SAT v ACT - basis for decision?

Test Preparation
1

<p>apologize if this q is in the wrong place but couldn't find similar thread</p>

<p>son is junior, attends competitive public hs in midwest, "demanding" curriculum fresh & soph (5 core - 3 are AP/H ), gpa uw 3.3/w 3.7</p>

<p>test scores to-date (all taken w/ no prep):</p>

<p>8th gr - hs placement (act) comp 23; e 20, m 23, r 24, s 25
soph - plan (act) comp 25; e 24, m 26, r 25, s 24</p>

<p>soph psat 179; cr 62, m 60, w 57
soph kaplan practice sat 1670; cr 620, m 560, w 490 (essay 3)</p>

<p>have been told that gpa improvement (trend) #1 priority, followed by solid+ act/sat score is critcal for achieving consideration at selective school (at one time had hoped NYU consideration, now told highly selective not even a reach)</p>

<p>son currently prepping for psat w/ tutor</p>

<p>given grades as priority plus other demands (psat, psae, ap exams, ec's, etc)must allocate time accordingly and believe choice must be made between act and sat early on (and limit # of sittings of whichever is chosen)</p>

<p>Q1 - i see slight advantage in favor of sat over act. do i read this right? if so, does it mean anything?</p>

<p>Q2 - anybody see 210+ possibility on psat?</p>

<p>Q3 - tutor suggests psat than act (with no/little prep) two weeks later to benchmark against each other. I don't get it. any thoughts?</p>

<p>Q4 - if prepping for psat in mid-Oct, why not continue w tutor and prep incremental math and writing to sit for Dec sat?</p>

<p>Q5 - ec committment of +/- 20 hrs week nov thru feb likely knocks out serious sitting for whichever is chosen. pragmatic given the circumstances?</p>

<p>Q6 - given all of the "issues" any thoughts on a test calendar for the year?</p>

<p>this is far beyond my capabilities/comfort zone, any help would be greatly appreciated. thks</p>

2

<p>It is true that you will not be considered for NYU, even as a reach. Your scores and stats overall are pretty weak, so unless your son has something spectacular, you should rethink your choice of schools.</p>

<p>I think that you should prepare for the SAT and PSAT more so than the ACT. Your scores are about the same, but the PSAT is really important so you might as well prepare for that instead of the ACT.</p>

<p>I do not see a 210 as a possibility. A 31 point increase is a lot for a couple of months, especially if your son will not have time to do much. You can try, but don’t get your hopes too high.</p>

<p>The tutor probably means that your son will study for the PSAT for 2 weeks. Then take the act and psat at that time to compare scores. Thats fine I guess, but I don’t think thats necessary. PSAT and ACT require different kinds of prep, so prepping for PSAT would not improve ACT score by too much and it is almost certain that the PSAT score will be higher than the ACT one.</p>

<p>Doing that is fine. You could take the December one and then see how you do and decide from there. You will still have until about october of senior year before you cannot take any more SATs.</p>

<p>That is fine. You don’t need practice too much in a week if you will be practicing all year long. Just do a little a week whenever you have time and that should improve your scores by a bit.</p>

<p>Taking the Dec one is a good idea. The June one is good too. Depeding on when school ends for you, you may have a couple of solid weeks to do some prepping before that test. The October/November test in your senior year should be a last resort seeing as those may need to be used for SAT subject tests.</p>

3

<p>I hadn’t expected anyone to respond to the entire laundry list of questions and I appreciate that you took the time to do so.</p>

<p>There is no denying that his reported stats are low and his universe of options is now smaller because of this. Behind the scenes the story is a little different. For example, last year in his English 2H course there were 44 graded “assignments,” he earned A’s on 38 of the 44…of the remaining six he “earned” two F’s on exams and didn’t turn in four hwk assignments. His grade for the year ended up as a B, and he’s done the same thing in several other classes. Yet, whether one looks at his stats from 30k feet, or uses a microscope to do so…the end result is the same.</p>

<p>So now I find myself trying to put perfume on a pig by, 1) getting him to improve his grades for this year in order to show an upward trend (there would only be a marginal impact on the cumulative numbers), 2) provide him with the resources needed to get a “take notice” score on the SAT, and 3) hope for a sympathetic adcomm ear when the time comes.</p>

<p>If anybody happens to have a spare miracle or a more well thought thru and/or viable strategy that might get him the chance for a “do over,” we/he would be indebted for eternity. Although he made his bed and he should now have to sleep in it…but not in DeKalb, Macomb, Normal, or about a thousand other black holes.</p>

<p>How about an Ann Arbor strategy, that would be a happy ending.</p>

<p>Thanks again…and the attempt at humor… it is a very weak effort on my part to make like this really isn’t such a big deal after all.</p>

4

<p>Unless he had already taken pre-calc when he took the PSAT last year, you can probably expect his math score to increase on both tests simply due to the benefits of studying new topics he did not know last October. And unless he has already completed pre-calc this year, I would suggest delaying the tests until next spring (April/May/June tests), allowing him to maximize his exposure to math topics. By that time, it will have been a full year-and-a-half since his last test and the exposure to additional coursework coupled with increased mental maturity will probably improve his performance. I see no reason to attempt a test any earlier.</p>

<p>I would plan on him taking both tests at that time and suggest, in particular, taking the ACT in June. On most calendars it is conducted after school gets out and permits a week or more of free time in which to prep.</p>

<p>When you get those scores back (by late June), then decide on school targets. This should allow most of the summer and fall to visit, if you desire. He also will have time next fall for a re-take (Oct./Nov.) if he feels it necessary. Don’t rule anything out yet. These tests are framed for students in their senior or late junior years.</p>

<p>If you think it likely he will be applying to any school which requires/recommends SAT Subject tests, be sure to allow time for this, too. Recommended slot is June SAT, just as classes end, so material is freshest in his mind and need for prep minimal. But do this only if you think it will likely be necessary. Don’t burden him otherwise.</p>

<p>And, BTW, the political climate is such nowadays that pig make-up jokes can be seen as offensive. :)</p>

5

<p>The SAT/ACT is BS. Its a shame that good students are screened out of schools simply because they cant take a test well.</p>

6

<p>Yes, the upward trend in grades is very important. If he does very well junior year, that will help a great deal.</p>

<p>The schools also look at class rank. Some schools have more grade inflation than others, and schools weight honors and AP very differently. </p>

<p>I agree with the other posters that the PSAT looks stronger than the ACT, so he should concentrate on that. Also if he’s applying anywhere that requries subject tests, take those at the end of the school year.</p>

<p>About NYU - unless you’re really trying to save money on applications, I don’t think it hurts to apply to an ultra-reach dream school, as long as he won’t be disappointed if he doesn’t get in. Someone has to get in from the bottom 25%, and you never know what kind of mood the adcom will be in.</p>