<p>How soon after taking PSAT do most juniors typically start taking the SAT? Would you recommend ASAP, or wait till end of this school year?</p>
<p>Also, without any additional prep, how will SAT scores correlate to PSAT scores received last month? Should we expect an increase, decrease, or no change? Is it better to test cold versus prep prior to first full test.</p>
<p>thanks! </p>
<p>How soon after taking PSAT do most juniors typically start taking the SAT? </p>
<p>I think MOST juniors don’t take it until spring. Personally, I think it’s best to take it in the fall.</p>
<p>Would you recommend ASAP, or wait till end of this school year?
That depends how much you’ve studied for it and how much time you will have later to study.</p>
<p>Is it better to test cold versus prep prior to first full test.
That depends. I know this is a rather popular idea now, to take the SAT before studying, but you should ask yourself a few questions: 1. Do you usually approach really important tests or anything else really important in your life with no preparation? 2. What exactly do you hope to gain from this that you won’t learn from taking a few practice tests? 3. Are you trying to get the best score possible for you, or are you doing a scientific study on the effects of SAT prep for which you need a baseline control? 4. Do you have money to burn? 5. Do you really want colleges to see your score on a practice test? 6. Is it at all conceivable that you might need to take the SAT a few more times–what number of SAT sittings do you consider might start to look bad to colleges and why would you want to put yourself closer to that unnecessarily?</p>
<p>If you have money to burn and if you don’t care if colleges see the bad score you got and you aren’t concerned about the possibility of having a total of 3 or more SAT sittings on your record, then go right ahead. You might first like to check out all the threads on here of kids wondering if their 3 or 4 SAT sittings will look bad, or the kids wondering if that horrible first SAT score they got will look bad…</p>
<p>My opinion…</p>
<p>Do not waste time or money taking the test cold.</p>
<p>The right time to take the test is when your practice scores have plateaued and you are not interested or able to do any more prep (or you are running out of time; make sure you leave time for a second sitting, you may want it).</p>
<p>The PSAT and SAT are effectively the same test. Over a large enough sample of students, both tests taken back to back should average the same score. Obviously there will be variance with most individual students but there is no skew to this randomness. Your ‘expected’ SAT score, barring any further prep, is your PSAT score times 10.</p>
<p>Check out the helpful tips and methods shared by students and tutors on this very site. Some of the very popular ones are ‘stuck’ at the top of the thread list.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>PS take a practice ACT and compare your percentile score. Some students are better or prefer one test over the other.</p>
<p>sorry. didn’t mean absolutely cold. Really meant without tutoring – not without practice tests 
</p>
<p>Wonder if you’re better off identifying your weaknesses before tutoring (if that is needed-and i assume it will be since looking at 189 on PSAT with 60 eng/64 reading/65 math.) </p>
<p>Guess you should be able to discern that from practice tests, but in terms of ACT, practice tests (with a tutor) have not played out as predicted. Did all that and practice tests would come out extremely high (32-36 on all), yet actual ACT score, not as impressive – only a 29 taken at start of JR year. So wondering how to get best return for time and money. thanks for any advice! </p>
<p>All you need is a good test prep book or two and some self-discipline. Unless you are unable to understand why you got questions wrong without consulting a tutor , I think you’re wasting your money on a tutor. The SAT is a little harder than the PSAT and also longer, more grueling, requiring more focus. Your PSAT is a good indication, but it does happen that some students see scores go down (plenty go up as well); if you poke around on this site you’ll see both stories.</p>