<p>Hi,</p>
<p>My son is in 10th grade now so I am forward planning a bit. I understand that Jrs. usually take their first SAT in the spring, but they also have to take AP tests then. He is in AP history now so takes the 2nd year in Jr but will also be taking CAlc AB and possibly AP Physics in his Jr year.</p>
<p>I want my son to do some kind of SAT prep/class/tutor but how do you fit everything in spring semester since they must also review some for the AP tests?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>We found the following helpful.
Take AP’s and SAT II’s at the end of the year during which you had a related class
Start PSAT Prep (practice tests) In Aug thru Oct.
Start SAT Prep (CollegeBoard Pratice tests) January for March Test
Read as much as possible (Helps CR)</p>
<p>One of the issues was the vocabulary for CR. W got lists of potential SAT words and we did flash cards everyday at dinner. (5 - 10 Minutes) When he knew the word 3 times it was dropped and a new word was added.</p>
<p>My son didn’t do the PSAT prep and he was disappointed in his PSAT scores. He was then motivated to do the SAT Prep pratice tests, correcting the mistakes and retaking the tests and the vocabulary. His final SAT score jumped over 300 points</p>
<p>Definitely take the AP test right after you finish the class. isn’t it offered in class at the end of the year? SAT Subject tests should be taken, IMO, also when you have finished the class in May or June. My S took the Chem and USH subject test last June, end of his soph. year. He took the SAT in May, end of soph year. He will take 2 AP tests in May of jr year, retake the SAT in May and the math subject test in June.</p>
<p>There really shouldn’t be a huge amount of studying for the AP or subject tests outside of what he does for end of year finals for school. My S uses the xiggi method for SAT prep and doesn’t cram for it, it is a continuos thing done a little at a time.</p>
<p>Here is a possible schedule:
May 2010: take APUSH exam and SAT subject test-History exam (no further prep needed, except to familiarize student with the format) either in May or June.
October 2010: take PSAT. Do a bit of prepping in summer and September. Xiggi method is all that is needed if student is self-motivated to prep.
March 2011: Take SAT
May 2011: take AB Calc and Physics B exams.
June 2011: take SAT-subject tests in AB Calc and Physics (make sure that the curricula for Physics B and SAT Physics are the same and that teacher has covered all the materials.
Fall 2011: re-take SAT and/or SAT subject tests if necessary.</p>
<p>Thanks for all you quick responses. In my son’s HS, AP history is 2 years so he won’t be done until June 2011. I get the impression that it isn’t 2 years everywhere. It would be wonderful if he was done June 2010 and took the test in May 2010. </p>
<p>That is why I am alittle concerned that taking 3 APs with testing (us hist, calc and physics) along with SAT testing, not to mention SAT 2 tests is alot of testing in spring 2011.</p>
<p>I totally agree, you need to take the AP tests right after finishing the class and taking the US hist Sat 2, you might as well get overwith while you are doing the history thing.</p>
<p>Ah, I did not realize that APUSH is a two year course. Rather unusual.</p>
<p>If he does well on the PSAT (or feels he does well) he can bump taking the SAT earlier, say in November or February, so that he has breathing space between the SAT and the AP exams and SAT subject tests. Bear in mind that the latter are only one hour each, and will require no additional prep. In many cases, they will feel easier than the AP exam.</p>
<p>I realized after looking around to get info on the timing of AP tests that it did seem unusual for our school to do AP history for 2 years. They don’t offer World HIstory AP only honors which he took in 9th grade.</p>
<p>Kinda screws things up, because I don’t know if he really could take 3 AP exams along with the SAT testing all in one semester. He may need to push the Physics to his Sr year but then he would have a year with no science since he is taking regular physics now unless he took environmental science non ap.</p>
<p>As long as the AP exams don’t have overlapping schedules, he should be okay. He can take the SAT Subject tests in June, spending just one morning to take them and be done.</p>
<p>Thanks Marite!</p>
<p>It is usually considered better to take the SAT Math 2 Subject Test at the end of precalculus, rather than calculus. There is no calculus on that test, but a lot of it is devoted to topics usually covered in precalculus courses (or whatever the course just before calculus is called in your school system). </p>
