<p>A SAT tutor is trying to convince my son, who is a sophomore in HS, to take the SAT this January. His theory is if he does extremely well 2200+ that it will look even more impressive of a sophomore than as a junior or senior and it may help him gain acceptance into an elite school. Has anyone tested this theory? BTW, it is likely he will do well based on all the practice tests he has taken.</p>
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That is a complete nonsense.</p>
<p>I don’t think that colleges will care that much as to when applicants took the SAT. They just want to see good scores. If the student is confident he will do well, he should take the SAT. That will be one less exam to take later. And if he does not do well, he can re-take it later. But he should not count on impressing adcoms just because he took the SAT in sophomore year.</p>
<p>Whatever the tutor’s philosophy is, it appears that your HS sophomore is now “studying” for the SAT. Practice tests are at best indicative. So the sophomore should definitely take the SAT. That will give you and the sophomore a sense of whether more study is needed or desirable.</p>
<p>I expect that the sophomore has already taken the PSAT. That too should give an indication of whether “more” study is needed or desirable.</p>
<p>I don’t think it wise to use the sophomore year results for any purpose other than to as a measure of progress.</p>
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<p>Yes, but completely inadvertently. Our family moved to a different part of the country between D’s sophomore and junior year. Knowing that junior year would be even more stressful in a new environment and new school, I suggested to my D to take the SAT1 in May of sophomore year, hoping that a decent score would relieve her anxieties. She was scoring around 2100 in practice tests. She scored a 2250 in the real SAT. Really made junior year less stressful. </p>
<p>Having said that, I really don’t think it matters when a good score was obtained. But if a sophomore gets a low score, the adcoms might be more willing to disregard it. </p>
<p>My advice: let your son take a few practice tests. If he’s scoring around 2100, let him try the real thing. Though I think even then, it might be best to wait until Oct/Nov of junior yr to take it. Prep for the SAT and PSAT at the same time.</p>
<p>My S took the SAT as a sophomore, but he already had several APs and college courses under his belt and was graduating early, so his results are not in the least indicative of how adcoms will look at SAt results.</p>
<p>Maturity and experience are also a component of success on the SAT. If your son waits a year, he will have significant educational experience and he will be a year older - the maturity and focus he will gain is not a small thing for a teenager. </p>
<p>How about taking a subject test(s) this year? My son, also a 10th grader, will take the Math II and the Chem. He’s already in AP Calc and Chem, so these should go well for him. Next year, he can concentrate on the reasoning test without worrying about so many subject tests.</p>
<p>If your son got a 2200 as a sophomore, it’s likely he’d do even better as a junior or senior. There’d be no point in relying only on his sophomore score if applying to elite schools; he’d probably take the test again anyway. So sure, if he wants to take it, let him take it. Mine had taken it in middle school, did well, and did even better when he was in high school, so took it only once in high school. I think it helped that he knew what the test was like already.</p>
<p>Kids who do the Johns Hopkins CTY program have to take the SAT in seventh or eighth grades to qualify. My older kid took it in seventh grade and I think that just having the experience took some of the anxiety out of the situation when he took it again for real in junior year. Colleges look at your best scores, so taking it for practice early doesn’t hurt.</p>
<p>Oddly, next Saturday, both my kids are taking SAT tests – DD (age 12) will be taking the SAT I (along with her class at her gifted school) while DS (age 17) takes an SAT 2 chemistry test.</p>
<p>If he’s scoring 2100+, I’d advise him to just take it. Makes junior year a lot less hectic (plus, his ability to read and do SAT-level mathematics will not improve over the year anyway).</p>
<p>It’s a very inexpensive diagnostic tool. Take it.</p>
<p>if he’s really a high-scoring kid, he may have to take it again for NMF consideration. They want SAT scores taken during a certain period of time, and sophomore year may be too early. I say may, because I don’t know for sure.</p>
<p>^^ No it is not too early. I had looked into it when my D took it. I believe any administration starting in winter of sophomore year is ok. Not sure what the exact cutoff is, but spring of sophomore year is definitely within the window.</p>
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<p>This is very true. Also, a very accurate diagnostic tool, unlike those fake diagnostic tests offered by test prep companies as a marketing gimmick, often with the co-operation of schools and PTAs.</p>
<p>Take the SAT early to improve chances to get into an elite school? Doesn’t this assume “the more he learns in HS the worse he’ll do on the SAT?”</p>
<p>On a similar note, I’d urge you NOT to send any results automatically to any schools. Wait for results.</p>
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<p>NMF is based on PSATs taken in the student’s junior year.</p>
<p>But PSAT needs to be supported by SAT.</p>
<p>I’d advise against this. You only want to take the SAT twice, three times at a max. Many colleges don’t participate in score choice and require you send ALL scores and have a negative opinion of students who take the test too many times.</p>
<p>I disagree with ELY. If the student is doing well on practice tests, he should go ahead and take the SAT.</p>
<p>I’ll defer to owlice since it looks like he/she has more personal experience with this topic than I do.</p>