When should I take the SAT for the first time?

<p>I'm a junior. Last year I took the PSAT and only got a 188. I took a practice PSAT this year and got a 212. I'm still waiting for my real PSAT result this year.</p>

<p>I took the SAT II World History and got a 710 last year. I'm planning to take the SAT II Chemistry and Math 2 later on.</p>

<p>I'm thinking about taking the SAT in January with no prep, retaking in March, then maybe retaking in October of next year. And I'd take the subject tests in May and June.</p>

<p>Is this a good idea? Any tips/advice?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Hi runnerxc,
In my opinion, as long as taking SAT does not put too much financial pressure on you, then by all means do it. Although some colleges require all scores to be submitted along with the applications, I am sure colleges like to see improvements of a student.
I took my first SAT in my junior (junior equivalent year as I am not in the US) year, and only scored in the 1700s. It was a good opportunity to get a good picture of what a real SAT is like, and shows which areas (CR, MA, W) are your weakest areas.
All the best!</p>

<p>Taking the SAT for the first time with no prep is a very, very common strategy. Admissions teams at most schools just look at your super-score (and they swear to me this is all they care about). Even at schools where they look at all your scores, most students will have taken the test 2-3 times.</p>