<p>The choice of SAT Subject Tests depends on your son’s plans. If he plans to major in engineering or a physical science, he may specifically need to take Subject Tests in math and a physical science. If he plans to apply to any of the very few colleges that require 3 Subject Tests, he may need to take that into consideration. Otherwise, any 2 tests in different fields will do. U.S. History is usually a good choice for a student who has taken AP U.S. History because the Subject Test is similar to the multiple-choice portion of the AP test. </p>
<p>One common schedule for juniors is to take the SAT for the first time in the winter and then take SAT Subject Tests in either May or June, allowing the other date for a possible retake of the SAT. If all goes well, this means that all the testing is out of the way by the end of junior year. </p>
<p>In your son’s case, though, if he has any interest in taking the SAT Math 2 subject test, he should probably take it this May or June, not next year.</p>
<p>He should take the SAT 2 tests math 2, physics, and us hist in MAY (you can take 3 in one day) along with the AP Tests which are also in that month because he can prepare for them simultaneously and it really won’t be too much of an extra burden. the SAT can then be scheduled either after in June (I recommend this because he will no longer have the stress of school and he can devote ALL his time to studying for the SAT) or in March (another good route because he won’t have started prepping for the AP tests yet, most likely, so he won’t be stressing out about both simultaneously). It seems like a lot to deal with but it all falls into place rather nicely when it all happens to come around. good luck.</p>
<p>If your kid is any good at CR they will probably do fine on the Literature subject test. My son hates English, but still manage to pull off a 700+ score. (He had a 790 in CR.)</p>
<p>His schedule was as follows:</p>
<p>March junior year: SAT 1
May junior year: AP US and AP Bio
May junior year; SAT 2 (did Math2, Bio, US History) did minimal studying as he had studied for APs<br>
June junior year: had planned to use this date for retaking SAT1, but he was really disappointed in the Math score, so he took Literature instead. BTW, he probably should have taken math earlier, but this point in the year they were deep into calculus and he’d forgotten too much math.
October senior year: retook SAT 1</p>
<p>That is good input Marian!,</p>
<p>Right now he is taking Unified 4 honors the next class set is CAlc honors, AP CAlc AB or AP Calc BC. </p>
<p>At the moment, he is interested in Architecture though he has potential to be an engineer. His strength is science but he has a good eye for design. He planned to take the SAT 2 tests in math and science but with all this AP history, he might as well take the subject test.</p>
<p>I’ll look into the Math SAT 2 test for the end of this year.</p>
<p>Laurenlolo, our school doesn’t get out until the end of June so it is possible the work load will lighten after May AP testing but hard to know. 9th grade stayed full to the very end.</p>
<p>My son does well in Math, his is less strong in Eng so that is where I want him to have time to bone up.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Xiggi’s advice for SAT preparation is helpful. There is a “Xiggi” thread in the SAT section.</p>
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<p>I think this is pretty doable. </p>
<p>Take Math II this year in June 2010. No point in waiting. </p>
<p>October 2010: PSAT - assess whether to focus on SAT or ACT It’s really hard to find time to study for both. SAT requires learning tricks - Xiggi method is the preferred method on CC, ACT requires knowing a lot of material that he probably learned anyway but vocabulary is less of a factor. They also give the sections one at a time and don’t try to trick you. Time is a much bigger factor in the ACT. Many kids find one or the other preferable. The difference can be pretty drastic.</p>
<p>For Physics, it depends if he’s taking AP Physics B or AP Physics C. </p>
<p>If he’s taking AP Physics B, then </p>
<p>May 2011: SAT II: Physics and US History. He would be so ready anyway since he’s preparing for the AP the following week. Consider these study freebies. </p>
<p>June 2011: SAT or ACT - The nice thing about the ACT is that the June date is about 4 weeks after the AP exams so if he has 3 AP classes, they will all end and he will have a week extra time to prepare for the ACT than he would have for the SAT. </p>
