Should I take the SAT in October (for the first time) although I don't feel ready?

I will apply this fall in colleges in US for undergraduate studies. I have already registered in the College Board website for the October date, although I do not feel ready and have a lot of preparation to do during September. The reasons I registered for the October date are: 1) because I want to actually try myself , so that when I take the test for the 2nd time (which will most probably happen and I know that one should not have this idea) I will be ready emotionally and academically. 2)the colleges in US will consider me as a potential candidate. Do you think that it is appropriate to take the SAT in October considering that the colleges where I will apply take only the highest SAT scores although I do not feel ready enough and have less than one month to prepare or shall I take it in November and the colleges in US won’t get my not-so-good October scores?

Take it in October … that way, in case you get sick or otherwise cannot make the November test date at the last minute, at least you will have one score to send.

When are you taking the SAT2s?

Edit - are you a senior this year, or a junior?

@GnocchiB I will apply this fall regular action, I am a senior . I had planned to take the SAT subjects in November.

I presume u are an int’l student. Please tell me you are applying to other schools besides just MIT…

@GMTplus7 Yes , I am an international student. Yes , of course. I am applying to MIT and some other schools (most of them need blind) .

it can’t hurt. And you still have the opportunity to take it again in November, December, and January.

You cannot take the SAT2s and the SATs both on the same testing date in November. Thus, you would need to take one in October and the other in November. Personally I don’t recommend waiting until December or January to take a test that is required for admission. Others may feel differently.

Many studies show that women–as a group–tend to underestimate their capability and preparation. (Obviously, your mileage may vary, but this could well apply to you, Emily.) I suggest that you go ahead and take the SAT in October. My personal prediction is that you will be pleased with the outcome.

If some women students waited until they felt truly prepared for the next step, they’d be entering college at 40. I say this as a woman.

You might take a look at online information about a recent book by Eileen Pollack, called “The Only Woman in the Room.” She addresses issue of self-confidence and the need for encouragement that many women of her generation, and still some of the current generation, have. She was among the first female physics majors to graduate from Yale. She is a professor now, in a Master of Fine Arts program, in writing–and feels that if she had received more encouragement as a student, she might have gone on in physics.

If the OP is an international who is applying to those schools that are both need-blind and full-need for all students, that limits the pool to six schools: MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth and Amherst (others like Stanford are nb&fn for Americans only). For any of these, you will need very good standardised test results indeed, but AFAIK all or almost all of these schools superscore (that is only consider your best score) so there is little downside to taking them in October. As was pointed out by @GnocchiB, you can only take EITHER the SAT or SAT2 on each test date.

One option used by a number of internationals is to take the ACT rather than the SAT1, which is a quite different test, but which would allow both the SAT2 and the ACT in the same month. For example there is an SAT test date on 5 December and an ACT test date on 12 December. Good luck

^^ Dartmouth is no longer need blind for internationals.

Thanks @Falcon1, I had missed that announcement two weeks ago: http://thedartmouth.com/2015/09/18/college-ends-need-blind-admission-for-international-students/

Thanks @Mikalye for your answer. Yes i am applying to the all need-blind schools for international students , whose number unfortunately has been decreased by one (thanks @Falcon1 ) . I am taking the SAT1 in November and SATs 2 in December.