<p>My D will be a junior and we're trying to figure out the best dates to take the SAT1. We were thinking either Oct, Nov, or Dec. The Jan thru June dates won't work due to school course load issues. The Oct date is 1 week before the PSAT. Will it be too confusing to take the SAT and the PSAT one week apart, given the slightly different test formats? Is it better to test on either Nov or Dec instead?</p>
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<p>There would be nothing confusing about that. She should take it whenever she feels ready; no test date confers any special advantage.</p>
<p>It would be smart of her to take the SAT in October, right before the PSAT. That way, she could study for both at once, and she could have the whole summer to study for them. They are nearly identical (the PSAT has fewer sections and is less advanced subject matter), so it shouldn’t hurt her to taking the two different tests at the same time. I did that, and I saved myself the time and energy of trying to study for tests at different times when I already had a lot of other schoolwork. I also got a high enough SAT score to apply to all of my schools and a high enough PSAT score to make the semifinalist cutoff.</p>
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<p>I did not perceive any difference in difficulty.</p>
<p>^Me neither, but technically speaking there math SHOULD be easier, and so should the rest of the test. My PSAT and SAT scores were nearly identical, and the only difference was that the curve was different on each test. If it was actually easier, I should have scored significantly higher on the PSAT, not 1 point higher.</p>
<p>Actually, the question as to how the PSAT and SAT content are different is interesting because I’m finding contradictory information.</p>
<p>The curves on the PSAT are tougher primarily because the PSAT test is about 30% shorter than the SAT, and the scaled scores are designed to be comparable. According to current documentation, at least, the content of the tests is the same (except for the essay). From the [Educator</a> Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/official-educator-guide-to-the-psat-nmsqt.pdf]Educator”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/official-educator-guide-to-the-psat-nmsqt.pdf):</p>
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<p>However, the first edition (2004) version of the blue book (but not the current one) said the following in regards to the PSAT:</p>
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<p>The algebra II topics were added to the “new” SAT in 2005, but not to the PSAT according to BB1.</p>
<p>So, this is a bit of a puzzle.</p>
<p>Yo Ho, My daughter took the first SAT in JAN. ACT in April. APs in May. SAT 11 in June. The problem for many kids is that they want to take it a second or third time and it is hard to fit it in with finals,tests and activities in school.I would have started earlier if I could do it over again. I was lucky and she only took the SAT once but many of her friends took it multiple times.</p>
<p>Stalker, yes this is our concern as well. We want to finish up with the SAT1 and the ACT before Winter break since midterms, APs, SAT2s all start after December.</p>
<p>Yo Ho, I wish I would have asked CC back then…but it is all behind us now. Good Luck!! It is not too bad!!! :(</p>
<p>I recommend taking the SAT on a date for which the questions and answers can be purchased from the College Board. It costs about $18. Two of the dates when the Q and A service is available are October and January. This can be helpful if your student is likely to take the SAT a second time.</p>
<p>The added essay section on the SAT actually has a major impact on the writing score. Luckily (or not), certain colleges don’t even look at the writing score for the SAT.</p>
<p>I think there’s no difference between Oct. vs. Nov. vs. Dec. (I’d do October and get it out of the way in order to open up a possible re-take date in December) but remember that your daughter also may have to take the subject tests (SAT IIs) for certain colleges, and the best time to take those are at the end of the year when she’s learned all the information. In other words, she might have to test in June anyway.</p>
<p>Schokolade, thanks for the idea. I didn’t realize that the Q and A service was not offered at every testing date.</p>
<p>My S took SATs in October of junior year, 4 days before the PSATs, and it worked well for him. He had studied over the summer for the SATs, and didn’t need to do any special studying for the PSATs. Whats nice about October, if your student is ready to take the SATs then, is you can, if desired, retake in November and/or December (assuming you don’t want to be done with SAT testing in the spring).</p>
<p>Great idea. It didn’t occur to me that she could do a retake before the crunch of January and beyond!</p>
<p>My daughter also took the SAT in October, 4 days before the PSAT. Her PSAT result was great (228, enough for NM semifinalist in every state). I don’t think any confusion resulted from taking the SAT several days before the PSAT.</p>
<p>I found out about the Q and A service being available only certain dates merely by chance. The same is true of the ACT. Unfortunately, my daughter’s ACT science score was much lower than her other scores (bringing her composite score down 2 points) and we will never know why.</p>
<p>I am also going to be a junior next year, and had the same question. I want to study over the summer to bring my PSAT score up 300 pts. Is that even possible?</p>
<p>Anyways, I was thinking of taking the SAT I in October so my studying would be fresh in my mind, and then I’d have plenty of time to retake it or something. After that I would have science competitions, midterms in January, IB exams in May, finals and SAT II’s in June. </p>
<p>So would it make sense to take it in October, even if that’s before the PSAT? Also, would I get the scores back in time to decide if I wanted to take it in December again? If I took the SAT in October, I’d probably retest in December or Februrary.</p>
<p>I want to study over the summer to bring my PSAT score up 300 pts. Is that even possible?</p>
<p>Anything is possible! Study hard!</p>
<p>I agree that taking it just before the PSAT is probably optimal. In some ways, the PSAT is the more important test because it is the only one you cannot retake. (You have multiple shots at the SATI, subject tests, and ACT.) So while using the SAT as a warm up for the PSAT might seem counter-intuitive, it makes a lot of sense once you think through it.</p>