Should I Take the SAT in June?

Test Preparation
1

Hi everyone!

I’m currently a junior attending a public school in Philadelphia. I have yet to take the SATs, but I bought all the prep books last week; ideally, I think I should take it this June. I scored a 175 on my PSATs last October, and I took the practice tests from the blue book today (I averaged around a 1800-1900). My top college choice right now is UPenn, and I’d really appreciate some thoughtful insight on how I should plan the rest of the months left before applying ED to Penn.

I can’t take the SATs in May because I have 2 AP tests in that month, and I’d really like the spend half of my April time studying for them. I would like to apply to Questbridge in September (I probably won’t do QB’s National College Match if I am a finalist because I’d like to apply ED to Penn), so that means I need a SAT score for that QB application. It sucks that the SATs isn’t offered in September, but I can’t take SAT I in October because I need that month to take three SAT II Subject tests.

So should I take the SAT I in June for the QB application, then ACT in September, and finally 3 SAT Subject test in October? Does this plan sound rational? I probably won’t submit my June SAT score to Penn because I believe it will be around a 1900, so I will be submitting my September ACT score and October subject test scores for early decision instead. I’m looking forward to using the Summer to study for them.

I’m so sorry for such a long post. My school has only one counselor and he doesn’t even know what Questbridge is. I appreciate any help the online community can give me. Thank you! :slight_smile:

2

If this is your first time taking it, I recommend you take it in June or May to see how well you do. Some individuals tend to do well on practice tests but become extremely anxious on actual test day and thus score lower than expected. Try to do tests under timed conditions.

3

Thanks for replying.

I’m doing just that. I have taken three practice tests under timed conditions and averaged around 1800-1900. I get around a 750 on the math section, but a 550 on writing multiple choices (yikes). English isn’t my first language, though. I won’t be studying much math, but my writing score is very lopsided in comparison to the other scores. Do you have any good book recommendations or other resources for SAT writing improvement? I already have Erica Meltzer’s grammar book. So far it’s helping…somewhat.

4

I used Erica’s grammar book, and at first, I scored around 500s, however, after I reread it, I started to grasp concepts and score high 600s-700s :slight_smile: It’s a matter of practice! I wouldn’t worry too much about writing though, as colleges look at CR + math score.

5

That could be true but I really need to boost my writing score up so I can have a good overall score :slight_smile: Do you think it’s possible to go from a 1900 to a 2100 in 2 months with enough studying?

6

I believe it is certainly possible! However, it might vary depending on the section. The math and writing section are relatively easier to raise compared to CR section. :slight_smile:

7

Yeah I totally agree. My CR score has really just been static this whole time. I’ll definitely work on the writing section and maybe some math. Thanks for the tips! :slight_smile: