I’m in 8th grade, and it’s been around now that I’ve been thinking about college/university, and I want to get a feel for the SAT and ACT tests, or just be able to have those scores if I happen to need them. I took the Khan Academy SAT practice test, and got 1330. How much should I prep? Is the practice test (aside from breaks etc.) easier than the real version? Is 1330 around this time a good score if I wanted to get into, say, Berkeley? I really don’t know what I’m doing so any help would be appreciated, thanks
I don’t think it makes much sense at all to take them test before you start high school. Personally, I wouldn’t even allow my kids to start studying for it at that point. I have seen too many youngsters become obsessed and anxious because of too much test prep. You really haven’t matured enough in your thinking to do your best yet.
Test prep tutor here. There is no point in taking a test now. One, it will go on your record. If you think you are bound for a tippy top, that college will certainly ask for all of your scores. Two, you can download a real test for free and do it at home to get a feel for the test. Three, you will likely do much better in 3 years time when it actually matters. Four, you will have a lot more time to spread your prep over the next three years. Five, you might decide you want to take the ACT instead. Six, maybe so many colleges will be test optional by then that you won’t even submit test scores. Seven, you have better things to do with your last summer before high school.
That’s fair. Thank you.
Also, taking one at home is exactly what I did anyway.
My D took a month long prep class with her former Math/English teachers and took SAT for practice end of 8th grade and it’s not on her official record. I personally don’t see much downside, the more you prepare for and take fast paced long exams the better you do, in general.
I would double check to make sure it’s not going on your official transcript, otherwise go for it!
I see… if it doesn’t in my case, I might take one just for the opportunities in high school it might give me (I’ve heard of people getting in more advanced/interesting classes based on standardized test scores), but I definitely won’t prep too extensively
thanks!
Really, you have heard of students being offered more advanced classes in their high school based on test scores? I have never heard of that, ever. I have heard of competitive summer programs that want to see a high test score. Is that what you are talking about? Johns Hopkins has a well-known summer program for high scoring kids.
@socaldad2002 , I do not agree. I do see harm in over prepping. One, some kids get burned out. Two, there are currently only eight official SAT tests released. I strongly feel that students should prep using official test materials. A kid who is not even in high school is going to burn through official tests in a few months, leaving him/her to use alternative fake tests, which, IMO, are simply never as good as real tests. No doubt College Board will release some new tests by then, but it’s not like they will release twenty new tests that the OP can ration over a couple of years. Three, let’s says you prep and prep and prep, and your score never budges above a certain level. That’s very demoralizing and stressful, and might cause you to be stressed out for a long period of time. There comes a point of diminishing returns, whereby your prep efforts are not going to be giving you a return on your time invested. Studying hard will help your score, but only up to a certain point.
I do know of a couple of kids who have prepped excessively and did get amazing test scores. I also happen to know that those kids are hyper-intelligent in the first place. I know far more kids who prepped too much and didn’t get the Harvard-worthy scores they dreamed of. One particular student did at least 12 full exams and had tons of tutoring. His parents didn’t help matters, because they were certain it was Stanford or Bust. That student received 1150 on the test. It was lower than I expected, because I did think he would get around 1400. I think it was a case of far too much prep.
For now, I think it’s a good idea to read widely and keep your math skills sharp. That will help you a lot.