<p>We are looking for advice on test dates for a rising junior. He plays a varsity spring sport, and has a lot of AP classes, so March-May will be very busy. </p>
<p>Our current suggestion is to take the Nov SAT and Dec ACT, leaving more options to retake in Jan/Feb or in June, after his sport and APs are done. </p>
<p>The other approach is to take the Jan/Feb tests -- leaves more time to prepare, but less runway for contingencies (getting sick, too busy, etc.)</p>
<p>I would have recommended taking the test in Spring of Soph year, but that has already passed. Earlier the better, more time & practice to get to level he may need (or want).</p>
<p>I am a junior and I am taking the October SAT. He should probably not wait until late junior year. Have him take it Oct/Nov/Dec. This way he can just get it done, so he can concentrate on grades and AP tests at the end of the year.</p>
<p>If he’s prepared for it, then there’s absolutely no harm in having him take it in the fall, but that’s a big if. It seems that he won’t have a whole lot of time for prep in spring, so while May/June might be a good time to take subject tests if he’s planning to apply to schools which require those (the AP and SAT II tests cover much of the same material), these months don’t seem ideal for him in terms of brushing up on vocabulary, learning some of those elusive grammar rules, etc. Seeing as he’ll have more time in the fall, that’s probably a better time to take them.</p>
<p>Basically, it comes down to this: he should take them whenever he’s had enough preparation that he’s comfortable with his abilities and able to get the score he wants. For me, this meant waiting until June of my junior year, since that’s when I had the most free time to prepare. For someone else, it might be the fall of their freshman year. Whatever works with your schedule.</p>
<p>Im taking the October test, and if I’m not satisfied with my score Ill take the January test. I think this is a good plan. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>I just went through laying out the dates earlier today. My S is also a junior with spring AP’s, but he’s in a winter sport, and he’s already taken ACT and did excellent (but not with writing.) </p>
<p>Here’s what I came up with:
Sept 10 ACT – too early in school year
Oct 1 SAT – right before PSAT
Oct 22 ACT – homecoming weekend?<br>
Nov 5 SAT – YES! hopefully be in SAT mode after studying for PSAT
Dec 3 SAT – too soon after NOV SAT
Dec 10 ACT – family Christmas party out of town
Jan 28 SAT – swim season
Feb 11 ACT – usually big swimteam event
Mar 10 SAT – good for second sitting
Apr 14 ACT – good for second sitting
May 5 SAT – taking SAT IIs to piggyback on AP studying (can’t take SAT I on the same day)
Jun 2 SAT – right after finals week – he’ll be tested out
Jun 9 ACT – may not be home if he gets into a summer program</p>
<p>Two years ago, the February ACT was canceled due to a blizzard. I just had a friend tell me that her son took the ACT for the first time in June because he got lost driving to the facility for the spring test. You’re smart to plan for potential problems! I’d definitely schedule second sittings for Jan/Feb (if necessary) with June as your back-up. If he’ll be applying RD, there’s always Fall of senior year too – I think there’s even one date early enough for EA.</p>
<p>I think the rule of thumb(whose thumb are we ruling :)) is that taking the SAT 3 times is a great #…</p>
<p>My dd14 will sit for the SAT for the 1st time at the end of her sophomore year(june 2012)… this is to get her baseline score and to also enable her to be considered for dual enrollment classes @ Yale U or UNH… they want a score of at least 1650… SCSU is a score of a least 1600… she can take these classes beginning in the fall of her junior year…</p>
<p>The 2nd and 3rd sitting are a bit trickier… should she take them twice in her junior year, so she can get all of her scores out of the way…</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>take it at the end of her junior year and the last/final time in the fall of her senior year…</p>
<p>She will only take it 3 times… </p>
<p>I am reading the others posts… wondering if she should take them back/back… she will also be taking an AP test next May and possibly an SAT II test…</p>
<p>Its so much to decide… I feel sorry for those kids at her school who are not in the college admissions loop yet… they will be so behind…</p>
<p>While all three of my kiddos took the ACT during the school year (different dates due to different activities), the June test, prior to their senior year, proved to be gold for all of them. Why? I suspect that they had a few weeks to unwind after finals and had the ability to focus soley on the test. No burn out…no fatigue. We called it the last big push around this house…it worked extremely well.</p>
<p>Ds2 has a spring sport and this year added a fall one. Lucky me!</p>
<p>He took math II last June at end of sophomore year. He’ll take the SAT in January as his older brother did and again in May if he needs a retest. He’ll take two more Subject Tests in June.</p>
<p>Comments on taking the SAT in Oct - before the PSAT - as practice for the PSAT? Is studying for the SAT valuable for the PSAT and vice versa? Or, are the tests so different that the course of study is different?</p>