I am currently a freshman in high school and I was wondering when I should start studying for the SAT. I was thinking this summer because we take the PSAT next year and I would like to do well on that. Lastly, should I really hire a tutor and take a prep class? Thank you! 
The most important time to take the PSAT is during Junior year since this is the time you can qualify for National Merit. There is no harm in taking it as practice your Freshman or Sophomore, but Junior year is when it will count.
I would not officially start prepping until you have at least 2 years worth of HS classes under your belt. Probably summer prior to your Junior year would be the best time. Right now just focus on doing well in your HS courses, take the most challenging classes available and enjoy HS.
Start as soon as possible or during this summer if you’re busy during the year.
If you have enough self-discipline, then a tutor would not be needed. (I think Khan Academy would be a useful tool, and the new blue book too.)
You will probably be taking the new SAT since it rolls out early 2016.
I second Gumbymom; while preparing earlier gives you more time, it may not be a good idea to prepare for the SAT if you have not taken geometry, for example (not saying you haven’t, but preparing for a standardized test without the requisite knowledge is often not a good idea).
The ideal amount and type of preparation depends upon many factors.
It is always a good idea to do well in school and read high complexity texts for pleasure at least several hours per week. Ideally, you should have started doing this in elementary school.
To determine when to start SAT-specific prep:
(1) First you need an estimate of the difference between your desired and current levels. The larger the difference, the more time you should allot to SAT prep. You can take a PSAT 8/9 or PSAT 10 practice test under simulated test conditions to see what percentile you are in currently.
If you are very far off from the desired percentile, the sooner you start, the better.
If you are in or close to the percentile you want to be in, relax. You can take the PSAT in 10th grade and then re-evaluate.
(2) On average, it takes the most time to improve in Reading and the least time to improve in Writing. Math is in between. It is also harder to add points to a score that is already high.
If you have a significant score deficit in reading, start yesterday.
If you have a problem in math, you should do whatever takes to fill any holes in school math as soon as possible. You don’t need to do SAT-specific math problems until 10th grade. If you are too busy during the school year, you can work over the summer.
If you have a problem in Writing/Language, you should be able to fix it during the summer before 11th grade.
To determine what form of prep to use:
(1) Self-study is good for students who are highly motivated, who can learn well about their weak areas from written explanations, and who do not have to add a very large number of points or points at the top of the scoring curve (although students with strong skills can accomplish these last two feats). This is the least expensive alternative.
(2) Group courses are good for students who like live instruction and the company of their peers. Group instruction tends to be “one size fits all”, so it works best when the group is homogeneous. This is a somewhat more expensive alternative.
(3) Private instruction is good for students who have more money but less time or motivation, who need or like individualized attention, or who do not have other high quality options available. For private tutoring to work well, you have to do homework. It is useless to have your parents fork over buckets of money if you are not going to practice at home. Private instruction is not magic. A personal trainer can’t make you obtain your objectives by waving a wand. A tutor can’t either. However, high quality private tutoring together with a sufficient amount of targeted homework practice can produce very large score increases.
@Plotinus, D12 is in 7th grade and I am unsure of the type of complex reading she should be doing to build CR skills.
Can you point me in the right direction?
@VANURSEPRAC
I couldn’t make specific recommendations without knowing more about your daughter’s current reading level and her interests, but in general she should read texts that are one step higher than the level at which she can now read without much effort or dictionary use.
College Board used to publish a reading list of 101 great texts – I am sure you can find it around on the internet.
A better strategy for the new SAT could be to use the Core Curriculum reading lists. Identify the grade level at which your daughter currently reads, and have her read texts one level higher. Good readers are usually over grade level.
A few other tips:
- Read A LOT (preferably every day). Bookworms zip through the SAT reading section without breaking a sweat. They finish way ahead of the allotted time.The test is too easy for them.
2). For brave/strict parents: set up a house rule: no facebook, messenger, twitter, etc. until you have read at least 1 hour of challenging texts per day, 2 hours a day on the weekends. Facebook is the worst enemy of SAT CR scores. - Look up the words you don’t know. Keep a vocabulary book.
- Read what you like, as long as it is high level. Try to enjoy it.
- Try to find books you like in many different areas. The Common Core includes classic fiction, American history, social science, and technical scientific texts. Most people like one more than the others. Try to like all of them.
Thank you @Plotinus, I will start today!
Good luck! Some kids discover or rediscover that they really like reading, and take off on their own. Hopefully yours will be one of these. If not, expect push-back. The response of most of my students when I tell them to read at least an hour a day for “pleasure” is: drop dead.
Yes thank you I am quite a bookworm myself haha.
@Biancaa
Wonderful! You should be in great shape for the reading section. If you are doing fine in math in school, just keep up the good work. Take the PSAT next October, and see if you are happy with your percentiles. You can prepare using the PSAT prep booklet distributed by your school in September. Remember to compare your scores to the scores of other sophomores.