When is the best time to apply to Pitt and take the SAT's

[Pitthopeful]

<p>When is the best time to apply and take the SAT's?</p>

[SteveC]

<p>Here’s what Pitt says:

When Should I Apply?</p>

<p>We operate on a rolling admission policy. This means we will offer admission to qualified students on an ongoing basis until the class is full or until we are notified by the dean that admission is closed. It is to your advantage to plan ahead and apply early, as that spaces can fill up early in the admission cycle for smaller schools or programs such as the School of Pharmacy’s conditional admission program.

</p>

<p>As to when to take the SAT:

Academic Pluses</p>

<p>Factors that favorably reflect on a student’s overall academic profile include:
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.
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Taking the SAT I or ACT more than once. We recommend that you test once in the junior year and once early in the senior year. We combine your highest critical reading and math sub scores from all tests submitted.

</p>

<p>My S followed this logic, took the first ACT available senior year, then applied (successfully) to Pitt. Plenty early.</p>

[Pitthopeful]

<p>So basically in the summer of junior year or early senior year are the best times to apply?</p>

[charlieschm]

<p>I’d take the SAT or ACT twice in the spring of your junior year and once in the early fall of your senior year. I’d get an application into Pitt and similar colleges (with rolling admissions) in Sept, if practical. </p>

<p>Remember, you will need time to line up any recommendations, transcripts, etc and some people you need to help you at your school may not be easy to reach during the summer. If you can make some arrangements with them in June, that would be beneficial. </p>

<p>Putting in some early applications also can reduce the stress factor. It is great to have at least one admission under your belt from a college where you would be happy and that is affordable. Also, if you don’t get admitted, you still have time to submit plenty of applications to other colleges.</p>

<p>If you applying to a college that requires or strongly encourages SAT IIs, you need to plan ahead to schedule them. Some people like to take them when the information is fresh in their mind for a class they took their junior year - which would mean taking them in May or June. That has the advantage of allowing you to study for your final exam, any AP test for that class, and your SAT II test for the same subject matter at the same time, which is very efficient.</p>

[charlieschm]

<p>I should clarify that Pitt does not require SAT IIs, but other colleges where you are applying may require or strongly recommend them.</p>

[AwesomeOpossum]

<p>Like others said, I would recommend taking the SATs, at least ONCE, sometime in the winter or early spring of your junior year. That way, if you need to improve scores, you have time to study, retake the exam, and get new scores. </p>

<p>For SAT IIs I highly recommend what CharlieSchm said, which is to take them at the end of your junior year when the material is still fresh. I took mine in early June, which helped since they were right after APs and before finals.</p>

<p>Also, if you’re looking for scholarship money, or have lower stats, definitely apply earlier on (in the summer means no application fee), but by mid-September. If you can email or contact teachers in the summer to ask them to write recommendation letters for you, they can have those prepared by the beginning of school, which makes applying a lot more efficient.</p>