACT and scored a 36 without studying for it.
I’m not sure why she retook the exam. Some of the better schools are not considering best scores but only first scores. I scored 1280 back in 1976 which was 98%+. Today it would fall between 1450-1500. Congratulations to your daughter.
Wait, if she already has a 36 ACT, why is she even bothering with the SAT?
This was the sample ACT taken at home.
She’s not going to get anything out of a prep class. They’re not focused on bringing near-perfect scores to perfect. You might get that with the right private tutor.
Yes, she could/should take the ACT. Best way to prep for the ACT is to take all the practice tests you can find (real, retired ACT tests that are legally in the public domain and available online, if you do some googling, especially on Reddit). She could very well get a 36.
But the fact is, 1510 is very good! I think that her time would be much better spent on other efforts, in particular, on developing her strongest achievement into an attention-getting “hook”, rather than trying to get a perfect test score on either test. Even if she were to get straight 36s across the board, it wouldn’t greatly improve her application. Her SAT score won’t keep her out of anywhere, and a perfect 1600 alone won’t get her into the top schools. Even a perfect 1600 plus being first in her class is no guarantee of admission - she needs some particular, recognizable achievement to get that.
She should focus on getting perfect grades this year, and on developing her “hook”. She wants to have a singular achievement in something, be it art, music, science, literature, math, charity work, something that sets her above the competition, that makes the admissions committee say, “Wow. Look at that. Can we take this kid?” And then, when they see her grades and test scores, they think, “Oh, look! She ALSO has excellent grades and a very nice standardized test score. Yes, we CAN take her.”
Even superhuman teens have limited time and energy. That SAT is good enough. I would have her focus on the other elements of her application, at this point.
Since she is still in 11th grade, I would suggest spending time to study and try ACT instead of SAT. Some kids do better with ACT vs SAT. And according to my D. ACT is easier for her.