<p>Any comments on this advice?
Pros: I can see that the early SAT would work as a warm-up or practice test for the PSAT and it might take some of the pressure off since the score wouldn't really count that much--I assume that the SAT would be taken again in Spring of Jr year or Fall of Senior year.
But are there disadvantages? Maybe a student could feel burnt out when the time came for the PSAT, or discouraged if they felt they didn't do too well on the SAT? Would it be a good investment of $51 or would the student do just as well with a free full-length SAT practice test at home?</p>
<p>I don’t think that would be useful at all. Since student won’t know the answers or scores, it won’t really serve as a practice test. Second, if the goal on that Saturday is to do something to prep for the PSAT test, it seems that the 4-5 hours of time that would be spent on the SAT would be better spent on working on practice math questions from the blue book or whatever the equivalent is for the PSAT (is there one?) </p>
<p>Finally, many schools will require student to send in all SAT scores. Presumably, your student is going to improve his or her skills between October and June, so it seems prudent to have him or her wait until his or her “peak” to take a test.</p>
<p>Think in the reverse. If you are prepping for the PSAT (eg tutoring, taking practice tests, etc) why not take the SAT in November, after the PSAT? My s did that, did well, and never had to take the SAT again. Worked for him.</p>
<p>I think the strategy makes sense. My DD’s SAT and ACT scores have been great, but she missed the NMSF by just a couple of points. You really only have one shot on the PSAT, but you can take the SAT or the ACT more than once.</p>
<p>I think that’s a waste of time and money. A practice test is useful only if you know how well you did, and you won’t have your scores back before sitting for the PSAT.</p>
<p>And if you don’t do well on the SAT, colleges that don’t superscore will see your scores anyway unless you cancel them within a few days. Why risk that?</p>
<p>The most useful thing you can do is to take multiple practice PSATs at home. They’re free and you can see how well you did before you have to take it for real.</p>
<p>Depends on the kid and the College Board. For kids who test well, it’s a great idea to get into that testing mind-frame and to be DONE with testing. Note that this year there’s 11 days between the Oct. SAT and the PSAT, not the more typical 4 days.</p>
<p>If you’ve got money to waste, I don’t think it would hurt, I suppose especially if you cancel the score. But we didn’t have money to waste. And it’s certainly not necessary. My sons worked out of the blue book using a modified xiggi, and it worked great for us.</p>
<p>IMO, it could absolutely be beneficial. If you’re prepped for the SAT, you’ll be more than ready for the PSAT. Additionally, I think there’s a benefit to seeing and experiencing an actual testing environment prior to taking the PSAT that “counts” for NM purposes. Practice tests are certainly beneficial by themselves, but if it’s affordable for your child to take the test I’d recommend doing so.</p>
<p>Our D2 is doing exactly the same thing, but we left the decision up to her so she wouldn’t feel any extra pressure from us. She opted to take the PSAT as a sophomore with no prep just to get a baseline, and chose to take both the ACT and SAT last spring. Her scores on the practice PSAT and practice SAT tests have improved quite a bit this summer, and she attributes a large part of that to taking the “real” tests along with the additional academics she’s had during sophomore year. No “burn-out” on her part, but she’s spread everything out over the last year and doesn’t fixate on prepping.</p>
<p>Every child will handle things differently and every family situation is different, but if your child WANTS to do the legwork and it’s affordable for your family I’d say go right ahead.</p>
<p>While I can see your goal is to do well on the PSAT IMO the SAT scores are more important. If you are a good student you may be able to take the SAT once and be done with it. I would recommend taking the SAT in October.</p>
<p>D is taking the SAT in November. Her PSAT may benefit from her SAT study but I agree with OHMomof2 - the focus is definitely on the SAT, not on getting NMSF.</p>
<p>That’s what D2 did. She’d planned on prepping for the PSAT all summer, but ran out of time. Signed her up for the SAT, she boned up on the math section for a few days and took the SAT. Then the next week she took the PSAT; she’d walked out of the SAT realizing where her weak spots were & she spent the week concentrating on those areas.</p>
<p>Now, it wasn’t her first rodeo. She’d taken the PSAT in 9th & 10th grade and we knew that she should be in range for our state. Worked out well for her as she did qualify for NMF, and she didn’t have to take the SAT again either.</p>
<p>Our focus is on both SAT and PSAT–why not go for NMSF if it’s within reach? </p>
<p>D’s scores are within striking range of NMSF in our state (215 to 219 in past years). She scored 202 last October as a sophomore and 213 on a timed practice test (2007 PSAT) this month. She knows her weakest area, Math (53 last October, 64 this month) and is focusing on it in her review. Her real weakness is the math grid-in questions and we’ll be getting tutoring for her.</p>
<p>I see there’s quite a range of opinion on this topic–thanks for all the insights and experiences.</p>
<p>Your strategy is what my youngest did - prepped for the SAT over the summer/early fall on her own with the SAT guide, took the October SAT a week before the PSAT. Her soph PSAT had been good (>200), her Oct SAT score was very high and junior PSAT 227. Definitely not a waste of money, as she did not have to take the SAT again. She took the ACT in December and was done with those tests halfway through junior year.</p>
<p>My kiddo was in the same situation as yours, crepe. The pattern of PSAT scores from gr 9 and 10 paralleled older sib’s, and older sib was a NMF. So since it was in striking range, he prepped for the PSAT , and since he prepped for the PSAT he decided to take the SAT the next month since he was in the groove, as it were. Worked for him. Got the NMS and did great on the SAT. He never took it again (and this was before score choice and superscoring.) So it worked for us. I dont agree that its a waste of time at all!</p>
<p>Well I can’t see how taking the SAT a week before the PSAT will possibly have any effect on the PSAT outcome, but , but I am recommending that my son take the Oct SAT regardless. First, it seems like a good time to get a benchmark to start narrowing college options. If his score is not what he is hoping for then he will realize that serious work is in order, or that he will need to eliminate top tier schools from his list. I know a lot of students sit for the SAT the first time in the spring, but that is just cutting it too close for me. Also, when applying to summer programs standardized test scores can be an important factor, and it seems that an SAT score would carry more weight than a PSAT score. Plus, taking the SAT in October leaves a reasonable time period for 2 retakes if necessary.</p>
And it’s certainly not necessary. My sons worked out of the blue book using a modified xiggi, and it worked great for us.</p>