<p>However, if he’s taking AP Physics C then I think the whole strategy changes because the SAT II Physics and Physics B are broad, while Physics C is deep but narrow. In that case, I would use the June SAT date for the Physics SAT II so that he can review the missing topics from regular physics during the interim. </p>
<p>March 2011: SAT I or April 2011 ACT
May 2011: SAT II US History
June 2011: SAT II Physics
June 2011: ACT, usually a week after the SAT date. </p>
<p>I know of no school or program in the US for which the combination of (Math 2, Physics and US History) SAT IIs combined with either an SAT or an ACT doesn’t satisfy the entry requirements, although I think that National Merit Scholarship semifinalists must take the SAT to get the scholarship.</p>
<p>Classic Rocker Dad, He would also be talking Calc AP so he will have 3 AP tests and the load of taking these 3 classes with their AP tests and fitting in the SAT is what seems a lot. He wil also be in Honors English (not ap) and Honors french.</p>
<p>Getting rid of the Math SAT 2 test while in 10 th is a brilliant idea. I never would have thought on it. I wished he had taken the Chemistry SAT 2 last year when he finished chem.</p>
<p>The ACT test is an idea I hadn’t considered. Im in the east and everyone focuses on the SAT but maybe the timing would be better with the ACT and vocab is not his strength.</p>
<p>In terms of the Physics, he is taking Physics now. He would take AP Physics AB not BC Should he consider taking the Physics SAT 2 test at the end of 10th then as well?</p>
<p>Lakemom, one other aspect to be mindful about is the actual tests your son takes. Yes, definitely take the SAT IIs and the related APs the year he takes those courses. But, also note that some colleges require the applicant to have taken certain SAT IIs, if he intends to apply to a specific program. For instance, look at Northwestern’s pre-med program. I *think *they require testing in Chem and math for their HPME program. G’town requires 3 SAT IIs, while most other colleges request two (or the ACT). So, while you’re scheduling all those tests, check out requirements at a few colleges too.</p>
<p>There is no Physics AB and BC only Physics B and Physics C. Physics B is algebra based and goes broad just like the SAT II, Physics C is calculus based and covers only Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism. If he’s taking AP Physics B then taking the SAT II in May would involve virtually no studying since he would presumably be preparing for the AP test the following week that is much harder than the SAT II. </p>
<p>I agree that fitting in the SAT junior year is hard. My D had 3 APs, two with corresponding SAT IIs. She took the SAT in January of Junior year and didn’t do as well as she would have liked. As a last attempt to be done with standardized testing junior year, she took the ACT in June after the AP’s and nailed it. I think preparing for and taking the ACT in June after the APs and SAT IIs is a good idea especially if his AP Physics is of the B flavor. That would give him a month after 3 of his classes are finished.</p>
<p>I had overlooked that he is currently in Pre-Calc. He should take the SAT-Math this coming May in this case, along with the SAT-History. One morning, two SAT Subject tests, only one more to go.</p>
<p>I advise against taking the SAT Physics this year. Many teachers do not cover the entire curriculum (ours did not) and S1 had a very bad surprise in April when he opened the SAT prep book and found out that a whole topic was not/would not be covered in his Honors Physics class. H, a physicists, guided him through the topics he would not be covering in class, but it was not an optimal situation. The curve was also pretty harsh. We were told later that most people who take the SAT-Physics also take AP-Physics B.</p>
<p>Really in terms of doability, piling up in May Junior year is not that big a deal except for time spent taking tests, as the SAT tests cover the same materials as the AP tests (except for Physics, as noted above and by CRD).</p>
<p>Thanks again for everyone’s advice. Our HS isn’t over until the 3rd week of June so there is no down time in June to study (finals) but considering a June ACT might still be a good choice and I will talk to my son about it. He will be taking Physics B not C so it sounds like that SAT 2 test should wait</p>
<p>There is only one school so far he is applying to that recommends the SAT 2 so taking them at the most prepared times seems best.</p>
<p>I really appreciate running through the various scenerios now rather than later so we can do some planning. Forward planning is my thing, makes me feel more prepared. :)</p>